hey guys I figured while I had my Bandit apart doing the chain since I found out it was all tore up when I bought it now that I'm fixing it I figured I'd go ahead and do an oil change at the same time because if somebody did what they did to the sprocket then I have no idea what they did to the oil or if it's even been changed even though it looks fairly clean

 so since I'm on a budget of course I go to Walmart to check out their filters and oil I ended up getting one of the extreme Duty Fram filters even though I don't like Fram their high quality filters are pretty decent it's just the Plain Jane orange ones that suck full of cardboard but I went ahead and got one of the high-quality ones and I bought fully synthetic Valvoline 4 t motorcycle oil specifically for wet clutch that is Jaso ma2 certified it was about $7 a quart but I was wondering if anybody have preferences on oils or oils to avoid with wet clutches or in general?

 you know if I had my way and the money I would have gone with the best oil on the market whatever that might be I've always been a fan of Royal purple and Mobil 1 but then I've heard people say that certain oils made their clutches slip wear other people's doesn't so I was just wanting to kind of get a consensus among you guys of what you think is good or bad or just opinions and I can see this thread going all over the place. Haha. Mike b

You can't run car grade oil in a wet clutch bike as it will cause the clutch to slip, as you mention.

However, Mobil 1 makes a motorcycle specific oil which is actually what I run in my DR650SE:
How many miles does the bike have on it? If it's relatively high mileage I've found that switching to full synthetic can cause an engine to leak oil. YMMV.

oh I know you're not supposed to run car oil in a motorcycle engine even if it didn't have a wet clutch I would make a good practice of always using motorcycle specific oil which I do however the mobile one was a little bit more expensive I couldn't quite afford it that was for the motorcycle oil itself so I bought the Valvoline full synthetic the bike itself has 29000 miles on it so I don't think it's developing an oil leak but what I got is 4T Valvoline full synthetic motorcycle oil but I don't like switching oil brands a lot so that's why I figured if what I'm running is a decent oil then I'll stick with it I know that it's not good in cars to change oil brands constantly because they can develop oil leaks or other issues arising from such changes.

 however what I mentioned was it was Jaso ma2 certified that specifically for motorcycles with wet clutches at least according to the guy at the Suzuki dealership.
 I was just wondering about preferences on oil brands because I can't exactly afford $25 a quart super awesome oil that they have at the motorcycle shop so that's why I went to Walmart and got the Valvoline motorcycle oil I was just kind of interested to see what hat people have to say about the different brands quality Longevity if there's a noticeable difference

this is what i got.

okay nevermind I can't post a picture for some reason but like I said it's Valvoline motorcycle oil 4T fully synthetic SAE 10w 40 specifically for wet clutch application it says exceeds API Services s j s g SF and Jaso ma2 the SJ SG in SF is for automotive purposes but the JSO is specifically motorcycle

I'v been running plain Mobil 1 Synthetic in all my bikes. Looked at the manufacturers oil specs and the appropriate numbers / letters on the Standard oil matched. I have never replaced a clutch. Seems to work just fine.

so you're using just the regular Mobil 1 full synthetic car oil not the motorcycle specific?

 the guy at the motorcycle shop was trying to sell me some Kawasaki ZR 9000 oil that was like almost $30 a quart which is ridiculous cuz I could buy a new tire for less than oil change at that price but I've been told you know that it's important to use the right oil but then other people say it doesn't matter that's why I started a thread just to get inputs opinions and results people's use of different oils and what not.

 but I started looking around online and reading reviews about the Valvoline synthetic motor oil for motorcycles that I bought at apparently I can only find one review that was only four stars the rest for 5 so I feel fairly confident that this all should be fine and for the price I'm not going to argue but compared to the oil they are try to sell me at the Suzuki shop that Kawasaki oil was so expensive that if I just save money by not doing oil changes with $30 quart oil I can buy a new engine by the time it causes a problem and that's pretty sad.

