Motorcycle Oil?

Guy, I came across this article regarding Mercedes Benz's diesel Bluetec engine. But the writer, also, makes some interesting statements (including using motorcycle oil) that seem to apply to diesel engines across the board.

Some of the issues he described sounds like what's happened to my current Jetta's engine: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?p=5393543#post5393543

Just wondering if any of you came across this article and what were your thoughts? Here is the article: http://www.stephensservice.com/bluetec-diesel-issuesproblems/

That guy is a quack. I wouldn't waste any more time reading his rants.

I put diesel oil on my motorcycle.

That clown is a well known nut job. I would not place any merit in anything he says.

"Motorcycle oil" typically means a type of motor oil that can be both a lubricant for the engine AND a lubricant for the transmission that typically has wet clutches. So it is a bit of a specific blend that really does not apply to car engines. And I am pretty sure there are some motorcycles that do not have a common lubricant for both the engine and transmission.

oilhammer said:

That clown is a well known nut job. I would not place any merit in anything he says.
"Motorcycle oil" typically means a type of motor oil that can be both a lubricant for the engine AND a lubricant for the transmission that typically has wet clutches. So it is a bit of a specific blend that really does not apply to car engines. And I am pretty sure there are some motorcycles that do not have a common lubricant for both the engine and transmission.

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Motorcycles that have seperate transmissions include the classic British bikes, big Harleys and 2-cyl BMW's, among many others.

The spec that applies to Motorcycle oil is JASO - the same oil will work for the engine internals as well as clutch / transmission lubricration. Some of our popular oils have this in them as well - Shell Rotella T6 is one example.

Yes - I ride a motorcycle as well (1998 Honda GL1500C Valkyrie).

Wow! T/C's glowing for an hour after shut down! I only skimmed that article but that caught my eye. That alone tells me the guy is fulla beans.

I thought this thread was going to be about adding 2 stroke oil to the fuel.

scooperhsd said:

The spec that applies to Japanese Motorcycle oil is JASO - the same oil will work for the engine internals as well as clutch / transmission lubricration. Some of our popular oils have this in them as well - Shell Rotella T6 is one example.

Yes - I ride a motorcycle as well (1998 Honda GL1500C Valkyrie).

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Fixed that for ya. Pretty sure Triumph, BMW, Harley Davidson, KTM, etc. don't care about any Japanese oil standards (Japanese Engine Oil Standards Implementation Panel (JASO) ).

Thanks.

The Jaso standard is important in a bike that has a wet clutch. Most newer oils have friction reducers that poison the clutch and make it slip. I use rotella 15w-40 in my bike because of the Jaso standard and the shear factor is better than many other oils. If the transmission shares the same oil as the engine it will eventually shear down to the lowest viscosity listed on the jug. I use it because it is cheap like me and fits the bill in this case.

But I wondered off topic a little. Motorcycle oils are made to withstand air cooled temperatures and have better shear factor. They are wet clutch friendly and likely contain less friction reducers and more ash or other things that will clog a converter on a modern diesel. I would not recommend motorcycle oil in a diesel due to those factors, and the cost.

In my former 2002 TDI Jetta I used, a mixture of PowerService silver, 1 ounce of 2 Stroke motor oil and DieselKleen.
Having done that religiously I believe saved my engine many years ago when a gas jockey put gas in my car. It stopped on the highway in the middle of nowhere. Had the car towed and the tank emptied. Then refilled with Diesel. Engine was still 100% two years ago when I bought my Passat.
Btw: That was the last time I had someone else fill my tank. Except in Mexico where you do not fill yourself but I keep a close eye on the attendant.

pdq import repair said:

I put diesel oil on my motorcycle.

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I've been putting the oil IN the motorcycle instead of ON it. Been easier to stay on the seat that way.
I use the same DelVac 1 5w-40 as the TDI. Both the Kawasaki Concours 1000 and the Honda ST1300 seem to get along great on it. No clutch slippage.

I read those articles a while back, sounds like he has a bone to chew with Mercedes and the US government oil mandates. One thing I found interesting, I believe it was Noacktivity factor[by memory, something like that]. It measures when or how much oil vapors off. Which seems relative to turboed engines that heat the oil. Oil vaporizing in a turbo or "steaming" and causing high crankcase pressures sounds like something to avoid. It shows up on the oil Material Data Sheets, but not safety data. He said, I beieve, 5% or better was good. Anybody else familiar with that?