Motorcycle Oils are a range of lubricants, including engine oils

Motor oil

Motor oil or engine oil is an oil used for lubrication of various internal combustion engines. The main function is to lubricate moving parts; it also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.Motor oils are derived from...

, which are specifically developed and marketed for use in the internal combustion engines and transmissions

Transmission (mechanics)

A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...

 of motorcycles and may also be recommended for use in vehicles utilizing drive-trains similar to those of motorcycles, such as quad-bikes

All-terrain vehicle

An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...

.

Details

The vast majority of modern motorcycles use the same oil to lubricate the engine, transmission, and (with the exception of bikes with dry clutches, such as Ducatis, Harley-Davidsons and some BMW

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

s) the clutch

Clutch

A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...

. Normal, "car-derived" motor oil

Motor oil

Motor oil or engine oil is an oil used for lubrication of various internal combustion engines. The main function is to lubricate moving parts; it also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.Motor oils are derived from...

s are designed just for engines, but were historically suitable in motorcycles. However, some of the latest American Petroleum Institute, or API

American Petroleum Institute

The American Petroleum Institute, commonly referred to as API, is the largest U.S trade association for the oil and natural gas industry...

 specifications are claimed to be completely unsuitable for motorcycles with wet clutches, although reports of clutch slippage may be exaggerated. Representative organisations of motorcycle manufactures, particularly Japanese Automotive Standards Organization, or JASO

Japanese Automotive Standards Organization

The is an organization that sets automotive standards in Japan, analogous tothe Society of Automotive Engineers in the United States. JASO also sets standards for grades of oil; the highest grade for two-stroke engines being JASO FC, and JASO MA for four-stroke engines .JASO is part of the...

, work with lubricants manufacturers

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

 to create "motorcycle-specific" standards for oils, and the relevant oil companies then develop

Research and development

The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...

 and test oils which are specifically made for motorcycles and in return, they have two different products with the same chemical content.

Transmission lubrication

Motorcycle transmissions, just like all gear-based automotive transmissions can quickly degrade a multi-viscosity, or multi-grade engine oil. Conventional car and truck transmission oils have specific EP

EP additive

Extreme pressure additives, or EP additives, are additives for lubricants with a role to decrease wear of the parts of the gears exposed to very high pressures...

, and other specialised anti-wear additives

Oil additive

Oil additives are chemical compounds that improve the lubricant performance of base oil . By utilizing the same base stock, many different oils can be manufactured, each with its distinctive properties. Additives comprise up to 5% by weight of some oils.Nearly all commercial motor oils contain...

, but these EP additives are not suitable for the combined application of lubricating the engine and transmission with the same oil, as is the norm in motorcycles.

Multi-viscosity oils contain viscosity improver chemicals known as VIs that keep the oil from becoming too thin at high temperatures. The VIs are large chemicals that tend to shear between the cogs of a motorcycle transmission. That can have the effect of reducing a 10W-40 oil to a 10W-30 in a relatively short number of miles.

One solution to shearing is to use single weight oils, which do not have VIs and aren't susceptible to degradation in the transmission. However, single weight oils do not flow well in cold conditions, reducing overall lubrication until the oil has warmed up. An alternative is to use a synthetic oil. Synthetic oil are designed to have good cold-flow properties yet maintain high viscosity with fewer VIs.

Clutch lubrication

Many motorcycles have a wet clutch, where the clutch plates are immersed in oil. Some oils make the friction plates in the clutch slippery so that the clutch doesn't engage properly when shifting gears, or the clutch slips when the engine exceeds a certain torque

Torque

Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist....

. Some oils contain friction reducing chemicals. One element of the JASO-MA standard is a friction test designed to determine suitability for wet clutch usage. An oil that meets JASO-MA is considered appropriate for wet clutch operations. Oils marketed as motorcycle-specific will carry the JASO-MA label.
A properly specified motorcycle oil will still allow for the appropriate lubrication and cooling of a motorcycle clutch, whilst maintaining 100% of the drive to be transmitted by the clutch, even under arduous operating conditions.