Castrol Activ 4t

[sanoptic]

Just my experiences with oils.... Last 5 years or so been using semi or full syn motorcycle oils in my Yamaha XJR1300. Brands include Motul, Yamalube, Silkoline & Motorex all 10w40 & none of them offered good gear changes & smooth clutch action after about 2k miles. Changed over to cheap mineral Castrol Activ 4t 15w50 & wow just passed 6months & 5k miles & bike still shifts great & clutch control very good. At $30 for 4lt against up to $100 for the others i guess its an easy choice now...lol Here in Australia it is now summer & my area see +40c ( over 100F ) days often.Xjr1300 is a 4cyl aircooled bike which runs extremely hot in our summers yet this cheap as Castrol works absolutely fine. Most auto parts stores stock this oil so no more dealer prices too....yay! Cheers

 

[JC1]

Glad to hear you can save some $$$$$ down under.

 

[maverickfhs]

Happy to hear it, wish it would be summer here to ride too! Ride safe.

 

[hpb]

I used to use that same oil in the Suzuki Bandit 1200 I owned a few years back - like your XJR, a big old air cooled lump - and I found it worked very well too. That fact it's cheap is a bonus!

 

[Silk]

I keep seeing it for good prices, and it's what Castrol recommend for my BMW...but it doesn't need specific motorcycle oil, so tend to ignore oils with pictures of a motorcyle on them. One day, right time, right price....

 

[SR5]

Good to hear about the Castrol Activ 4t 15w50, I see it around everywhere. In my air-cooled motorcycles I also ran thick mineral oils, and I too found they worked well. My old thumpers liked Penrite HPR 30 a 20W60 mineral oil. Being also for cars (SM & A3/B3) it was affordable, but it was also JASO MA rated for motorcycles, plus lots of zinc. Penrite is good like this. Thanks for posting about the Activ 4t, I may give it a try one day.

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted By: Silk

so tend to ignore oils with pictures of a motorcyle on them.

So do I Silk and all my bikes had wet clutches. Special bike oils can be expensive and don't always live up to their claims, as the OP points out. Thick oils always work well for me. I ran Penrite 20W60 mineral in my air-cooled bikes and Castrol Edge 10W60 synthetic in my liquid cooled bikes. I ran Castrol Edge 10W60 for close to ten years straight, changing every 10 000KM, in my CBR600 without any clutch or engines issues. Sold it running like a top with 100 000KM on it and everything still original.

 

[02SE]

No comment other than to say I regret selling my old FJ1200, upon which your XJR1300 engine is based. If they had sold the XJR1300 in the States, I would've bought one, just because of the memories of my FJ1200. Enjoy it.

 

[SR5]

Originally Posted By: 02SE

my old FJ1200,

Yep, the old FJ1200 were great bikes. Back in that era all the cops here rode around on XJ900 with the shaft drive.

 

[Silk]

All the FJ's were bullet proof, the cops had the XJ750 shaft drive here. I did an engine swap on an ex cop XJ - it was stuck in 1st gear. Taking the bottom plate off I could see the chain guide for the piggy back alt had broken and locked into the shift drum. It was jammed in, and even turning the bike upside down and giving it a shake wouldn't be able to remove it. The owner wasn't going to pay for an engine strip just to replace a chain guide (and everything that would crop up) so fitted another engine. I had the old engine for a few years, then sold it to someone for a TQ midget...they chop the gearbox off. Just a strange failure on an otherwise strong engine.

 

[GMBoy]

I'm using that oil right now in my Massimo UTV and I am also very happy with the performance. It's cheap to buy at WalMart as well.

 

[SR5]

You know a new XJ 750 / 900 with fuel injection instead of carbs, but with all the rest the same, air-cooled & shaft drive. All at a decent low price new, would make a lot of sense as a everyday retro bike. Is there any reason why they can't ? The XJR1300 inherits the old FJ1200 engine. They have started selling the old SR 500 / 400 air-cooled single as a new bike again, just with FI. It's still kick start only with a 2 valve head. Those old Yamaha bikes were magic fun and very easy to keep going.

 

[sanoptic]

Unfortunately Yamaha have discontinued the XJR1300's due to not passing Euro 4 emissions. The only ones still available are whats left at dealers. I'm in my mid 60's & the bike i have now will be my last....shd be reliable for another 20 years.

 

[Silk]

I expect my 1987 BMW to be reliable for another 20 years too...<span style="font-style: italic">and</span> I expect to be able to buy parts for it for another 20 years too.

 

[GMBoy]

Originally Posted By: Silk

I expect my 1987 BMW to be reliable for another 20 years too...and I expect to be able to buy parts for it for another 20 years too.

That statement is probably only true for BMW and Harley Davidson and perhaps a few others but not for any Asian bikes.

 

[Silk]

Although I have and do own Japanese bikes, that's one of the reasons I'm not a fan of them. Too many variations in a single model over the years, and parts supply stops once they are no longer flavour of the month. You can buy nearly every part you need, down to nuts and bolts for a Norton Commando. Bob's BMW a few years ago built an R90S from the parts book, just to prove what is available. R90S is one of the rarest Airheads.

 

[weasley]

I have a 21 year old Japanese bike. It was sold, essentially unchanged, from 1996 until around 2007. It is still in perfect running order and any parts I need are easily sourced.

 

[Gillsy]

Originally Posted By: sanoptic

Just my experiences with oils.... Last 5 years or so been using semi or full syn motorcycle oils in my Yamaha XJR1300. Brands include Motul, Yamalube, Silkoline & Motorex all 10w40 & none of them offered good gear changes & smooth clutch action after about 2k miles. Changed over to cheap mineral Castrol Activ 4t 15w50 & wow just passed 6months & 5k miles & bike still shifts great & clutch control very good. At $30 for 4lt against up to $100 for the others i guess its an easy choice now...lol Here in Australia it is now summer & my area see +40c ( over 100F ) days often.Xjr1300 is a 4cyl aircooled bike which runs extremely hot in our summers yet this cheap as Castrol works absolutely fine. Most auto parts stores stock this oil so no more dealer prices too....yay! Cheers

I've run some pricey motorcycle oils too, but found that my current favorite is Castrol Actevo 4T 10w40 (blend) in my 650 Versys LT. Gooday mate!