Oil
Content
Know how to decipher an oil jar
The market is full of oils and the ratings written on the banks do not make it easy to decipher, especially since the standards written on the bank come from several different organizations. An overview of the large Oil family.
Synthesis, semi-synthesis, minerals
The oils are divided into 3 families. Synthetic oils are of the highest quality and most effective. They are ideal for high speed engines such as hypersport. Most other bikes are happy with semi-synthetic oil without issue: mid range, synthetic oil and mineral oil blend. Mineral oil is at the bottom of the scale. It comes directly from refined crude oil.
SAE: viscosity
This is a standard set by the Society of Automotive Engineers that focuses on determining the viscosity of an oil.
Viscosity determines the resistance to flow of the oil as a function of temperature. Indeed, the viscosity of the oil depends on its operating temperature.
The first number contains information about cold viscosity. Thus, 0W oil remains liquid down to -35 ° C. So it will go faster to climb the lubrication circuit to lubricate everything. The second number indicates the hot viscosity (measured at 100 ° C). This indicates the resistance of the oil and its ability to withstand high temperatures. In theory, the lower the first digit (up to 0) and the higher the second digit (up to 60), the better the performance. In fact, an oil that would be rated 0W60 would be too liquid and lead to excessive consumption, especially for an aging engine.
API
The American Petroleum Institute has established a classification of oils based on several criteria such as dispersibility, detergent, or corrosion protection. Depending on its performance, the oil inherits a letter after S (for service): SA, SB… S.J. The further up the alphabet, the better the performance. The SJ standard is the best today.
CCMC
This is a European standard and is currently administered by the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers. Performance is indicated by a number appended to the letter G, ranging from G1 to G5. This standard was superseded in 1991 by the ACEA standard.
ACEA
The Association of European Automobile Manufacturers has set a new standard for the use of oil. This classification is a combination of a letter and a number. The letter identifies the fuel (A = gasoline engine, B = diesel engine). The number defines performance and can range from 1 (minimum) to 3 (best).
Conclusion
Because motorcycle engine limits often exceed automotive engine limits, it is advisable to use special motorcycle oils.
It is often said that different oils should not be mixed. In fact, oils from different manufacturers can be mixed, provided that the qualities of the oils are identical: example 5W10, etc.
