OzSTOC
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Streak on April 02, 2014, 10:35:12 AM
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Howdy All,
have a (hide now), Oil Question.....
I am running in my 2006 ST1300 Shell Helix HX5 15W-40 Diesel Oil, what i want to know is would it be ok to run the same oil in Teela's 1993 Kawasaki ZZR250?
or from all you learnered people what would you run in it?
here is the response i got from the Kawasaki 250 Forum
Hey Streak
The Manual states 10W-40, 10W-50, 20W-40 and 20W-50, plenty of choices there, swing by your local bike shop and see what they have available
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Any 15-40 oil would be fine. If it works in the 1300 then it will be ok in the 250.
The Diesel oils have hifger zinc and other stuff designed for the harsh diesel environment, so will be fine in the bikes, and in fact the oil should last longer in the bike.
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If they recommend an SAE 10W-40 or a 20W-40 then the SAE 15W-40 fits the viscometric requirments, it'll be just a little thinner at low temperatures than the SAE 20W-40 and just a little thicker at low temperatures than the SAE 10W-40 (and we're talking viscosities at -20, -15 and -10 deg C there).
One thing the diesel engine oil doesn't address is the requirement for a JASO MA spec oil for a bike, that's a friction modification spec to meet the requirements of the wet clutch. I know many ST riders use diesel engine oil, just don't know how it will work in the Kwaka. If she has clutch problems she might need a change to a 4 stroke motorbike oil which meets Jaso MA.
Mutligrade diesel engine oils (Shell Rotella, Caltex DELO 400 etc) always meet the requirements for petrol engined vehicles as well - the truck fleet owner will want to use the one oil across his diesels and in his own car as well.
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If the oil had friction modifiers, (which it doesnt) it would be a problem in the ST (which it isnt)
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JASO MA is is something the oil companies have to pay for if they use it on the oil container, so unlikely a diesel oil will pay for this, especially if they also sell an oil with a bike on the front for more money! In the US some companies like Shell do say their diesel oils meet the MA specification,as they are very popular over there, but Shell don't seem to sell their motorcycle oils in the US for some reason.
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I just looked at some Penrite oils in a local shop, and the 10W-40 and 15W-50 semi synthetic diesel oils have the MA rating, as do a few of their normal car oils, as well as the 10 10th full synthetic oils 10W-40 and 15W-50.