| Author | Message | ||
     Mr_incognito |
Ok so about a week ago, I was riding with a bunch of friends on a saturday night. Pretty casual riding, until towards the end of the night when they decided to do some fast highway riding. So they all take off and I take off with them, drop it down into 3rd gear and pin it. At about 6k, my clutch slips out and I have no power, it just bounces off the rev limiter. So I drop back to the speed limit and start thinking wtf is going on here? This bike is only 4 months old and only has 5k miles on it, theres no way the clutch is going out already....I was about 30 miles from home, and periodically on the way I would downshift and pin it to see if it was still slipping...sure enough it was. So I got home and called my buddy whos a mechanic and started talking to him about it, telling him what it did and why it might be doing it. He said it sounded like the clutch was going out, but he asked me what kind of oil I was running because maybe it wasnt "adequate" for the vtwin....so I tell him Repsol (been a huge Repsol fan in all my 4cyl bikes) and he tells me to go back to the recommended oil before taking it in for a burnt up clutch. Moral of the story, I drained the Repsol, put the SE Syn3 back in it and the damn bike runs like brand new again....now im not complaining, but why would the fully synthetic HD crap make it run so much better?? Is there something about the clutch that it only likes that oil?? Also another thing was that with the Repsol I noticed that the bike almost had that "sludge" feel to it. Like the oil was sludgy and was holdin my power down a bit... Anyways im just curious if anyone has any knowledge on why this would happen? Doesnt make a whole lot of sense to me, but I am happy that my bike is back to normal  | ||
| Dtx |
Mr. I am no oil expert, but I have heard that some synthetic oils can actually be too "slippery" for the clutch. If yours is running fine now with the Syn 3 in it, then that may have been the case in your situation. I like running the Syn 3 in mine because its recommended, plus it actually says on the bottle its for use in transmissions (clutches). On other brands I have not seen that language on the bottle. Aren't some of those other oils designed to be used in the "motor" only? | ||
| Fresnobuell |
+1 Dtx....many motor oil-only oils have friction modifiers (additives for better lubrication, I believe) that can play havoc with your clutch. Syn3, Amsoil, Mobil 1 V-Twin will all work. There is a rating that the bottle will have on it that tells you it is okay to be used in clutch/tranny/motor situations, but I can't remember what it is. I had a similiar situation with my XB and when I went back to Formula 1 in the gearbox, everything went back to normal. | ||
| Adoogie3 |
I use royal purple race oil.Its for wet clutches.so it says on the bottle.Ive noticed a couple times that when i shifted to 4th from 3rd my bike seemed like it was in neutral and i had to shift again.has anyone else had this problem? | ||
| Jpfive |
"..full synthetic HD crap..." ... ? Apparently not. Jack | ||
| Bigeasy |
Royal purple here also. Never had a problem with many track days under her belt. Check to see if your clutch cover is leaking dot 4. Now that I do have a problem with in my bike. Even after the updated part. I have noticed that my bike runs cooler with the royal purple in it. | ||
| Palerider |
My brother's used Repsol in his Honda 1000RR since he bought it a couple years ago and has had no problems.Motul and Repsol are sold at bike dealers whose bikes are predominantly wet clutch/tranny/engine type machines. Why would one assume they wouldn't work in the 1125R's engine? Could it be Buell used a clutch material that is more particular to the oil it uses ,and not necessarily be a problem of motor-only type oil? Though strange that Amsoil and Mobil 1 V-Twin work fine,being that Syn3 of course was formulated for H-D. I see that Motul has advertised a new formula lighter in color , but wet clutch compatible. I could see maybe a problem here with a new formula but, they're usually well tested before retail sale. | ||
| Carmell |
Im using the Motul 300 V 4T double ester, with great results. When you read the specs on their site, they actually claim increased friction of the clutch plates. Either way, my engine runs cooler and quiter than before when running Syn 3. | ||
| Mr_incognito |
Thanks for the explanation! Makes sense, I never gave the "friction modifier" a second thought. A buddy of mine is an Amsoil dealer and he told me that he was gonna check around to see if Amsoil would run in my bike, due to the fact that its good oil and 5 dollars cheaper a quart (hence the reason I called HD "crap"..its my bitterness at the price of it lol). Anyways thanks again for the rundown, like I said, im just glad to have my bike feel normal again! | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
Don't forget this is not a Buell motor... Rotax makes engines for many customers- Aprilia, BMW, KTM, Can-Am and many others. It was not designed to operate with any specific brand oil. Following the manufacturer's specifications for the oil is what matters- not the brand. Find a spec oil the bike likes and stick to it- then you'll both be happy. | ||
| Buellnick |
There are many oils that meet the owners manual specs... Currently, I'm using Mobil 1 15W50 4T Racing Oil because I had a gallon left over from my Triumph. I usually use AMSOIL. What is in those HD oil containers that's so special?? I've been told its made by SUNOCO but nobody is talking... BMW does the same thing - packages CASTROL... The dealers I deal with have no issue with putting any oil I want in the bike as long as it meets owner's manual specs. BTW: the service tech has an 1125r and uses AMSOIL. | ||
| Mr_incognito |
Im gonna definatly give AMSOIL a try....my buddy whos a dealer swears by it, and he runs it in his RC51 so I know it holds up good in Vtwins. | ||
| Zac4mac |
I'll be doing the third service next weekend. Loretta has run Syn3 since the 620 mile service, but I'm going to give Red Line a try. I like the different viscosities and I've heard much good about the brand. That, and we carry it... I think maybe it's late enough in the season to drop to 10w40. Summer's almost over. Bummer. Z | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Amsoil makes specific moto oils in 20/50 and 10/40..a little pricier than some of its car oils, but often cheaper than some other premium moto oils.... | ||
| Court |
Modern oils are incredible. Shame that old myths stick with us like cold 50W to iron bore barrels. One of the fellows in the Porsche Club, who is pretty well off the anal retentive charts, has been doing oil analysis at regular intervals on his new car. The evidence is that oil changes at intervals less than 12,000 or 15,000 miles are pretty much a waste of time. I confess to being old school and changing the Mobil 1 and filter in my truck at 3,000 intervals. But at least I KNOW I am wasting my money. I may, staring down the barrel of a #00 oil change at a Porsche dealer, rethink my old ways. | ||
| Bud |
motul V300 15w50 the best so far ever tested. told me by the guys who know expencive but very good. | ||
| Doubled |
told me by the guys who know And that would be whom? | ||
| Doubled |
Motul, V300 Factory line 15w50 oil, 4-stroke competition lubricant, double ester technology, developed for the leading factory teams. Lower friction for increased power. Exceptional film strength to protect the engine and gear box. Perfect for oil wet clutches. advised by the Buell Racing department for race use Sold per liter Nevermind. Found it on your site!!! |
