All About That Motorcycle Oil
Streetbike engines may be air-cooled or liquid-cooled, use separate primary drives and gearboxes or unitized transmissions and clutches, and either have or eschew catalytic converters. When it’s time for an oil change, pick the product that’s right for the job.
Motorcyclist Magazine
The most expensive motorcycle component is the engine, so it’s ironic that the engine is dependent on the cheapest thing you can buy for your bike—new oil. Here are some good reasons to change your motorcycle oil: If your bike’s under warranty, you need to keep up with the service requirements in the manual to keep that warranty in effect. And even if you’ve had your bike for years, you’ll want to safeguard your investment by keeping the engine in good shape. Which brings us back to that inexpensive, sweet, essential oil. There’s a dizzying array of brands, viscosities, and ratings to consider, so start by consulting your owner’s manual—or online, if you don’t have one—to select the correct oil grade and rating. And then do it. You’ll be glad you did.
Race-Derived Engine Oil
This 1 quart of 10w-40 full-synthetic engine oil is race-derived with ultimate performance in mind.
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Castrol is well known for its engine oil and has ultimately designed it to protect your motorcycle with “Trizone technology,” which essentially translates to an oil that protects your four-stroke engine, clutch, and gearbox. With it being a race-derived engine oil, you can make sure your motorcycle’s internals are up to snuff. This is a 10w-40 full-synthetic oil, so be sure to consult your manual to ensure this suits the specs of your motorcycle. The oil is claimed to exceed API SL and JASO MA-2 requirements.
V-twin Protection
Exceeding the API service categories SH, SG/CF, and CD, this is an engine oil fit for the V-twin in your life—after a perusal of the manual, of course.
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Can you ever have too much motorcycle oil? This Mobil 1 engine oil comes in a case of six 1-quart jugs, ensuring that your garage will be stocked up. Recommended for use in four-stroke V-twins it is stated that this oil is “optimized for the unique requirements of a motorcycle engine and/or transmission.” Further, this is a 20w-50 oil appropriate for use in the engine, primary chaincase, and transmission.
Modern Four-Stroke Oil
Motul developed its first fully synthetic oil in 1971, so yeah, you can say it has more than a few years of experience recorded on its synthetic engine oil résumé.
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Since it utilizes technology derived from both on- and off-road race teams, this Motul 7100 10w-40 oil is an oil suitable for high-performance sport, off-road, trail, and endurance four-stroke engines with integrated or non-integrated gearboxes. This 10w-40 oil is also claimed to have improved sheer resistance which helps protect your gears, and increase overall engine reliability.
Contemporary Oil
The Maxima Premium4 10w-40 motorcycle engine oil is suitable for both air- and water-cooled four-cycle engines with integrated gearboxes and clutches.
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Maxima is known for its dedication to “high-performance products,” and this Premium4 10w-40 motorcycle engine oil’s formula is created from a premium petroleum base. It exceeds JASO MA M/C 4T (for four-stroke bike engines with integrated gearbox and clutch) and API SG/CC (engines built after 1993) specifications. The oil has anti-scuff additives to withstand extreme loads and peak temperatures in high-performance motors.
