Trials Australia Forums

My preferred local option for oil is a Penrite dealer, and I like the fact that Penrite is an Australian company.

I've been using Penrite ATF oil in my bikes ('07 GG '13 Sherco) and have been happy enough with it.

Now I've added a '17 Beta 300 2t to the stable and am contemplating what to use.
The recommended oil is Liqui Moly Racing 4T 10w-30. It would appear this is now called Liqui Moly 4T 10w-30 Street. The spec sheet for this says, "based on synthetic technology" so it's unclear to me if it's what would be called semi-synthetic or full synthetic.

Dave Ryan told me that although many people use ATF in the Beta's the only stuck plates he's seen have all been on bikes running ATF so he doesn't use it. Sounds a reasonable warning to heed.

So far I've tried Penrite MC-4ST SEMI SYNTHETIC 10W-30 and SMALL ENGINE 4 STROKE 10W-30 (Semi Syn) which is very similar to the MC-4ST. Both seem pretty similar in feel shifting and clutch to me. Both are lower viscosity than the Liqui Moly and are rated to JASO MA rather than MA2.
I'm wondering about trying the MC-4ST FULL SYNTHETIC 10W-40. This is higher viscosity than the Liqui Moly, but carries the same MA2 spec. I'm just a bit unsure about using full synthetic.

Has anyone tried the Penrite Full Synthetic, or can anyone shed light on the Liqui Moly being full or semi- synthetic?

In many ways I'm happy to just keep using the semi-synthetic and change it frequently (I change ATF at 10 hours, it seems the MC-4ST doesn't start to feel notchy or look dirty so soon so I've gone out to 15 hours with it), however I'm also happy to spend a little more and use a better oil in an effort to keep the bike working nicely longer. I get a pretty good price on the oil so the cost is not a big deal.

Take a look at lubealloy.com.au.

I run one of their oils in my adventure bike and it shifts significantly smoother than off the shelf oils.

Alastair

Why not just use the recommended Penrite 2t gear oil?

tat ty wrote:Take a look at lubealloy.com.au.

I run one of their oils in my adventure bike and it shifts significantly smoother than off the shelf oils.

Alastair

Thanks Alastair, but I like to support my local shop, he does Penrite and gives me a good price. Penrite it is.

TRIALTECH wrote:Why not just use the recommended Penrite 2t gear oil?

Because I've been blinkered
I've been focusing on oils that match the original spec which was an engine oil, so I guess I just forgot to look at gearbox oils - duh.

That looks worth a try - a bit higher viscosity measurements than all the engine oils, but the proof is in the pudding.

It's interesting to see that although the Liqui Moly Gear Oil 10W-30 has identical viscosity specs to the engine oil, Beta specify engine oil rather than the gear oil. Makes me wonder why. Could be as simple as they don't want to carry another range of oil and the engine oil works so that'll do. Or not.

Have you used the Penrite gear oil?
In the Beta?
Any comments?

I'd still be interested to find out about the full/semi synthetic question.

Thanks

I've experimented with both, in new and old bikes, and found no determinable difference but I change oils ever couple of events anyway. The trick is to to find an oil that doesn't contain an anti friction additive since that's not great for a wet clutch. Most folk that use ATF choose it because it's designed for wet clutches and it gives a lighter clutch action. My preferred oil is a semi synthetic: Motul transoil expert sae 10w40 technosynthese. Hope this helps.
Cheers
PaulMac

paulm wrote:I've experimented with both, in new and old bikes, and found no determinable difference but I change oils ever couple of events anyway. The trick is to to find an oil that doesn't contain an anti friction additive since that's not great for a wet clutch. Most folk that use ATF choose it because it's designed for wet clutches and it gives a lighter clutch action. My preferred oil is a semi synthetic: Motul transoil expert sae 10w40 technosynthese. Hope this helps.
Cheers
PaulMac

Thanks Paul.
I talked with Penrite Tech Support and came to the conclusion that the MC-4ST SEMI SYNTHETIC 10W-30 was probably a good compromise. They assured me that it was no problem to swap between the Full/Semi/Non Synthetic oils, but in this application there was little to no benefit in the full synthetic. I may try their gear oil out of interest, but will likely settle on whichever of the 3 oils I've tried is the cheapest - they all feel similar and new oil of any sort is probably better than old oil of any sort.

:)