0W40 Full Synthetic Yamaha Sled Oil

[PLAZACYCLEJOSH]

I live in the Salt Lake City area of Utah and having used 0W30 and 0W40 sled oils in 4 stroke Yamaha snow machines I decided to start using it in my bike for when I ride on these frigid winter days.

I have to let my bike get up to operating temperature before riding it anyways and I understand the science behind multi-weight oils.

I just wanted to open the topic up for discussion and opinion

 

[mydlyfkryzis]

If the bike is stored outside below 0 deg. F, then the 0w oil is good for the cold start. Once you are running, the 0w means nothing. the 40 is the viscosity once the engine is warmed up.

If you are garage storing the bike, relatively warm, then the 0W is no benefit or harm.

However, being synthetic, it may cause clutch slippage. The sleds don't have wet clutches. If you find the clutch slipping, go back to a motorcycle oil.

The other issue is the oil may drain back pretty well, leaving some bearings dry on start-up. What does the owners manual call for for cold weather? No one ever went wrong following the manual.

 

[bradj]

Yea your clutch isn't going to work at all and the fiber discs will need cleaned or they will burn up

 

[ex119x]

Yea your clutch isn't going to work at all and the fiber discs will need cleaned or they will burn up

Really ? Why is that? I have never had a clutch failure caused by oil.

 

[SONICJK]

Depends on the oil.
Most modern synthetic oils designed for cars have friction modifiers in them that make them "too" slippery for the wet clutch to deal with.

 

[ex119x]

I find this interesting in that I run the Rotella full synthetic or the Amsoil full synthetic in my race bikes and have never had a clutch fail due to the oil. Of course I have only been racing with the Rotella for the past 7 or 8 years so maybe I will have issues soon. But, since I started using Amsoil in my race bikes about 30 years ago, I am skeptical that full synthetics cause clutch failure. I have run it in singles, twins and I 4s, both air and liquid cooled. So, I guess it could be a problem with triples, I have never raced one of those. I have noticed that marginal strength springs and worn plates may not continue to work with synthetic oil, but that is not the fault of the oil, that is just a maintenance issue.

 

[teazer]

It's not whether or not it's synthetic that matters. It's the friction modifiers. And if a clutch didn't slip with dino oil but does with synthetic then that's a pretty good indication that it's not maintenance alone.

Sled oils are designed to stay fluid at very low temps that bikes will rarely see. I'd stick to a recommended bike oil in the appropriate grade.

 

[PLAZACYCLEJOSH]

The oil that I am using does not have a JASO MA rating. I believe that the MA rating just signifies that the oil and additives to that oil do not exceed a standardized friction point.

Most motorcycle engine oils meet this rating including full synthetic oils, for example the same yamalube full synthetic in 15W50 and 15W30 have the MA rating and also all of the amsoil, redline, and motul synthetic motorcycle oils have the MA rating.

I am not sure on the rating for the rotella; however it has come highly recommended on every forum that I have read, which led me to using the 0W40.

So far I have had no clutch engagement or slippage problems and I have put about 600 miles on the oil.

I started using the oil just for these cold weather months when I stay up at cabins in Logan/Bear Lake or Park City it is 0 to 10 degrees and I want the start up protection. I will be switching back to the 15W50 yamalube full synthetic that carries the JASO MA rating in mid march when snowmobile season slows down.