Motorcycle Oil or Car Oil

[iamteeg]

Hi
I had a Suzuki GS500F before, and I accidentally (unknowingly) put car oil in it, and it almost killed it.
Therefore, I want to ask what kind of oil I should be putting in my Baja SC150 (gy6, 150cc).

I know the owner's manual recommends 10w40 but it doesn't say whether to use motorcycle or car oil. Is there scooter-specific oil I should be using?

Thanks,
Tom

[rks]

Diesel oil is what I use. Car oils are designed for the modern roller rocker, roller cam engines found in most autos today. Motorcycle oils are meant to deal with wet clutches. Our old school design, scooter engines, need neither of those types of oils.

Diesel oils have to deal with much higher pressures than gas engine oils. Compression ratios are more than twice as high in a diesel, the torque that some diesels create exceeds 1400 lb/ft. The stress this puts on bottom end parts is huge....diesel oil deals with it for hundreds and hundreds of thousands of miles.....sometimes a million miles before overhaul.

Most of today's diesel oils have a, 'SM' or 'SN' rating on the bottle....meaning ok for gas fired engines......look for one that does.....either 15w/40 conventional (my choice)....or 5w/40 synthetic......

Places I use Delvac 15w40 engine oil:
Jonway 150cc scooter...4,444 miles
Cub Cadet LT1050...967.4 hours
!966 Pontiac LeMans....Miles ??
2011 Kioti CK30 Tractor....415 hours
1999 BMW R1200C.....9000 miles

[kz1000st]

The reason it doesn't matter in a scooter is fairly simple. A motorcycle is unit construction and shares engine lubing with its gearbox. a motorcycle experiences molecular shear as the oil is compressed in the gears. A scooter has a separate engine and transmission like a car...and a Harley. 10W-40 car oil works in the motor, 85W-90 gear oil in the transmission.

[iamteeg]

Hmm...
So what I'm gathering is an opinion that diesel oil is best, as well as an opinion that either motorcycle or car oil will work?
Guy at the shop recommended motorcycle oil before you guys replied, so I bought it.
So question is: motorcycle oil will be okay?

[ragtopdodge]

ya, should be fine. I use V-twin, air-cooled motorcycle synth oil.

[rks]

I agree...it will be fine.

The last time I purchased a gallon of scooter oil at Walmart, It was $12.56 including the 8% sales tax....That's enough for 5 oil changes, and figures out to $2.51 per change....hard to beat that price....and you won't be skimping on engine protection either

[iamteeg]

My walmart doesnt carry what I like so... I got a quart bottle of Mobil1 4T 10w40 around 16 bucks... did change and went on a short ride... ran excellent. Excited to ride to the beach on saturday! (Ocean City, New Jersey for a week if anyone wants to meet up)

[wheelbender6]

Everybody has their favorites. My manual for my Buddy 125 calls for 4t motorcycle oil or a good 15W-40 oil. I use the Shell Rotella 15w-40. I suppose the 15w is to protect the clutch?
A lot of guys swear by synthetic, but their viscosity is often 0w-30 or 0w-40.
I'm going to stick with my manual's recommendations.