... so basically at this point with only a couple of chiming in or at one person using motorcycle oil Mobil 1 one person using regular mobile one not specific for motorcycle and me using Valvoline synthetic motorcycle oil that's why I figured this might get interesting but I had another idea it kind of got me thinking and I'll start a different Thread about air fuel mixtures and gauges

The Mobil 1 motorcycle oil is like $11 a quart or so at Autozone.

Yes, I'm not using the motorcycle specific oil. I did research the specs. Maybe I'm lucky, and maybe some bikes are more sensitive, but Ive used it on Triumphs, BMWs, and Kawasaki's without issue. As Yermo said, It's about $11 a quart. Not cheap.

well the Valvoline full syn MC oil is like 6.34$ a qt.   Ive not found any raving mad reviews about it being the best or worst, just consistantly good reviews. So i think im safe with the V. 
but im always open to hearing others experiance and opinions.

As long as it meets the spec for the application and you change it often enough probably any modern oil is fine.

I've been running this Valvoline motorcycle oil in my Bandit. It seems to work just fine. Sold in a pack a six, but you'll need just under four for an oil & filter change, so two cases gets you three oil changes.

A lot of other riders on similar bikes swear by Rotella T6, and it's usually a bit cheaper. I've considered making the switch, but I still have some Valvoline oil to use up first. 

yeah I was reading that takes like 3.6 quarts if you do an oil change with the filter change but I set the bike on its Center stand and let it drain for about 2 hours after is warm oil filter change also and I had to run and go get a new plug gasket because the old one cracked when I took it off.

 oddly enough though I put 3 and 1/2 quarts in it and it was a little bit below the low Mark in the window and I made sure the bike was level and all that but I wait a little bit to see if maybe the oil just needed to drain down between the clutch plates or make its way out of the head of the engine something of that sort but it never and never Rose so I ended up with exactly 4 quarts in it to the drop to get it to the full mark on the window but I've put a thousand two hundred miles on the bike before the oil change and it didn't use any oil at all so there's a big bonus because one of my old dirt bikes man that thing eats a quart of oil every tank of gas you run but that's a two stroke.haha.

 anyway I drove it last night for about an hour between the new chain and gears and the new oil it runs so much better than I could have ever imagined especially for a 1996 bike but once I get some paint work done to it which I'll be doing myself because I do paint and body it'll be like a brand new motorcycle absolutely spotless and flawless except for those god-awful ugly red Wheels it's got I think I'm going to powder coat and black or silver

With most modern oils that are rated for motorcycle use, it's kind of hard to go wrong as long as you change it often enough.

I'm personally a big fan of synthetic, given the longevity I've gotten out of multiple vehicles running synthetic oil over the years.

I suspect you'll do just fine with the Valvoline synthetic.

Any oil that meets the manufacturers spec will be just fine.  Just make sure that if it is a wet clutch bike you use an oil certified for JASO MA or MA2.  This oil does not have the friction modifiers that the energy conserving automotive oils have and will not harm your clutch.  If you are looking for a good low cost oil, try Shell Rotella T4 15-40 conventional oil and if you want synthetic, Rotella T6 5-40 is good also.  Both are MA/MA2 certified.

Mike

the bike calls for 10 W 40 but I was wondering which directions you can go without engine damage or Extra Protection or however you want to put it something like using 15w40 instead of 10w40 or 20w50..
 I know I've never been concerned with it because most of my cars have always been older but I know on new modern cars and high tolerance engines that it can be extremely bad for the motor to use anything other than what was designed for like if you run 530 instead of 520 in a brand new engine that can do damage

As long as you stay in the recommended 10-40 range, you are good.  The 10 indicates how well the oil flows in winter temps.  The 40 indicates viscosity at high temps.  Most guys don't ride in real cold weather so the 15w spec is just fine.  If you do take a notion to ride in cold weather, then the 5w -40 would be better.
Hope this helps.
Mike

yeah I knew how work just far as viscosity and dual viscosity and multiples of viscosity weights and stuff but I wasn't sure if it being thicker as it's warming up be an issue or not but I guess not