Is there really a difference or is it just a label to market to the target consumer?
ATV & Motorcycle Oil: What’s the Difference?
- Thread starter jtwrace
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There is a slight differnce, its been a few years, I think the flash was slightly lower on the ATV oil(blue bottle to MC blue bottle), and may have a more storage rust additive in the ATV Bottle, just going off memory.
The silver bottle is full syn, the blue quoted as dino, but that blue bottle MC has alot of Plastique smell, which IMO ia actually a semi syn. The silver bottle has a touch more Plastique smell , but both have similarities.
The silver bottle is slicker on the clutch , blue bottle much stronger clutch bite.
The silver bottle is full syn, the blue quoted as dino, but that blue bottle MC has alot of Plastique smell, which IMO ia actually a semi syn. The silver bottle has a touch more Plastique smell , but both have similarities.
The silver bottle is slicker on the clutch , blue bottle much stronger clutch bite.
The motorcycle oil is a bit better than the ATV one. It has more ZDDP (zinc, phosphorous - friction modifiers) and a bit higher TBN.
Valvoline 10W-40 motorcycle (blue bottle)
https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publ...2d889bd3/4707a799-e29c-e711-9c10-ac162d889bd3
Valvoline 10W-40 ATV/UTV (blue bottle)
https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publ...2d889bd3/3b07a799-e29c-e711-9c10-ac162d889bd3
The same for the full synthetic as well.
Valvoline Full Synthetic 10W-40 motorcycle
https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publ...8f2f4c4d/ee365658-9cb5-f011-b824-9440c99fa601
Valvoline Full Synthetic 10W-40 Powersport
https://sharena21.springcm.com/Publ...3793b338/f8e258db-9592-ed11-b81b-48df3793b338
I rode my 1994 Kawasaki Ninja to the scrap yard just before the first snow fall of the year. I bought it in 1999 and it got plain old 10w-40 and Fram filters. 
I never made time to ride but took good care of it. Ultimately, infrequent use caused rust to develop in the fuel tank despite using a stabilizer during the off-season; the engine never skipped a beat.
I never made time to ride but took good care of it. Ultimately, infrequent use caused rust to develop in the fuel tank despite using a stabilizer during the off-season; the engine never skipped a beat.
Is this typical for all (e.g. Amsoil ATV vs. Motorcycle)?
Add packs (zinc, phosphorus, etc. contents) may vary between brand manufacturers, just make sure it is JASO MA/MA2 rated or at minimum Non-Resource Conserving for those using plain old oil.
I don't know. Some manufacturers like Amsoil don't show zinc and phosphorous content.
You have to check out their PDS.
The PDS are for all oil grades but you can find 10W-40 on the second page along with the other grades.
Amsoil Metric Motorcycle
https://amsoilcontent.com/ams/lit/databulletins/g3348.pdf
Amsoil ATV/UTV
https://amsoilcontent.com/ams/lit/databulletins/g3334.pdf
I ran a short OCI with Valvoline 10w40 conventional ATV oil seven or eight years ago in the ZRX 1200 after installing hi comp pistons. I needed an oil that I considered disposable and this filled the bill. I picked it up for cheap on closeout.
Fwiw, the first 100 miles were a straight 30w non detergent, the Valvoline conventional ATV 10w40 went in for 1400 miles after that. Then went back to 5000 mile oci's with synthetic oils.
You can find it under "ZRX 1200 various used oil analysis" or something similar in the uoa motorcycle section.
It had lost grade after 1400 mi even with a flashpoint of 420, low zinc and phosphorus as well. Had a good amount of boron and no moly for all intents and purposes.
Fwiw, the first 100 miles were a straight 30w non detergent, the Valvoline conventional ATV 10w40 went in for 1400 miles after that. Then went back to 5000 mile oci's with synthetic oils.
You can find it under "ZRX 1200 various used oil analysis" or something similar in the uoa motorcycle section.
It had lost grade after 1400 mi even with a flashpoint of 420, low zinc and phosphorus as well. Had a good amount of boron and no moly for all intents and purposes.
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This is how HPL does it.
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This is how HPL does it.
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Does HPL publish a basic additive package? Zinc, phosphorus, moly, boron, along with pour point, etc? 15w50 covers most climates unless a rider is a Yeti.
This is on a tangent however it's totally clean every time I pull the valve cover to do a check/adjustment on my ZRX 1200 using 5,000 MI ocis. I do 5,000 Mi oil changes on my car and looking in the fill hole it's easy to see light golden on the cam cap bolts and anything else in there.
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I believe they would provide you with that info if you request it. The 15w-50 is just one of several choices they offer in this line. From 10w-30 up to the 15w-50.
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Correct. I checked out the website, saw the different offerings. I would suspect they're all fairly similar in additive packages. Interesting they don't publish those when many other manufacturers do. Would be easy to do.
JASO rated oils will typically have low Moly levels, this is to keep the wet clutch from slipping and since they aren't intended for vehicles with cats on them, the Zinc and Phos levels will be higher.
A better and more pertinent question IMO would be: why would one engine need a different formulation over the other?
It’s the same with truck/Suv oils vs normal oils.
My take, it’s pure marketing BS.
It’s the same with truck/Suv oils vs normal oils.
My take, it’s pure marketing BS.
Imo, that's why @KrisZ is asking the question. The "ATV" oil is fine for wet clutches, as is the "motorcycle" labeled oil. Why have the two different formulas when they both work for the same thing?
With that said, I don't see any BS going on. They all cost about the same across the board from each manufacturer. Because we're the enlightened crowd (lol) we get to see additive packages make very little difference even across a broad spectrum of ppm concentrations of key additives.
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