Motorcycle MA 2 clutch slippage

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Dec 3, 2004
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1,188
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So on my ktm 500, which has 66,000 miles, Id mainly ran 20w50 Valvoline Dino motorcycle oil(ma2), which worked great and was cheap. Occasionally I'd run the full synthetic also (ma2).

Anyway I put a full new oem clutch pack in it around 50,000 miles, not for slipping but the opposite reason too grippy, the steels had some burn in.

When I changed out a piston later down the road, I started running the full synthetic exclusively, and this is where the clutch sliggage begun to happen, but you needed to have a good load in a tall gear under full throttle to make it happen. I went to a heavier clutch spring which helped but didnt solve long term, I installed some new fibers which helped but didnt solve long term, and issue was not resolving. In the end the Fiber plate pads were getting Hard glazed over time.

I then scrubbed all the steels with a wire brush, and lightly scrubbed the fibers, and ditched the Valvoline full synthetic and went back to the valvoline dino oil, and clutch held beautifully under the same conditions.

Keep in mind the dino oil would go 50,000 mile no problem, its when I exclusively when to the full synthetic, the clutch would not hold the same level of friction.

Which makes me really wonder how much value is in that MA 2 rating, as both oils had that rating, but the full syn is obviously slicker on the clutch, or not necessarily slicker, but glazing the clutch fibers, instead of just keeping them clean, like the Dino oil was.
 
When you changed the oils, did you re-adjust the clutch ?. I'm not familiar with your bike, does it have a clutch cable, or is it hydraulic ? If it has a cable, it's probably stretched with age. If hydraulic, the fluid is probably probably due to be changed. That, or the slave cyl is showing it's age. My bike has a slave cyl, and I use Valvoline mineral 20/40 wt in the engine without issues. When I had my Harley, 20/50 wt would cause a slight drag on the plates, (primary oil is separate from the engine oil)which caused it to bang into first gear. I switched it out to 15/40 wt Rotella T, and it worked perfect. Beside the clutch basket, or a bearing getting loose for the hub, there's only so many things that could cause problems.,,
 
Which makes me really wonder how much value is in that MA 2 rating,

You're not alone...
JASO does not test oils. They register oils based on manufacturer
data and site. Most of the data is generated by additive package
manufacturers. The system is just for registration at $365 per oil...
 
I have a 2016 Kawasaki Voyager, and in it's owners manual it says to use oil rated Jaso ma2- Api-SL. I take that to mean to use and oil that's either Jaso ma2 rated, or you can use an oil just rated api sl. There are oils that say they meet both standards like Valvoline metric motorcycle oil. 10/40 wt and their 20/50 wt say that on the bottles. They say that those standards are to prevent clutch problems, which I take as slippage.,,
 
When you changed the oils, did you re-adjust the clutch ?. I'm not familiar with your bike, does it have a clutch cable, or is it hydraulic ? If it has a cable, it's probably stretched with age. If hydraulic, the fluid is probably probably due to be changed. That, or the slave cyl is showing it's age. My bike has a slave cyl, and I use Valvoline mineral 20/40 wt in the engine without issues. When I had my Harley, 20/50 wt would cause a slight drag on the plates, (primary oil is separate from the engine oil)which caused it to bang into first gear. I switched it out to 15/40 wt Rotella T, and it worked perfect. Beside the clutch basket, or a bearing getting loose for the hub, there's only so many things that could cause problems.,,
Hydraulic, I keep it wired pretty tight with fluids and repairs, if you were to ask how long ago the slave was rebuilt, within 60 days, and its a routine rebuild every year or 2 or more. But the hydraulics were great shape.
 
Believe me this was over a long period of time, moving to heavier springs, replacing fibers, Im shocked it was the oil in the end, cause i'd been running the dino version of the oil for like 8 years. Which Ive gone back to. I was paying 40% more just to develop issues.

BUt it was in fact glazed fibers , with only 10,000 miles on the new oem clutch pack.
 
I have a 2016 Kawasaki Voyager, and in it's owners manual it says to use oil rated Jaso ma2- Api-SL. I take that to mean to use and oil that's either Jaso ma2 rated, or you can use an oil just rated api sl. There are oils that say they meet both standards like Valvoline metric motorcycle oil. 10/40 wt and their 20/50 wt say that on the bottles. They say that those standards are to prevent clutch problems, which I take as slippage.,,
The MA /Ma2 rating is specifically for mc wet clutches, so you expect the strongest clutch oils with that rating, but not the case with my story.

above someone mentioned the mobile super 1300 15w40, which has no ma clutch ratings, yet, it is a very strong clutch oil.

it was a couple years back when I dealt with that MA2 rated full synthetic slipping issue , no further issues after i stopped running it. The Dino version of the Valvoline is also MA2, and it is a stronger clutch oil, than the full syn version, is what it came down to.
 
I agree with you on this. I've been running the Valvoline 10w40 metric Dino version in my bike since I got it. And haven't had any clutch performance issues. What I've seen is most motorcycle mfgrs, don't want anyone to use an oil that's says on the bottle that it is "Energy conserving", like 0w10 or 0w20 wt oils. Years back I tried synthetic motorcycle oils, but I didn't notice anything that justified the added cost. Alot of claims that said my bike would run ,cooler, cleaner, quieter, longer, but I just didn't see it. In my owners manual in the section where it tells you what oil you COULD use ,it lists regular oil, blended oil, or synthetic oil. So it would seem any of those oils would be fine according to Kawasaki. I usually stick with a brand of oil once I try it and it performs well. To me it's about performance, price and availability.,,
 
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