In case you are interested Castrol Pow 1 10w-30 now on sale from Nielsen at only £26.39 inc VAT. Ring 01792 818414 or order on the web pay with PayPal with free delivery if you order three. Castrol Power 1 Racing 4T 10W-30 Motorcycle Engine Oil 4L Do I get paid for this. Regards, Rob.
Who said that though ? My dealer used it at the first service and Castol list it as the premium recommended oil. I've read a lot on forums about semi v fully synthentic but it all seems like hearsay and old wives tales to me. Why do they produce premium oils if they are no good ? Cost versus benefit is a different argument. It may be unnecessary and a waste of money but the way I see it is this is a high spec motor with a 13000 red line and me sitting on top of it ! I'll give the best oil I can. The cost difference doesn't amount to much compared to the cost of petrol it consumes.
My dealer said Honda recommended 10/30 fully synthetic, so in it went and that's what I'll be running from now on.
Opie oils,, JHS racing, Tim blakemore racing. So someone who knows their oils, and 2 local companies that have about 40+ years of racing and mechanic experience over me. Agreed their is lots out their on oils so that's why I got more experiences advice before I mad my choice
The problem with using fully synthetic oil on a wet clutch bike is there is a high probablilty that it wil cause clutch slip!! Remember a few years ago, a work colleague would always use fully synthetic oil on his Blackbird rather than the semi that the dealer recommended. One day he experienced clutch slip to the extent of not being able to ride the bike. He started replacing all sorts of items on the bike in order to find a cure to the problem, he wasnt ware that it was a clutch plate related issue. Eventually he took it to a dealer who eventually diagnosed the problem being the clutch plates due to the use of fully synthetic oil. He had to have all of the clutch plates replaced even though the bike had done very few miles!!
No offence but this is what I mean by hearsay and old wives tales. Do you really believe Castrol, a huge oil company, would recommend an oil that would cause clutch slip ? Use of a car oil designed for dry clutches maybe but not a bike specific oil. Good sources certainly. Did they give reasons and details of detrimental effects or just say save your money it's not worth it ? I'm really interested in this as it seems to be one of those huge internet topics with no definitive answer. (next one coming up soon will be 'leave your bike alone over winter or start it up regularly' lol)
My take although not qualified to offer any scientific breakdown of this issue is that perhaps Castrol make this product with the Race Bike engine in mind .So race it strip it down and rebuild ect .
This thread seems quite an interesting debate, from where my what oil thread left off. I'd heard similar arguments to this before, but you never get a definitive answer!
Here is castrol's ans to this question about Fully Synthetic oil in the Fireblade. Modern bike oils go through rigorous tests to ensure wet clutch compatibility - after API SG ( API being American Petroleum Institute - a CAR specific specification ), which was the specification adopted by the Japanese as there was no specific bike one - after SG they started putting additives into the oils to reduce the friction, fine in cars where you want fuel efficiency, but bad in bikes using the oil for wet clutches - so the Japanese introduced some specific wet clutch performance tests - JASO MA, which has been uprated latterly to JASO MA-2. Any bike oil should have this JASO spec as that confirm that the frictional characteristics are suitable for wet clutches - also for engines and gearboxes which is also part of the same lube system. All Castrol 4 stroke bike oils are JASO MA-2 and many of our tests are done on Fireblade and SP2 engines. Clutches also don't last forever - you'll probably find that even changing to a new part synthetic, or even mineral oil would be enough to tip a clutch over the edge if it was on it's last legs anyway - and of course, the oil would get the blame. A lot of what's on the internet is hearsay ( I heard it from a bloke down the pub so it must be right ) or based on 90% of the facts - it was a car synthetic he used ... Etc. I am on quite a few Forums being a biker myself, but there is such a lot of half truths and misinformation - and always someone who knows better ( because a mate told him )so I just let them get on with it. Use the recommended bike specific oil, change it regular, keep it topped up - job done. Honda don't spend millions in development costs to recommend an oil that makes the clutch slip and Castrol developed the new Power 1 Racing 10W-30 specifically with Honda for Honda Fireblades ( hence the sticker on the frame recommending it ) - more power and efficiency ... and they suggest that it's backwards compatible for their other models although I normally have a rule of thumb of bikes around 2000 and newer. Hope that helps Kind regards Andy Griffin Automotive Lubricants - UK & Ireland Lubricants - Advanced Technical Support T: 0845 0821719 Email: [email protected] Engine Oil and Lubricants Castrol UK - Engine Oil and Lubricant Products
Exactly honda ima, Andy, and that's why I'm running fully synthetic 10/30. Think that should clear it up now guys.
Andy, thank you very much for your explanation. Can you answer what may be a dumb question. My bike is 9 years old but new to me, with 13k on the clock. I have it's service history but there are scant detail as to what oil has been used in it's life up to this point. Should I wish to use Power 1 Racing on my next change, are there any extra preparations I should make beforehand, engine flush etc. The reason I ask is that I once tried fully synth on a car after it had run on standard for all its life and it immediately started to burn through it like petrol. Whenever I buy a new car I ask for fully synth from brand spanking but I'm never sure about upgrading from existing. As I said, this may be a dumb one but I can't resist expoiting your job description, mate. Cheers Ken
Hi Ken, (All) Sorry for any misunderstanding I am not Andy, I emailed Castrol and this was the immediate response I obtained. From Andy. Regards, Honda.ima I am just a teddy
