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Good Oil? Good Oil?
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Yamaha Tech Originally the Yamaha XT600 Tech Forum, due to demand it now includes all Yamaha's technical / mechanical / repair / preparation questions.
Photo by Alessio Corradini, on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, of two locals

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Photo by Alessio Corradini,
on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia,
of two locals



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  #1  
Old 31 May 2004
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Good Oil?
Hello all - just bought am '87 XT600Z Tenere with 33000k. Very happy with it. I do find that it's a bit hard to select neutral when hot. I remember my past TT350's having a similar problem. I used to solve it by using Shell Sport 4 oil. Unfortunately Shell no longer sell this. Any suggestions to what brand of oil I should use?
What a tough best the Tenere is! I have owned several XT600's in the past, but not one of these- there seem to be gussets and extra welding everywhere!
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  #2  
Old 3 Jun 2004
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Hi,

If exteriour temperature is not to cold,
use not under 20W.
For example 20W50 or even 20W-60 if you manage to find it, is the best choice for your bike.
use synthetic as it wiill stand heavier charges on teeth in gearbox, also it will stay clean much longer.
Concerning your bike, on 4th and 5th gear, try to stay above 3500 tr/min, that way gearbox will feel better.
Don't use starter for a long time, use it to start, then as soon you can, switch it off.. oil will remain cleaner, as fuel on cylinder will mix with oil when using starter.
Synthetic oil is less sensible to it anyway.
Also on 86 ténéré 1VJ, best speed on highway is 125 km/h for gearbox and piston etc.

Hope this helps,

By the way, castrol is a very good oil.

Mattias
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  #3  
Old 3 Jun 2004
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Thankyou for the info.

However, I am interested in what people out there think the best BRAND of oil is. The reason I ask this is because my last TT350's were quite particular with what brand they were fed with. Shell Sport 4 is no longer available here in New Zealand. We have reasonably mild weather, it is winter now and would not expect to be riding below 5 deg C. Maximum in Summer is about 30 deg. C.

Thanks, Will
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  #4  
Old 5 Jun 2004
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Hi Will

My mechanic recommends Shell Advance 10-40.
I've generally found it OK, and I ride a 1984 55W model. The neutral issue is I believe fairly common. Mine can certainly be a bit tricky. Have you tried adjusting the clutch cable?
What part of NZ are you in? I grew up in Timaru, but came back to the UK in 78.

Good luck
David
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Old 5 Jun 2004
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Hi Wilgil,
I found out that optimum is ester blend 15W-50, both for my previous XT600E and now XTZ660.
Regards,
AnteK
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AnteK
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  #6  
Old 5 Jun 2004
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Thanks to all of your suggestions - I will def. try out that Shell one. My TT's got very notchy when hot and the simple change of oil made all the difference.

To David - I live/work at Waihi School, near Winchester, just down the road from Timaru - small world, eh?
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  #7  
Old 16 Jun 2004
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For info,
"Motul" is selling a new oil called "Voxan"
Its made for the Voxan bicylinder bike with lot of gearbox torque.
The oil is 15W60 technosynthese with also ester blend !
I think its perfect for a XT 600.
Try it if you can.


Matt
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  #8  
Old 17 Jun 2004
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i don't care about the brand - i'm only looking to the API specification. yamaha recommends API SE or better, and SE is very poor quality nowadays.
of course there are differences between mineral and synt. oil, but imho biggest influence on live spann of engine is the behaviour of the rider, not the oil!
so save your money for more useful things.

best regards
klaus
(riding since appr. 200 tkm with cheap oil ;-)
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  #9  
Old 4 Jul 2004
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100% confirm Klaus ...Yamaha 595 were projected to use SAE 20-40 type SE ...even the worst oil avalaible today pass easily these specs...

Only oil that I'va found that REALLY may make a difference is an oil with the C60 additive, like Bardahl XTC C60 ...the C60 additive is a complex carbon molecule that create a slippery film ....it really protect the engine in case of oil loss ...

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  #10  
Old 4 Jul 2004
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Me I like using synthetic oil due to its many superior qualities for a litle more in price though I agree with Klaus, todays oils are all made following high standards.
It also depends where you ride, for example if I take my Ténéré 595 to Morocco in Juny Ii will take a monograde like 60 or 70 synthetic or not, if I drive hard I know that the synthetic will turn into mudd later than mineral.
Me, I think of gearbox thats why I prefer a thick oil to stand the torque then the voodoo additives I don't feel like trusting/experiencing.

Cheers

Matt
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  #11  
Old 7 Jul 2004
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I always use Silkolene 10W-40 semi-synthetic on all my bikes.
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  #12  
Old 7 Jul 2004
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In any bike using the same oil for engine and gearbox, the critical thing is the gearbox. The % of zinc added to the oil is critical for point-contact applications as in gearboxes. Use even the most expensive oil that is not formulated for ge
arbox applications and you will see tragedy in your life. The "SE" rating in no way relates to gearbox applications and may or may not be good enough.

I have always used Castrol 20-50W except in the winter when I lighten up the viscosity a bit. Castrol has one of the higher zinc contents of the major oil brands and is not hard to find when you need it.

STGUY
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  #13  
Old 8 Jul 2004
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Here's a link with plenty of oil information:

http://www.rrr2.de/~phil/motorrad/schraub/oil-faq.html
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  #14  
Old 8 Jul 2004
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Because I have some Hondas I'm concernd about oil for my bikes - I use Silkolene Pro 4 10/40,works pretty good in my XT400E.Kinda expensive,but only the best will do eh.you can get it from a BNT,if you have any of those down that way.Oh,and g'day from another Kiwi!
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  #15  
Old 8 Jul 2004
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Thanks to all of you with your advice/opinions. I was looking at a website the other day and they claimed that my model was the WORST of the Teneres! I have always liked Yamahas - 4 TT350's, 4 XT600's, 1 TT600, 4 XJ750's. My Tenere looks pretty good sitting next to my DRZ400 in the garage.

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