Oil

[Moleskins]

Ok a question about oil, again this is prompted by my Triumph 3TA from 1962 but it could apply to a good few bikes I suppose.
According to my book.
Engine oil is SAE 20 or 30
Gearbox is SAE 50
Primary Chaincase is SAE 20
Does a modern 20/50 do it all or do you use two different oils ?
‘Similar’ questions have come up before, the reason I’m asking is I’ve used a Classic Vehicle 20/50 for everything but selecting 1st gear is a bit ‘noisy’ changing up and down is then ok.
I’ve inspected the clutch which though not perfect seems ok. It was dragging if I had the bike running on the stand but trueing the pressure plate seems to have resolved that.
Is it the oil causing a graunch when selecting 1st (sometimes it’s just a clunk)
I don’t mind tackling the gearbox but … if it just the wrong oil it’s a bit of overkill.
The Classic Vehicle oil looks very much like Duckhams Q 20/50 by the way.

[Rex]

Use 20/50 for all those applications.  It'll be just fine...

[iansoady]

.... or you may want to try a 140 grade non-hypo (GL4) gear oil in the gearbox as 20W/50 won't get hot enough to take advantage of the multigrade. At least it shouldn't. Note that 140 gear oil is roughly equivalent to 50 grade engine oil.

I tend to use ATF in primary chaincases.

But 20W/50 will be fine.

[chaterlea25]

Hi Moleskins,
Do you pull in the clutch lever and kick through the kickstart lever a few times to free the clutch before you start the bike?
Its a Triumph ritual, I kid you not
10/30 motorcycle oil for me in the primary (suitable for wet clutches)

John

[john.k]

You have to be careful of any kind of modern car "friction modified" oil......it will cause a bike wet clutch to slip............old fashioned oils are OK.......but IMHO,you are probably better off using an ATF..Dexron oil in the chaincase,so there can be no mistake..............the same applies to engine oils..........modern oils are formulated to be compliant with pollution regulations and especially to not poison things like particulate filters,and sensors.

[iansoady]

A tip I had from Tony Cooper of mag and dynamo fame is to drop a 3/8" bolt between the clutch lever and abutment so lifting the plates slightly. This helps to avoid them getting stuck in the first place.

Do remember to remove it before trying to start the bike however......

[Moleskins]

I’d not heard about kicking it over with the ignition off until I looked through some previous posts on here a couple of days ago.
I’m gonna have to get into the habit.

[john.k]

I used the same idea on Indians.......when the clutch on an Indian sticks,you can drive with the pedal thrown out before the plates will free up.........you simply leave the clutch pedal in the fully released position,and the plates dont stick......Over time the springs may weaken slightly,but a lot better than replacing gears in the gearbox.