Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet with the UCE engine => Topic started by: r80rt on February 24, 2009, 10:53:37 pm

Title: UCE oil
Post by: r80rt on February 24, 2009, 10:53:37 pm
I don't want to start a debate on the merits of various oils, But does anyone know what oil RE recommends for the new UCE engine?
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: t120rbullet on February 24, 2009, 11:07:03 pm
15 W 50 API SL Semi Synthetic
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: r80rt on February 24, 2009, 11:18:18 pm
That's what I wanted to know, Thanks!
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: r80rt on March 09, 2009, 12:52:24 am
Do you know of a particular brand they recommend?
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: t120rbullet on March 09, 2009, 12:59:51 am
Do you know of a particular brand they recommend?

JASO MA ESTER-Semi-Synthetic or equivalent.
Don't think your gonna get that outside of India though so pick a good "equivalent" and go with it.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: r80rt on March 09, 2009, 01:20:27 am
Ha, yeah I think the Indian oil may be out of the question, plenty of good oil to be had here though, Thanks again
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Vince on March 09, 2009, 04:16:00 am
     Any premium motorcycle 20W50 will be fine. By its very nature any multi-viscosity oil is a synthetic blend. I use Torco brand oils, but any name brand would be fine. Use Spectro,. Motul, or any other name brand from your motorcycle store.
     Remember, with the Unit construction engine it is important to get a motorcycle lubricant with additives for the clutch and transmission. Anything wet and slimey will work, but "safe for motorcycles" is not nearly as good as  motorcycle specific.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: prof_stack on March 09, 2009, 04:45:03 am
So, what rating should the oil have?   I mean, like, SL - SJ - SN, or whatever those letters are?

Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: r80rt on March 09, 2009, 11:14:31 am
It looks like the SL rating is what is called for.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: r80rt on March 09, 2009, 11:16:39 am
Vince, do you think a full synthetic would be all right, or could it possibly cause clutch slippage?
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Vince on March 09, 2009, 02:59:05 pm
     Wear, abuse, or mis-adjustment cause clutch slippage. The oil makes no difference. Full synthetics are great, but one of the properties of a full synthetic is its ability to flow in extremely tight tolerances. This means that if there is any flaw in a casting or gasket it is more likely to leak.
     SJ and later oils are formulated for modern car engines, These run tight tolerances and high oil pressure. These oils have less heavy metals to better meet EPA requirements in new cars. This is the opposite  of the RE. The SH and earlier spec oils use a different additive package that makes them more friendly to older engines and other engines similar to the RE.
     The JASO-MA spec was certified by the Japanese oil industry to meet the need of the older bikes when the SJ spec was introduced in the US.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Marrtyn on March 26, 2009, 10:43:38 am
15 W 50 API SL Semi Synthetic
Because I am getting near to an oil change, the manual does state as above but also
15W 50 API SL Grade
JASOMA ESTER Semi Synthetic oil.
Now my question is, is this a grade of semi synthetic or is there a choice of an ordinary oil or semi synthetic
I.E. 15w 50api sl grade or Jasoma Ester semi synthetic.
I need to be sure in case the dealer slips in an ordinary oil, when it should in fact be a semi synthetic.( when originally asked he said, Oh! I just put in "so and so" but it did'nt sound like a semi synthetic to me, and he may have been thinking that the oil that went into older previous models would do,
Cheers
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Alaroyal on March 26, 2009, 12:24:56 pm
One thing to be careful about is to not use auto oils that contain friction modifiers in wet clutches.  These oils generally have a disclaimer on them that specifies they are NOT suitable for wet clutch uses.  Make sure you get something that is a motorcycle oil.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Marrtyn on March 26, 2009, 01:39:47 pm
One thing to be careful about is to not use auto oils that contain friction modifiers in wet clutches.  These oils generally have a disclaimer on them that specifies they are NOT suitable for wet clutch uses.  Make sure you get something that is a motorcycle oil.
Will do Dave, thanks for the info
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Vince on March 26, 2009, 02:06:53 pm
     Any modern 20W50 motorcycle specific oil will be fine. JASO is the preferred standard.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Englishabroad on July 12, 2009, 05:48:07 pm
Hi All,

I live in Washington state where it's not such a hot climate.  Can I use 10W40 motorcycle oil in my UCE C5 (that's all that's available at my local bike shop) or do I need to find some 20W50?

Thanks for your help.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Chris-G5 on July 13, 2009, 10:43:48 pm
I used Mobil One 20W 50 full synthetic when I did my first oil change. When I picked up my bike after the recall work, Aaron at Interstate Motorcycles said what he put in and recommended was Amsoil 0w 40 for motors with hydraulic lifters.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Englishabroad on July 14, 2009, 03:25:08 pm
Thanks Chris.  I'll see if i can find that oil locally
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: mark on August 12, 2009, 11:36:32 pm
Just a point that may be of interest guys.

My RE dealer used full synthetic oil as opposed to semi.
"Although it states semi in the hand book"
He did that on advise from watsonian and squires.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: r80rt on August 12, 2009, 11:48:30 pm
I used Mobil One 20W 50 full synthetic when I did my first oil change. When I picked up my bike after the recall work, Aaron at Interstate Motorcycles said what he put in and recommended was Amsoil 0w 40 for motors with hydraulic lifters.
Aaron did my service last week and put in Amisol 0-40 in mine too, I'll use what they reccomend, sure looks thin though. These UCE engines are a brave new world for me.
Title: Re: UCE oil
Post by: Marrtyn on September 17, 2009, 08:34:24 pm
The UCE oil system descibed in detail on the "Buzz Blog" is excellent, and fully expands on the whole engine/gearbox lub system.
Thanks Kevin for that