Questions on oil

[Bo]

Hi,
After changing a gear in the crankcase, I have to put back some oil. The former owner of my bike (who drains the oil I had before, let it outside, so it's full of water) bought some new oil. However, it is some 10W40 oil from dollar general, and as I'm not in hurry to destroy my engine, I have some doubts on this choice. I read older post, and went to the conclusion that most of you recommend Castrol 4 stroke motorcycle oil or yamalube. Can I use it just to get familiar with the bike, and change it before I do any longer ride? Should I absolutely avoid to put this one in the bike? We had enough problems not to had a new one neglecting the quality of the oil, so I'm asking for your help!
Thanks for the answers
Bo

[kiawrench]

bo,
  a vision is an animal that cant eat dollar store oil. best to stay with a good oil from your local bike shop. you will find a suitable oil at any motorcycle shop, you dont have to pay the high yamalube price. I buy oil by the case from my local honda dealer, works well, starts easy in the cold and is about half the price of yamalube products. as for filters, you can buy those by the box from jc whitney catalog,or a yamaha dealer,if they have one in stock.

   Car oils have additives in them that can damage the clutch discs, rendering your bike a large yard ornament,clutch kits are few and expensive . best not to use the discount store stuff for anything other than topping off a car you plan to sell soon.

[Lucky]

The castrol 4 stroke m/c oil is inexpensive compared to what you find in m/c shops & is a good choice.

Tell you what, if your crankcase was full of water, then i would use the dollar store oil only to flush it.  drain the water, fill with the dollar store oil, run the bike for 2-3 min & drain it well. (20 min, go get some lunch)  then seal it up, change the filter & add a GOOD oil.

--Lucky

[rick_nowak]

using the cheap oil for a flush seems like a good idea.  it will come out looking like a chocolate milkshake if you have residual water in the crankcase.  if there was a lot of residual water i would recommend flushing twice, using the cheap oil.  warm it up a bit more the second time.  the rest of the water will boil out of the oil on the first real ride.  on cars which have antifreeze the glycols never really boil out so you need to flush more until the chocolate milkshake is gone.