Monster 796 oil

Hey guys,

After hopefully some easy advice

I'm going to give my 796 a service soon, it will be my first time doing it myself as its my first bike, and wondered what oil to use, I've read lots of comments on Amsoil, Red line and Silkolene being brilliant, but wondered if they'd be ok to use?

Has anyone experience with them?

I'm considering going with 10w40 as it seems to have more choice than 15w50

Also what Brake/Clutch oil is good?

Many thanks
Richy

Don't use oil in the brake and clutch!

[Mr Gazza]

Brake fluid is generally refered to as...er...Fluid, rather than oil.

Not sure whats in it, but it is a cocktail of all sorts of wierd stuff.
There are two things you need to know about it.
1) It is hygroscopic. That is to say it attracts and absorbs moisture. So it needs to be in a sealed container or hydrualic system at all times.
2) It will have the paint off anything it touches. So be really careful not to spill a drop when you are topping up or changing it.

Just use a recognised brand of DOT4 Fluid

As for the lubricant...The choice is yours.
I use Castrol Power 1 racing 10w/40. That's a fully synthetic oil. The Power 1 is semi-synthetic. Both are fine for an air cooled two valver.

Not sure if a 796 has a wet or dry clutch. If you have a wet clutch you must only use a motorcycle specific oil, as car types may cause the clutch to slip....Synthetics are worse for that.

Originally Posted by bluestoesonnose

Don't use oil in the brake and clutch!

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

Brake fluid is generally refered to as...er...Fluid, rather than oil.

Not sure whats in it, but it is a cocktail of all sorts of wierd stuff.
There are two things you need to know about it.
1) It is hygroscopic. That is to say it attracts and absorbs moisture. So it needs to be in a sealed container or hydrualic system at all times.
2) It will have the paint off anything it touches. So be really careful not to spill a drop when you are topping up or changing it.

Just use a recognised brand of DOT4 Fluid

As for the lubricant...The choice is yours.
I use Castrol Power 1 racing 10w/40. That's a fully synthetic oil. The Power 1 is semi-synthetic. Both are fine for an air cooled two valver.

Not sure if a 796 has a wet or dry clutch. If you have a wet clutch you must only use a motorcycle specific oil, as car types may cause the clutch to slip....Synthetics are worse for that.

Whoops, meant fluid just got mixed up haha

The 796 has a wet clutch, so should I avoid fully synthetic oils? Or are motorcycle specific fully synth oils ok for wet clutches?

Thanks for the advice guys much appreciated!

[Mr Gazza]

I used Castrol Power 1 Racing (full Synth) in a 118bhp wet clutch bike bike with no problems. But my Monster is dry clutch so no worries there.

Problems occur when folk try car oils in their wet clutches..Generally speaking if you use a MOTORCYCLE oil you will be okay.

There are numbers and specs to look for like "JASO" I think, but I can't quote reliably from memory...Others will be along..

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

I used Castrol Power 1 Racing (full Synth) in a 118bhp wet clutch bike bike with no problems. But my Monster is dry clutch so no worries there.

Problems occur when folk try car oils in their wet clutches..Generally speaking if you use a MOTORCYCLE oil you will be okay.

There are numbers and specs to look for like "JASO" I think, but I can't quote reliably from memory...Others will be along..

I've just noticed the Shell Advance Ultra 4t recommended in the workshop manual is fully synth.

I'm pretty sure the previous owner went for as cheap a service as possible before p/x ing the bike, the oil filter is honda i think, and the belts were not done, I've had a few incidents changing gear where it missed, which may be down to me being a new rider or could be oil.

I've seen JASO pop up in discussions, along with API.

Red line is said to be brilliant for silky smooth gear changes, just wanted to know if it would be suitable

Thanks again for your help

[Darren69]

I'm using Motul 300V 15W50 in my S4 and had been recommended by Ducati expert Neil as the best oil to use in the 4 valvers anyway. 10W40 will will be too thin, ideally you want to use a 50 grade 15 or 20W50 motorcycle oil.

[holty]

Air / oil cooled 1100ds motor - dry clutch
I have been advised to use a good quality fully synth 'motorcycle' oil 15W-50 engine oil in the winter and 20W-50 in the summer due to the engine tolerances and stresses. If I was only doing the one oil change per year then stick with the 15W-50. With every oil change I always fit a new Hiflo 153 oil filter. (There are others)
Air/oil cooled engines prefer a slightly more viscous oil to aid its smooth running.

[utopia]

The thing about full synth oils is that they often contain friction modifiers which can cause a wet clutch to slip.
Shell Advance Ultra 4T doesn't though, so although its fully synthetic its fine for dry clutch bikes.
The spec to look for is indeed JASO, followed by a number which I can't remember (either 1 or 2).
The whole full-synth vs semi-synth thing is a bit misleading as its not actually the main criterion (as far as clutch slip is concerned).


edit .....Ooops, the second line above should have said.....
"Shell Advance Ultra 4T doesn't though, so although its fully synthetic its fine for WET CLUTCH bikes."
Sorry if I mislead.

What about Castrol POWER1 4T 10W-40?

Shell advance ultra 4T is semi-synth, putting full synth in an APTC clutch bike causes big problems (belive me cuz I know about it ) as well as slip you can get a horrible gear engagement as if the plates are sticking. I would advice using shell advance.