What do you think about 0/10W engine oil for my primary chaincase to lessen clutch plates sticking ??

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DennisMo

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I saw a 0/10W low viscosity synthetic engine oil at a local parts shop and thought it might be a candidate to lessen my surflex clutch
plates from sticking. Love to hear your coments.
Thanks
Dennis
 
DennisMo said:
I saw a 0/10W low viscosity synthetic engine oil at a local parts shop and thought it might be a candidate to lessen my surflex clutch
plates from sticking. Love to hear your coments.
Thanks
Dennis
Click to expand...
What’s your logic that lower viscosity will equal less sticking ??

The most important aspect is to ensure you choose an oil that is stated as suitable for a wet clutch. That means it has to be labelled JASO MA or JASO MA2.

Beyond that you’re into normal ‘oil thread’ type discussions…
 
Fast Eddie said:
What’s your logic that lower viscosity will equal less sticking ??
Click to expand...
Like petrol lubrication oil is made from fractions of different oils mixed to create the final result. A low viscosity oil will have much less of the thicker oils which can gum up hot surfaces etc with residues from the oil being burnt.
 
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It ain't the oil! It's a dry clutch unless overfilled. The oil is there for the chain and maybe cooling. Should be very little getting to the clutch plates and then only when you have the clutch disengaged. 99.9% of the time, the plates are tightly pressed together, and oil is not getting in between them!

More likely poor plate material or you've used something that has attacked the plates. If a clutch sits a long time, the plates can stick together - I've never had plates sticking together on a bike that is ridden.

BTW, if you have a cNw belt drive, standard steel plates and Barnett friction plates, they neither stick or slip and there is no oil in the primary so clearly oil is not required for the clutch plates.
 
marshg246 said:
It ain't the oil! It's a dry clutch unless overfilled. The oil is there for the chain and maybe cooling. Should be very little getting to the clutch plates and then only when you have the clutch disengaged. 99.9% of the time, the plates are tightly pressed together, and oil is not getting in between them!

More likely poor plate material or you've used something that has attacked the plates. If a clutch sits a long time, the plates can stick together - I've never had plates sticking together on a bike that is ridden.

BTW, if you have a cNw belt drive, standard steel plates and Barnett friction plates, they neither stick or slip and there is no oil in the primary so clearly oil is not required for the clutch plates.
Click to expand...
I am wondering if Surflex plates are more prone to sticking over time than Barnett plates?

I use Surflex plates on my 1962 Dominator. After approx 2500 miles with them installed, the clutch plates are very sticky. All it currently takes is for the bike to cool down after a run and then I have to break the plates free with the kick starter, (clutch lever held in). After doing so all is fine until she cools down after a run and I have to repeat the process. Am using ATF (Ford) in the primary. Planning to give the plates a thorough petrol bath once the weather warms up a bit. Running Barnett's in my Commando, no problems yet, but I have only put about 500 miles or so on her so far.
 
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Britstuff said:
I am wondering if Surflex plates are more prone to sticking over time than Barnett plates?

I use Surflex plates on my 1962 Dominator. After approx 2500 miles with them installed, the clutch plates are very sticky. All it currently takes is for the bike to cool down after a run and then I have to break the plates free with the kick starter, (clutch lever held in). After doing so all is fine until she cools down after a run and I have to repeat the process. Am using ATF (Ford) in the primary. Planning to give the plates a thorough petrol bath once the weather warms up a bit. Running Barnett's in my Commando, no problems yet, but I have only put about 500 miles or so on her so far.
Click to expand...
Not sure why your worrying about breaking the plates free. They need to grip to start the bike. Surely the first time after you start it and pull the clutch they will be apart instantly if you're able to do it with the kickstarter.

Considering that later Triumphs share engine and primary oil, engine oil is fine. With older Triumphs I used SAE 20 non-detergent oil when it was available or SAE 30 plain old dino oil without trouble. In a Commando today I use Castrol GTX Conventional 20W50 in the engine and primary and I make very sure to not overfill the primary.

I do like the concept of non-Ford ATF in the primary as if there is a leak, it will look different than an engine leak, but I suspect that the chain won't last as long as it's supposed to be bathed in oil, not ATF.

BTW, if everything is correct, 20W50 in the primary is 20W oil as it doesn't get anywhere near hot enough to thicken (at least not much).
 
I have surflex plates and oil is getting onto them.
At present I have Castol 20/50W in it

They were wet when I pulled them apart to clean them.
The front plates near the diaphragm get wet first and I guess it works its
way back with the rear plates clearly lesser wet.

So I just cleaned them and there was a lot less of a clunk when I selected
first gear when bike at a stop. It was more like a slight click!

They were not wet enough to impair shifting, but I thought that as lesser
oil "W" rating won't stop them getting wet, but will lessen the stickness.....

Thanks for all your comments. I will try the 0/10W oil!

Dennis
Vancouver
 
FWIW, I've used ATF in my '73 Commando since I purchased it in '06. After disassembling/checking/cleaning and properly setting up the clutch clearance-to-snap ring back then I've never cleaned the friction plates. There is no sticking, no slippage, two-finger clutch pull. TBF, I can't say positively that it's the ATF that made it a "forget about it" item since I've never used anything but ATF! ;) By the same token, I would never use anything else!!!
 
MexicoMike said:
FWIW, I've used ATF in my '73 Commando since I purchased it in '06. After disassembling/checking/cleaning and properly setting up the clutch clearance-to-snap ring back then I've never cleaned the friction plates. There is no sticking, no slippage, two-finger clutch pull. TBF, I can't say positively that it's the ATF that made it a "forget about it" item since I've never used anything but ATF! ;) By the same token, I would never use anything else!!!
Click to expand...
Which of the MANY types of ATF do you use?
 
I’ve used Amsoil 4-Stroke 0W-40 synthetic oil for several years in both CDO and Harley primary drives with wet clutches and it works well at all temperatures (no dragging cold and no slipping hot). As Greg pointed out, unless things get very warm the oil viscosity remains low since the base oil is 0W and the thickener package is not fully recruited until the oil nears 100C. If things do get hot, the resulting higher viscosity oil provides a higher film strength lubricant that can handle higher loads than a 0W oil can. Also as Greg mentioned, the clutch remains dry for prolonged periods. When 0W oil eventually wets the clutch pack, it leaves no sticky residue and does not cause the clutch to drag or slip.

https://www.amsoil.com/p/amsoil-formula-4-stroke-powersports-0w-40-synthetic-motor-oil-aff/
 
marshg246 said:
Not sure why your worrying about breaking the plates free... Surely the first time after you start it and pull the clutch they will be apart instantly if you're able to do it with the kickstarter.
Click to expand...
Not so. If you don't free the plates before starting, you will have a hard time shifting into 1st gear.
 
"Which of the MANY types of ATF do you use?"

Dexron is in there now but I've also used type F. I started out with type F but when I did some work some years back I had some Dexron on the shelf so used that, figuring that if it didn't work well I would drain/replace with F. But the Dexron worked fine. F would grip earlier in the clutch release but both gripped solidly when the clutch was fully released. The Dexron seemed a bit smoother in stop/go traffic/lots of clutch use. OTOH, my gut feeling is that if I was racing, I'd use F.
 

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