[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Gansan

No, it is not. See here:
http://www.shell.com/ind/products-se...gine-oils.html

Sorry, my bad. I got confused with AX7 as I had used it for my Wave. Of course if Hero recommends 10W40, I think its better to stick to AX7 10W40 rather than AX5 20W40. Also if Honda recommended 10W30 how does hero change it to 10W40? I thought they shared engine tech. According to Hero Motocorp website, Recommended oil for Karizma and ZMR is 10W30 itself. Hence its either AX5 in 10W30 or some 10W40 grade oil. Even Honda and hero use the same supplier, ie Savita Oil Technologies.

[Gansan]

The oil originally recommended for all HH bikes was IOC Servo Supreme 20w40. From the latter part of 2000 they standardized it as semisynth Hero Honda 4T+ 10w30. Like what Maruti have done recently - 5W30 semisynth, while it is actually meant for the K-series engines. For the earlier versions it was 20W40.

Net effect was reduced life of HH engines = more repairs and part sale = more $$!

For the CBZ HH uses 10w30. The Unicorn has the same engine, but I think Honda uses 20W40.

[VijayAnand1]

Originally Posted by Gansan

The oil originally recommended for all HH bikes was IOC Servo Supreme 20w40. From the latter part of 2000 they standardized it as semisynth Hero Honda 4T+ 10w30. Like what Maruti have done recently - 5W30 semisynth, while it is actually meant for the K-series engines. For the earlier versions it was 20W40.

Net effect was reduced life of HH engines = more repairs and part sale = more $$!

For the CBZ HH uses 10w30. The Unicorn has the same engine, but I think Honda uses 20W40.

Makes sense now. But a friend of mine using the HH engine oil now who estwhile using the Agip found no difference in his 3 years of ownership from both oils. All he reports is a little heat observed at traffic but nothing significant apart from that. But I think as as general rule, work horses on a day to day basis, would be good using a thicker grade as opposed to thinner to be on the safer side.

Cheers!
VJ

[Mashblue]

Reviving a dormant thread..
I would like to share my experience of various engine oils for my pulsar 200 Dtsi. The list includes motul 300v, Motul 5100, Motul 7100, Shell AX5, Castrol power one, Bajaj dtsi 10000 and ELF MOTO 4 TECH 10W50.
But my personal best after 7 years and 50 thousand kilometers is "Valvoline 4t premium", the bike simply loves this oil, smooth gearshifts and engine revs freely.

P.S : Drain period of 2000 kilometers/6 months maintained strictly for all brands.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Mashblue

Reviving a dormant thread..
I would like to share my experience of various engine oils for my pulsar 200 Dtsi. The list includes motul 300v, Motul 5100, Motul 7100, Shell AX5, Castrol power one, Bajaj dtsi 10000 and ELF MOTO 4 TECH 10W50.
But my personal best after 7 years and 50 thousand kilometers is "Valvoline 4t premium", the bike simply loves this oil, smooth gearshifts and engine revs freely.

P.S : Drain period of 2000 kilometers/6 months maintained strictly for all brands.

Totally concur with you on this. Pulsar engines love this oil. Even I have experimented with many oils and finally hit the sweet spot with this one. Heck, I would say this is on par with the motul 300v in terms of smoothness at a third of its cost.

Truly a wonderful oil with awesome performance.

[Swapnil4585]

Hello,

I've a 1st generation - 1st batch XCD 125, and it is due for an oil change. I'm going for touring on it in the next month. Will be doing 55-60 kph all day long. Which should be the ideal oil in such conditions? Mineral, semi synthetic or fully synthetic?

P.S. I'm unable to procure the Valvoline SynPower 10 W30 over here.

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

Which should be the ideal oil in such conditions?

Best option would be to stick to the grade mentioned in the owner's manual. As the oil is common to the engine, clutch and gears, changing the grade to something other than the recommended is not advisable. Thinner oils may result in clutch slippage.

I own a 2007 Bajaj Discover 135 and the manual mentions the grade as 20W-40. I did Hyderabad - Bangalore - Hyderabad on the bike in March 2014. The speeds maintained were 70 - 85 kmph. It was a 1250 km trip. The bike ran great without missing a beat. So sticking to the recommended grade is the best option. I use Shell AX-5, 20W-40.

Wishing you all the best for your tour and don't forget the travelogue!

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

Hello,

I've a 1st generation - 1st batch XCD 125, and it is due for an oil change. I'm going for touring on it in the next month. Will be doing 55-60 kph all day long. Which should be the ideal oil in such conditions? Mineral, semi synthetic or fully synthetic?

P.S. I'm unable to procure the Valvoline SynPower 10 W30 over here.

Because your motorcycle engine is air cooled, I would suggest that you use either a semi-synthetic or full synthetic oil.
They are less likely to break down due to the localized high temperatures often found in an air cooled engine.

As for the brand of oil you choose, I would stay with whatever you've been using, assuming that you have been using a good 4 stroke motorcycle oil.

By staying with the brand you've been using, the detergents in the replacement oil are more likely to be similar or the same as what you've been using.
If you change brands and the detergents are different, the new detergent is more likely to dissolve any buildups that have accumulated in the crankcase and on engine parts.

While removing buildups initially seems like a good idea, it is better to let them remain untouched than it is to dissolve them and contaminate the new oil with them.

If you have been using a high quality motorcycle oil there should not be any great quantity of buildups but you never know.

