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  1. Not true about synthetic at all..

    Amsoil in my XS alll the time, Motul is whats in my KZ. Clutches are fine.
  2. I can't say if it was JASO MA , I don't know what the specs were back in 1993 when I went through all of those clutches , but the oil was packaged as motorcycle oil and it was expensive. It was Honda Canada that informed me that the synthetic oil was the reason I went through those 3 clutches .

    I do use Castrol full synthetic in my cars and trucks and have been for well over 20 years . Best investment I ever made in maintaining my cars , costs more but I go way longer between oil changes and it never gets thick in the winter and never leaves gunk deposits.
  3. shanes

    shanes XS650 Enthusiast

    would you use a 10 w 40 in the winter
  4. 5twins

    5twins XS650 Guru Top Contributor

    Yes, you can, but I think I might go with the 15W-40 diesel oil instead.
  5. shanes

    shanes XS650 Enthusiast

    how about slick 50 is that good to use
  6. Orion61

    Orion61 XS650 Addict

    I have used Rislone engine cleaner for decades. It does a fantastic job of cleaning additives/Varnish/Carbon and oxidation inside the crank case!
    I bought a 650 out of a barn that was dirt cheap, the owner swore it was superb "when parked"
    I bought it and spent the next week cleaning it up, changing fluids, new battery etc.
    The day I decided to crank it over, I shot a little oil in each cylinder and kicked it over for a couple minutes before priming it and installing new plugs.
    She popped off and smoked like crazy for a minute... then another minute... then another.
    The fact is it didn't STOP Smoking. It still ran fine but sucked a quart of oil about every 60 miles!!! The clutch would also slip when I got on it. I'm not kidding, the City should have PAID me for Skeeter control!
    I called the seller back and asked what kind of oil he used? He said regular car oil 10-w40. OH GOODY! My Brother in Law swore by Rislone so I figured I had nothing to loose. I mixed up one quart of Rislone, and 1/2 Quart of NO2 Diesel fuel,and 1/2 Qt
    Castrol 20W50 changed oil with that mixture.
    I rode it easy with a couple buddies in their pickup following me. It smoked worse for the first 100 Miles, I had a 2 gallon gas can with the Rislone mixture in it.
    Believe me I needed it!
    After 200 miles the clutch stopped slipping. after another 150 miles it was like a light switch flipped off and it stopped smoking, as a matter of fact it totally quit using oil!!!
    I used Heavy Diesel oil from then on. I sold the bike at close at 40K. It still ran good but was just starting to use a bit of oil again, 1/2 quart between changes, most of it the last
    700 miles.
    I am thinking it was an oil control ring that was stuck. Even at that a quart to 1500 miles is virtually nothing, many bikes leak more than that! (oops 3500 thinking about my car)
    I still flush my engine with either that or (Seafoam/Diesel mix) before storing for the Winter. BTW I have no involvement with any of these companies.. Just a very satisfied customer.
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2014
  7. charleszalan

    charleszalan XS650 New Member

    You're presumably right about the crush washers...
  8. Dave W

    Dave W XS650 New Member

    I have a 75 xs and rebuilt motor about 1000 miles ago and runs fine. I have a oil temp dip stick and am getting temperatures of between 100-120 deg . Is this ok? Am running Motul classic 20W-50 oil
  9. Orion61

    Orion61 XS650 Addict

    How many miles were on it when you rebuilt it?
    What was the problem?
  10. weaselbeak

    weaselbeak XS650 Junkie

    I will run a synthetic oil in any damn thing ever made, old tractors, motorcycles, lawn mowers, cars, whatever. Especially high heat engines. I have more than good luck with engine life. Most motorcycle oils, if I'm not mistaken, are partial synthetics to begin with. Having said this, I prefer to run a synthetic in the colder months ( I'll get a bike out on some days, or just fire them up once in a while for the hell of it), but for summer use I'm with Leo, I run a good 15-40 diesel oil.
  11. ridgerunner1965

    ridgerunner1965 XS650 Addict

    i have never used a syn oil yet.too expensive.i dont run my motors hard or in bad conditions.i still have a lot of super tech oil wal mart sold for 78 cents a quart.it goes in my cars and trucks which i dont run too hard. 15-40 deisel oil goes in my xs, bulldozer, backhoe, and nissan car. all though i buy 10-30 for my car for winter.

    syn oils are a joke unless yu run your engines hard under extreme condidtions.my dad never heard of syn oils and never blew up a engine in his life.he is 80 plus years old.he has maybe 30 motors running rite now.from duetz tractors to massey tractors and several farm trucks down to generators and lawn mowers.
  12. weaselbeak

    weaselbeak XS650 Junkie

    I live in Iowa, and I consider 17* below zero to be extreme conditions at 6 AM when the wife is leaving work 30 miles from home. I also consider 98* above zero in August to be extreme when traveling on my motorcycle. You won't find one damn fossil fuel lubricant at NASA, for a reason, and GM doesn't spend all that extra money to put synthetic oil in a Vette for no reason. Most motorcycle people who aren't geriatric do use their bikes hard on occasion. I'm 65 and still not afraid of any redlines. All these guys building cafÃ© racers aren't tooling around as if on mopeds.
  13. XS650DL

    XS650DL XS650 Enthusiast

    I realize this is probably an old thread, but let me suggest not spending the money
    on a 27mm socket when a 1 1/16" socket is only half a thousandth larger
    (un-noticeable). It will work perfectly on the drain plugs and the rear axle nut.
    joebgd likes this.
  14. rick8928

    rick8928 XS650 Enthusiast

    Shell Rotella T6 oil
    • Full Synthetic
    • $22 per gallon at WalMart
    • JASO MA (the Japanese standard for motorcycles-no friction modifiers that make clutches slip)
  15. I just changed the oil on my chop. Clutch was slipping a bit, hard to find neutral...used Castrol 15-40 diesel oil. Clutch is much better. I will be using this for the forseeable future. Might try something else down the line too...
  16. Boles44

    Boles44 XS650 Member

    So both plugs only drain oil right? No other fluids?
  17. Boles44

    Boles44 XS650 Member

    so i remove both 27mm plugs and then fill 20w50 through the dipstick hole. I thought the second plug is for tranny. So im asking if i need to fill with different fluid on a different part of the bike?
  18. XS650DL

    XS650DL XS650 Enthusiast

    The engine (and transmission, which is integral) both use the same oil.
    The dip-stick is the only fill hole.
  19. Yes the oil you put in are for both engine and tranny.

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