Has anyone found a oil brand that actually quiets the gear wine? A couple bikes ago, I had a brain cramp and put quakerstate 10-40 automotive oil in a wing and was amazed at the instant quieting of the gears....quickly drained that oil out for fear of damaging the clutch...never had clutch problems but the gear wine came back. I've been using Honda oil and have used Amsoil in my NT.
oil recommendations
- Thread starter swingshiftssuck
- Start date
As long as it doesn't say "Energy Conserving" it should be OK. Many Wing owners use Delo or Shell Rotella (both are diesel oils) and claim great results. Some use the synthetic version of Rotella. Having a JASO designation is good.
Warren
2
Gear wine would not be very tasty 
I don't think an engine oil that is ok for the engine is going to quiet the gear whine. I am not even sure if that is the area that the gear whine is coming from. For what its worth I use Shell Rotella T6 synthetic
I don't think an engine oil that is ok for the engine is going to quiet the gear whine. I am not even sure if that is the area that the gear whine is coming from. For what its worth I use Shell Rotella T6 synthetic
I have been using regular Rotella 15-40. It seems to shear less quickly than the T6. I have had the oil analyzed several times and no matter what brand I have used, all the oil analysis reports came back excellent. So far I have tried:
Mobil 1 10-40 4T
Shell Rotella T6 5-40
Shell Rotella 15-40
Valvoline 10-40 4T
Castrol 10-40 4T
All have performed excellently. My favorite is either the conventional Rotella or the Valvoline. I gonna try the Castrol synthetic next.
Hope this helps!
Mike
Mobil 1 10-40 4T
Shell Rotella T6 5-40
Shell Rotella 15-40
Valvoline 10-40 4T
Castrol 10-40 4T
All have performed excellently. My favorite is either the conventional Rotella or the Valvoline. I gonna try the Castrol synthetic next.
Hope this helps!
Mike
Shell Rotella T fan here. I use it in all of my small engines. I did put Rotella T6 in my Bonneville last change. I prefer a synthetic in an air/oil cooled engine.
Of course like Daboo, I use earplugs...
Of course like Daboo, I use earplugs...
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always nice to have comedians on board...actually I have tried a couple of wines that just may have been "gear wines"...anyway...the noise I am referring to is most annoying when riding gently around 50 - 55 mph...dealer said it's the nature of the beast...I find it annoying....but then, sometimes I whine a bit too.
Are you sure it isnt the rear end?
I'm going to switch to Rotella T6 synthetic at my next oil change. I used it for years with my Concours and it worked great. I've been using Honda's full synthetic but Rotella's just as good and much cheaper.
FWIW, I had a Honda Shadow Spirit C2 with shaft drive and it always had a slight gear whine. That was before I wised up and made earplugs mandatory.
Warren
2
Does what is being described as gear whine come from the transmission or gear box or the final drive. I thought it was the final drive since it seems to be related to shaft drive bikes but maybe that's not correct.
Never noticed gear whine on my old NT, but the DR650 has a real loud 3rd gear whine. Tried a couple different types of oil when it was newer and it didn't seem to make a difference in noise.
I have used Rotella T6 5w40 in TU250, DR650, and NT without issue. The DR650 has shorter oil change intervals than the NT. On my big trip I let the T6 sit in there for 4000 miles, which was 1000 miles longer than I normally leave it in there. I wasn't worried at all about it not protecting the engine. I bought some Castrol synthetic 4T 10w40 for the new tiger but I plan on going back to Rotella T6 when all the expensive castrol is gone.
It may have been mentioned already but Rotella T6 has the JASO MA symbol that certifies it is okay for use in motorcycles with wet clutches. I started using the T6 after on the NT after it crossed 4,000 miles. I know that a bike will often shift better after a fresh oil change, but I remember being impressed with how smoothly it shifted the first time I rode it with T6. It was then the only oil that my I put in the NT after that. I always had more than one bike, so I rarely did more then 6K a year on the NT so I just changed it annually at the beginning of spring.
I have used Rotella T6 5w40 in TU250, DR650, and NT without issue. The DR650 has shorter oil change intervals than the NT. On my big trip I let the T6 sit in there for 4000 miles, which was 1000 miles longer than I normally leave it in there. I wasn't worried at all about it not protecting the engine. I bought some Castrol synthetic 4T 10w40 for the new tiger but I plan on going back to Rotella T6 when all the expensive castrol is gone.
It may have been mentioned already but Rotella T6 has the JASO MA symbol that certifies it is okay for use in motorcycles with wet clutches. I started using the T6 after on the NT after it crossed 4,000 miles. I know that a bike will often shift better after a fresh oil change, but I remember being impressed with how smoothly it shifted the first time I rode it with T6. It was then the only oil that my I put in the NT after that. I always had more than one bike, so I rarely did more then 6K a year on the NT so I just changed it annually at the beginning of spring.
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I used 10,000 miles as an oil change interval on both my Connies and the oil was always good at the changes. I never had any wear issues with either of those engines. I use 8,000 as the interval on the NT and it still doesn't use any oil at nearly 110,000 mile. I'll pass 110K on the way home to Colorado tomorrow.
My NT did that, too, My GW trike also does it in some rpm ranges. I tell myself "it's just the 670 Jimmy blower kicking in".
I thought that the wet clutch required some specific additives. Thanks to everyone for the input.
maybe I'll try some Rotella next time...
maybe I'll try some Rotella next time...
Rich
0
Fire a few shots of a Colt 1911 .45 without using earplugs. That should permanently render gear whine inaudible
JohnC
0
You guys think the oil threads are bad here, visit the FJR forums. They are worse than the tire threads. Over there, opinions range from, "I only use Yamalube and the official 'Blessed by Yamaha Elves' Yamaha oil filters" (one poster) to any "Decent MA certified oil will work."
I fall into the latter category. I use Rotella T6 and Purolater Pure One oil filters. My only complaint about T6 is that it doesn't come in 5 quart containers. On the other hand, the quart container is handy for filling my lawn mower and 4 stroke weed eater.
I fall into the latter category. I use Rotella T6 and Purolater Pure One oil filters. My only complaint about T6 is that it doesn't come in 5 quart containers. On the other hand, the quart container is handy for filling my lawn mower and 4 stroke weed eater.
[I have had the oil analyzed several times and no matter what brand I have used, all the oil analysis reports came back excellent.]
Mike - at what mileage did you send in your oil samples? Just curious.
Mike - at what mileage did you send in your oil samples? Just curious.
It varied from change to change, never over 8K but between 6-8K. The reports indicated that wear metals were well below spec and TBN's were well below spec so Phil's OCI at 10K is not unrealistic at all.
Mike
I didn't think it was unrealistic with synthetic oils, but it's good to have that confirmed by your experience and oil analyses.