Make sure the replacement oil meets the requirements of JASO.
Your Owners Manual may or may not specify JASO or say nothing at all about the specification. In any case, the JASO requirement will assure the oil will not harm your clutch.

Since its introduction, JASO has been broken down into several different sub-specifications: JASO MA, JASO MA1, JASO MA2 and JASO MB.

For the most part, any of them will work fine so don't worry about which one the oil meets unless your motorcycle manual specifies just one or two of them.
For basically, low powered machines like a 100cc-250cc bike, it won't make a big difference.

[Swapnil4585]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

Best option would be to stick to the grade mentioned in the owner's manual. As the oil is common to the engine, clutch and gears, changing the grade to something other than the recommended is not advisable. Thinner oils may result in clutch slippage.

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Because your motorcycle engine is air cooled, I would suggest that you use either a semi-synthetic or full synthetic oil.
They are less likely to break down due to the localized high temperatures often found in an air cooled engine.

As for the brand of oil you choose, I would stay with whatever you've been using, assuming that you have been using a good 4 stroke motorcycle oil.

Thank you for the detailed explanation gentlemen .

Actually, I've been changing brands since last 4 oil changes, within Castrol Activ 4T, the Bajaj Genuine Oil and Valvoline. I did not notice much difference in performance. But then I have not had the chance to go on touring (i.e. engine spinning at high RPM for prolonged) in these intervals.

Now I wish to go on touring, and hence my question, and since both of you suggest to stick to the same brand, I'm more convinced to go for Valvoline's 4T Premium 20 W50. This oil looks to me to be a semi synthetic oil.

I own a 2007 Bajaj Discover 135 and the manual mentions the grade as 20W-40. I did Hyderabad - Bangalore - Hyderabad on the bike in March 2014. The speeds maintained were 70 - 85 kmph. It was a 1250 km trip.

The Discover 135cc is a good bike for city and touring purpose. But I don't understand Bajaj, when they give one of their 125cc bikes (Discover 125), a 5 speed gear box and the other one (XCD) a 4 speed. All 125cc bikes should get a 5 speed box. Proves a boon on the highways.

For basically, low powered machines like a 100cc-250cc bike, it won't make a big difference.

Yes. And that is why I did not opine for Motul 300 or Mobil 1.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by Swapnil4585

Hello,

I've a 1st generation - 1st batch XCD 125, and it is due for an oil change. I'm going for touring on it in the next month. Will be doing 55-60 kph all day long. Which should be the ideal oil in such conditions? Mineral, semi synthetic or fully synthetic?

P.S. I'm unable to procure the Valvoline SynPower 10 W30 over here.

Bajaj engine loves Valvoline oil. It's as if they are tailor made for Bajaj. Using the same since past 30k kms. It makes my pulsar 180 ug3 engine ridiculously smooth.

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Make sure the replacement oil meets the requirements of JASO. Your Owners Manual may or may not specify JASO or say nothing at all about the specification. In any case, the JASO requirement will assure the oil will not harm your clutch.

Since its introduction, JASO has been broken down into several different sub-specifications: JASO MA, JASO MA1, JASO MA2 and JASO MB.

The owner's manual of my Bajaj Discover 135 states that the grade of oil should be "SAE 20W-40 of API 'SG' + JASO 'MA' grade or superior".

So based on what you mentioned regarding the JASO requirement, if I switch to SAE 10W-30 of API 'SG' + JASO 'MA' grade, there won't be any slippage of the clutch. Am I correct?

[ArizonaJim]

So based on what you mentioned regarding the JASO requirement, if I switch to SAE 10W-30 of API 'SG' + JASO 'MA' grade, there won't be any slippage of the clutch. Am I correct?

That is correct.

Reguarding the "JASO MA grade or superior", JASO MB is the poorest rating and oils classified as such are the most likely to cause the wet plate clutch to slip.

MA2 is the best rating and is least likely to cause the wet plate clutch to slip.

MA1 represents the lower friction levels which are acceptable under the general MA classification.

Oils meeting the MA requirements, being better than the MB classification, must fall somewhere in the MA1 and MA2 range.

For your motorcycle, MA, MA1 or MA2 would be fine.

Only the super-bikes produce enough power to demand the MA2 type oil and paying a premium price to buy it for most motorcycles would be a waste of money.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

The owner's manual of my Bajaj Discover 135 states that the grade of oil should be "SAE 20W-40 of API 'SG' + JASO 'MA' grade or superior".

So based on what you mentioned regarding the JASO requirement, if I switch to SAE 10W-30 of API 'SG' + JASO 'MA' grade, there won't be any slippage of the clutch. Am I correct?

The recommended grade is as mentioned by you:
SAE 20W-40 of API 'SG' + JASO 'MA' grade or superior"
Going to 10W30 itself reduces the oil's hot environment performance, which is very important in Indian road conditions. That will be detrimental to the engine. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

[Mashblue]

For trouble free long life of an engine always stick to the manufacturer's recommended engine oil grade. For example in this case if 20W40 is recommended you can choose an oil with lower number than the number mentioned before the W rating eg: 10W40 or 15W40, but never play with number after the W.
in short the suitable oils you can choose is XXW40, where XX is any number equal to or less than 20.

[Swapnil4585]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

The owner's manual of my Bajaj Discover 135 states that the grade of oil should be "SAE 20W-40 of API 'SG' + JASO 'MA' grade or superior".

Scarlet, owner manual of my XCD too says the same. JASO MA grade or superior SAE 20 W40 oil. However in the Bajaj service stations, vide a circular, it is made mandatory to use a 20 W50 oil.