Triumphrat

eelmgren · 07-05-2008

Time for my first oil change on the Adventurer. I've read the posts about oil and filters. When asked about oil, most everone has said "Use Mobil 1".

My questions are:

(1) My Haynes manual says if I'm going to use full synthetic to use 5W/40. Mobil 1 doesn't show a 5W/40 motorcycle oil on their web page. They've also got two Mobil 1 oils. Which do you use?

(2) What's the real diffenence between motorcycle oil & auto oils?

(3) How often does every change it

cafetbird · 07-05-2008

Ouch - dangerous question - this could get ugly here. This is one of the top questions not to ask in the Triumph forums!

I use the Mobil1 MX4T 10w40 oil - available at most any AutoZone. I spoke to Triumph techs at a RAT Raid once (one of the many perks to attending one), who indicated, off the record, that their is appreciably little difference between this version and the Triumph factory version. That being said, any motorcycle-spec, fully synthetic oil should do the trick.

Please just use the search feature and type in "Mobil 1" or "synthetic oil".

rickj · 07-05-2008

04 Thunderbird sport here- Mobil 4t racing. Pricey but I sleep well! and it is spec'd by my FSM (service manual)
Change every 6000 or every season (yeah we have motorcycle "seasons" upstate NY)
My understanding is that there IS a technical differfence between MC and cage oil. This was a Spectro rep though- he seemed chemically unbiased....check their website see what the info looks like. (They may or may not be unbiased) I believe there is a difference (something about molecule chains ???)

Greaser · 07-05-2008

Motorcycle oils have high pressure additives for the gearbox.
Automotive oils don't AND they have different friction modifiers that can play havoc with a wet clutch.*
I've been using Motul 15/40 year round. I have 70,000+ on the original clutch and I have drag raced the bike.
I change my oil and filter every 5000km.

*So I am told.

NoDice · 07-06-2008

as everyone has said... it is definetly a dicey subject. I use Mobil1 4T... more expensive, but worth the peace of mind.

As mentioned, do a quick search on the forums and you'll find all the opinions you could ask for. For my bike... parts is parts; but I don't F--- around with oil

Adventurer³ · 07-06-2008

Not sure why it's not in the Haynes manual, but it's in the owner's manual for the T-Bird and Adventurers. They recommend Mobil1 4T as the optimum for our bikes. As has been so well put already, it's a different blend than auto oil because it has a slightly different job to do. It lubricates and cools the engine as well as acting as transmission and clutch fluid.

When I bought my bike the previous owner gave me a fresh 4L and oil filter, so I'm not sure how much it costs yet. But personally I don't really care...my motor is still fairly young and I plan on only using the Mobil1 throughout its life. Triumph recommends 6,000mi and I'll probably stick to that, depending on riding conditions.

Uncle Bill · 08-07-2008

I just looked at this thread to see what everyone else was running in their T3s as I'm due for an oil change and wanted to see what I could get at the Zone or Wally World. I hate paying dealer prices. Greaser is right. I asked this question at the dealers about 30 years ago and was told that motorcycle oils have "shear additives" in them for the gearbox and automotive oils don't. Of course this was in the day when the only synthetic readily available was Spectro. Does anyone use or have heard of anyone using Amsoil? I'm a big fan of their other products and run some form of it in practically everything I own (boats gearcase oil, sleds chaincase and injector oils, automatic tranny fluid, etc) I'll go with the Mobil for now but would appreciate any feedback on this matter. Thanks, Bill Remember now, shiny side up!

ssevy · 08-07-2008

I run Royal Purple in my cars, and used it for my last oil change in the Legend as well. Mobil 1 is a great oil, but there are other synthetics that are well known in the racing and engine rebuilding shops, and Royal Purple is one of them. Some of the chains are carrying it now. You could do a search on the web and read about Royal Purple, or just go with the Mobil 1 if it's more convenient. I think that any good synthetic should be fine, especially if you change it every season(it's really the condensation and combustion byproducts that break down the additive packages in the oil, and not the oil itself; any good brand will have a package which will certainly survive a season's running).

cafetbird · 08-07-2008

Any fully synthetic motorcycle specific motor oil should do the trick in the 5w30 to 10w40 variety. Amsoil, Motul, Repsol, Mobil1, Castrol, Spectro... they all have oils designed for this application. The Mobil1 MX4T can be purchased at most auto parts stores.

MarkBartels · 08-07-2008

I am running AMSOIL 10w-40w synthetic motorcycle specific oil in the T-Bird and it has been good for me.