what oil do you run in your 2 strok bottom end?

[dnchevyman]

Hey everyone, ive been riding quads for a few years, just picked up my first bike this week. A 2004 YZ 250. Im gonna go through and service it, what type of lower end oil do you use? i was checking out Castrol MX 10-40, its what the yammy dealer mechanic suggested. And i know its been beat to death, but i run a 32:1 ratio in my fuel, is this correct for this bike?

Also, how do i measure fork and rear shock oil levels? What are some other things i need to regularly mantain on a bike beside chain and sprockets? Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks guys.

B.T.W- this bike will be ridden out in the desert in nevada, dunno if that matters or not.

 

[ruffryder19]

All my bikes I run bel ray 80sae.The castrol 10-40 is perfect, just change it every 2 good rides. 32:1 ratio is perfect. Keep the air filter clean, and oily.air bleed the fork tubes, and clean the dust seals once in a while. Grease up the linkage bearings, and head set. My buddy has the same bike, its been raced for 2 seasons, and he just put a new top end in, those bikes can take a beating for sure.

 

[dnchevyman]

change it every 2 good rides????????? ur saying i should change my tranny oil after every 2 rides? im not racing, just playing around in the desert. and what do i remove to bleed the forks? what do you mean by greasing the linkage bearings and head set? sorry for the dumb questions.

 

[njrealtor55]

yes, change the trans fluid every other ride.

i run ATF-type F. my old kx just likes it better. i tried gearsaver on the last ride and the shifting was notchy and i couldn't find neutral easily. so, i am sticking with the ATF. make sure to use the type F or type FA if you use the ATF.

i run 40:1 using amsoil intecepter. works great in everything I own - chainsaw, weedeater, racing jetskis, dirtbikes etc...

 

[shadow171]

First, get a repair manual, that will answer a lot of ? for you. Use what motor oil you are comfortable with. There is a ton of info on oil here, do a search and you'll be busy for hours. the air bleed screw is on top of the fork, the clicker is in the center and the bleed screw is next to it. :cool:

 

[bleeds]

I use dexron III works fine in my bike, and makes it shift much better than motor oil...I change mine about every other ride.,.sometimes after the 3rd. I dont race either. Better safe than sorry, it only take a few mins to do, and the tranny fluid is about 2 bucks a quart. My bike holds less than a quart...but to each his own..
Bleeds

 

[jimmy 420]

amsoil 10 40 synthetic i all ways use amsoil just cause i hav always had good luck with it

 

[robwbright]

Mobil 1 Extended Performance in the bottom. I buy it at Wal Mart for $5.25+/-

Mobil 1 Racing 2T in the top. I buy it at Auto Zone for $6.99.

I've went 5-6 rides and the oil was still very clean. I'm not saying its a good idea, I'm just saying that it might not be necessary.

I note that oil companies recommend every 3000 miles on cars for good old non-synthetic oil, but Honda recommends every 7500 miles for both my cars. Both my cars have approx 150,000 miles and run very well and use very little oil, if any. I also note that BMWs now have a computer which tells you when to change the oil. The Car and Driver article I saw said that the computer asked for a 1st oil change at something like 15,351 miles. This was with synthetic, of course.

Dad's been working on cars and motorcycles of all types for 40+ years. He thinks I'm crazy to change it after 5 rides . . . ;)

Anyway, the point of this rambling is that I don't really think a good synthetic oil is breaking down in two rides - even in a 2 stroke 125. Clutch problems may be another issue . . .

Maybe I'm wrong but it seems to work for us.

 

[NWMyers#5]

I use Golden Spectra 10W-40 in my KX and have never had any problems except for when I dumped it in the creek and filled my engine with water. I changed my oil every ride after that for about 5 or 6 rides till I was satisfied there was no more nasties in the gearbox.

 

[ellandoh]

bleeding the air out of the forks is NOT getting all the air out , basically just the pressure . after riding alot , air gets past the seals and builds pressure in the forks. to get rid of it you put the bike on a stand so the forks are extended and release the pressure.

 

[dnchevyman]

bleeding the air out of the forks is NOT getting all the air out , basically just the pressure . after riding alot , air gets past the seals and builds pressure in the forks. to get rid of it you put the bike on a stand so the forks are extended and release the pressure.

is there a screw you have to loosen to release the pressure???

 

[ellandoh]

is there a screw you have to loosen to release the pressure???

top of the forks there is a flathead screw that will be your clicker settings, and another that you remove, my old bike had an airvalve like a tire

 

[crashnburn]

Change mine every other ride, whether racing or trail riding. I agree synthetics don't break down that quickly but 1. I stay away from synthetics in my clutch and 2. those clutches throw a lot of debris and the oil is saturated after one or two rides. I use rotella 15w40 but there are a ton of good oils out there. As far as the fork bleeding you can get some bleeders from motion pro? and moose where you don't have to remove the screw every time, just push on the valve. Other than that enjoy riding.

