As of 5/21/09 I see Husky now recommends Castrol. Castrol has a 10w/50 synthetic but not the previously recommend 10w/60 in my 08 manual. I would like to see what the new owners manual say specifically about the oil weight, for curiosity's sake. Quoated from Husky site: HUSQVARNA RECOMMENDS CASTROL 21-05-2009 Husqvarna Motorcycles announces new partnership with lubricants leader Castrol Husqvarna, with more than 100 years of successful history in off-road bikes, could partner only with a leader in the lubricants sector, such as Castrol. Castrol boasts a great expertise in the industry and features the ideal product for every need of our bikes. The Castrol range is the result of over 100 years of research and development, and it is continuously tested in their laboratories, on the roads and exploited at its highest level in motorsport racing and repeated speed records. The technological partnership between Husqvarna and Castrol also involves all Husqvarna racing activities; riders and official teams will use only Castrol products in national and international competitions, like most of the bike enthusiasts worldwide. Castrol products are fitted as First Fill in all Husqvarna models, ranging from motocross to enduro and supermotard, and are recommended in the new owners' manuals.
Hmm....Not surprising as BMW had jumped into bed with Castrol some time ago Castrol is the "over the counter oil" in a BMW dealership
The Castrol recommended oil for '10 models will be 10w50... We queried this with the factory when the release came out. Currently Castrol in the UK don't list the 10w50 but it is available in mainland Europe so we need to get them to bring it over for us. Dave
What was the relationship between Husqvarna and AGIP? Was AGIP prominently used in the racing circuit? No more baby goo that comes is shipped in the bikes? (lithium looking oil).
Uh oh, better get rid of that AGIP stuff everybody's spent time and money trying to find . It's crap now. Man this stuff gets me going. Now folks will be frantically searching for the exact spec of Brand X again trying to comply to warranty requirements or whatever. Jeez, just use your favorite motorcycle oil and change it every few rides, screw Castrol and AGIP. Rant over
Don't get me wrong, I've no experience with either of the above brands, it's just the affiliation and endorsement that tweaks me and I hate to see people get wrapped up trying to hunt down the exact oil mentioned when there are SO many others readily available. Maybe the new stuff will be more obtainable than the previous for those that care.
I totally agree. In the early '90's my best friend went to Fresno State Univ. for industrial arts. They did some research and performed tests on all major brands available(synthetic and non-synthetic) they found that there was very little difference between brands . I've used Castrol in my '67 Mustang Fastback since engine build in '85. Valvoline in my '52 Chevy P-U and '03 Honda Odyssey. Motorcraft in my '99 F-150 since day one, and finally Spectro in my HuskyTE610. Small engines get whatever. So I guess I'm conducting a test of my own, and everything seems to lasting just fine.
MV agusta..and the parent group at the time were affiliated with AGIP...and it is recommended by many Italian manufactures...like moto guzzi..aprilia..and quite a few scooters as well I suspect the "bespoke" grade 10/60 made many guys run down to the local dealer to find AGIP ...to keep up the faith so to speak...but it was often hard to find...and most people ended up "thinkin with there dipsticks" and running something else.... Its best to stay with your current fav oil..I guess heaven knows how long it will take to import this new castrol oil over here.... http://www.castrol.com/castrol/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9021265&contentId=7039453
its all sponsorship affiliation, its not so much of a technical issue use your equivilant spec of your brand of moto specific oil and be happy and keep your bike happy as well.
Use a high quality oil without fiction modifiers and change it often. I don't think it matters much what brand and none of us are chemical engineers and know better anyway. I have spoke with a dude who tears into these engines a lot and swears the ones using the Diesel oils like Mobile Delvac 1300 last a lot longer and show a lot less wear. Cheap and can get it anywhere.
No oil arguments from me, use whatever you like. I have loved the switch I made to Rotella T. Easy to find, Rekluse specs it for their auto clutch. So cheap, I could change my oil after every ride.
The diesel oils. Won't that be a no no for a wet clutch? The Rotella have friction modifiers in it? The Motorex gets expensive as it's more then $50 a time to do 2 bikes. If Shells Rotella oil wont hurt the clutch, I will try it.
Been using Shell Rotella in my KTM thumpers for many, many, many miles, as have most all of my riding buddies with ZERO issues. Buddy back in Michigan had his KTM 450 torn down last winter and the dealers comment was basically, whatever your doin, keep doing it, the guts looked great. Hard concept to grasp at first considering the stuff is so inexpensive and available at Wal-Mart and I'm going to put it in my $8,000 motorcycle!? It works though. Lots of us out here will attest to it. On that note, we're not running the synthetic as it's not recommended for technical reasons having to do with the clutch that are beyond me! Rumor has it, some of the KTM factory off-road bikes have been running it too, and that comes from a trusted source. For what it's worth.
I've been using Rotella since about the 3rd oil change on my 07 and it works great. I do change the oil often, usually after every couple rides.
I don't think you can change yer oil to often, and and when it's as affordable as Rotella, all the better.
My uncle is an oil engineer in the UK. Spoke to him about this once. He said modern oil is all very good and motor tolerances are amazingly tight. Use any good oil and change it a lot as there is not much of it. It is his feelings clutch plate contamination is the biggest issue. Any good oil should work fine, just keep it clean. He feels "motorcycle oils" are a oil manufacturers dream. Charge a ton for basically the same stuff in a fancy bottle.
Rotella does NOT have the taboo clutch slipping friction modifiers in it. That's why you'll see it being used by so many folks both here and TT. They have the full synth 5W-40 and the dino 15W40. Good value if your bike likes it. My Triumphs don't like it in the gearbox and get really notchy so I've switched out. Husky's not had a flicker of trouble. Sweet Geezus, I can't believe I've bitten so hard into this OIL thread