 

[robwbright]

1. I stay away from synthetics in my clutch

To each his own, but here's Rich's take on Mobil 1 and clutches:

http://www.ericgorr.com/techarticles/mototech_june_1999.htm

"I've run Mobil 1 15w50 in my YZ400 since April 98 with excellent results. I'm a notorious clutch abuser (I still fan it like it's a 125), and haven't found the clutch to be a problem, in spite of rumors that the YZ has a weak clutch. From the reports I've gotten from other people running Mobil 1 SJ my experience seems to be the norm."

Conclusion was:

"Mobil 1 automotive SJ rated 15w50 is a high quality oil that will serve you well in most situations"

 

[i_955]

Your 2 strokes don't have oil filters, change it every 2 days of riding.
Your riding in extremely dusty conditions without a filter.
I use a less expensive 10W40 motorcycle specific Deno oil mixed with ATF-F and spend maybe $15-$20 a month to keep two 2 strokes in fresh oil.
Hell, thats less than the price of 4 stroke oil filters for a month!!!

 

[Henka]

synthetic in my motorcycle engine Newer! I'm a MC dragracer aswell. and i know by Fact's that synthetic oil makes the clutch to slip every time it's used in dragracing with powerfull engine's!! And that's a known fact among mc dragracer's. so i dont want to put that in my mx either it just make the clutch to f...up quicker

 

[Masterphil]

Sorry, Henka, but your fact does not agree with the fact that is. Synthetics are a favorite for hundreds of of motorcycle riders around the world. They offer a superior film stregnth, high load carrying capacity, and better resistence to high heat than dino oils. I have never heard of I incidence of someone's clutch slipping soley because of using synthetic oil.

This past weekend I was doing a comparison between Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF, some no-name dino oil, and Mobil 1 15-50 full synthetic (the stuff with the gold cap). I was trying to judge the oils base on clutch feel and shifting feel, because any of the oils will offer enough protection/lubrication in a 2-stroke gearbox application. To make sure that the placebo effect wasn't to blame, I had my dad randomly pick one of the three, change the oil, and not tell me what he put into the bike until we had finished testing all 3 oils. I felt like the Mobil 1 15-50 full synthetic had a much more posative feel when shifting that the no-name dino oil, and slightly better feel than the ATF. I also noticed that the clutch was a little stiffer feeling with the oils than it was with the ATF, the Mobil-1 15-50 full syn gave me a better feel to the clutch than the dino oil. It made the clutch feel a little more grabby, and I had to pay more attention when I was fanning it out of a corner. All in all, I would rate them as Mobil 1 15-50 full syn is the winner, follwoed by Mobil 1 synthetic ATF, and lastly comes in the generic dino oil.


EDIT:
It has just occured to me that when you mentioned Synthetics causing clutches to slip that you might be confusing "energy conserving" synthetics with synthetics that don't contain these addatives. The blend of Mobil 1 full synthetic that I am talking about here is not an "energy conserving" oil.

 

[i_955]

EDIT:
It has just occured to me that when you mentioned Synthetics causing clutches to slip that you might be confusing "energy conserving" synthetics with synthetics that don't contain these addatives. The blend of Mobil 1 full synthetic that I am talking about here is not an "energy conserving" oil.

I was thinking the same as I read it.

I've witnessed clutch plates ruined by "energy conserving" oil.

The only reason I'm using Dino oil is cost. The difference in cost between Dino and Full Synthetic is high enough for me to choose Dino as I'm changing it so often. Dino works just fine and the ATF additive makes clutch work and shifting more smooth and enjoyable.

 

[Masterphil]

In a 2-stroke gearbox application, you can run pretty much anything, provided you change it often. A person who is using no-name dino oil and changes it every ride is still much better off (both $ and parts wear) than someone who uses the $10 a quart application specific synthetics that changes it every few rides. I guess the real take home point is use what you want, but do change it often.

 

[Henka]

I was thinking the same as I read it.

I've witnessed clutch plates ruined by "energy conserving" oil.

The only reason I'm using Dino oil is cost. The difference in cost between Dino and Full Synthetic is high enough for me to choose Dino as I'm changing it so often. Dino works just fine and the ATF additive makes clutch work and shifting more smooth and enjoyable.

last time I tried mobil 1! On the strip. my clutch sliped so much that my friends asked me if I was driving with my fingers on the clutch lever. and that was on the first try out. but I'm talking about a bike with 270 hp