The Hodaka Club Forum

The Manual for the 1973 Combat Wombat states to use 30 weight non detergent oil.
Well good luck finding that. What can be used? 10-30 10-40 20-50 ?
Regular Oil? Synthetic oil ? Thoughts?

Thanks Mike

Quick, go to your local Moto shop or cycle supply and get some of this. KISS, Keep It Super Simple. You won't go wrong. I hope I made it time, buckle up.

What Kelly said.
Ed (former PABATCO/Hodaka employee)

Now hold your horses fellas. I need me some edge-u-ma-cay-shun here. I always thought the standard Bel-Ray Gear Saver oil was the preferred sauce for wet clutch transmissions (ala Hodaka) and the Hypoid (as shown in this thread) was not indicated for use in wet clutch transmissions. I'd be happy to learn that I'm overthinking this thing, but I would really be thrilled to learn of any experience regarding A/B comparisons between the standard and hypoid renditions - especially if anyone can comment on clutch slipability as that's my thing - I work the dickens out of the clutch.

Uh oh I hate to even say this... but Bel-Ray does not recommend the Hypoid gear oil for wet clutches. Hypoid oil is for hypoid gears and sliding shafts but not clutches. Your local dealer will have several gear oils designed for motorcycle transmissions with wet clutches including Bel-Ray, Maxima, Klotz, Motul, Silkolene, PJ1, Motorex, etc... They are all good. An 80wt gear oil would be about the same viscosity as 30wt motor oil. I'm sorry to open this can of worms but I feel strongly about it and steer my customers away from Hypoid oil for wet clutch applications.

Oops I see Matt beat me to it!

Great minds think alike, huh Pop?!? My brother uses the Bel-Ray 80/90W Hypoid Gear Saver in his shaft drive bikes and swears by it. I just asked him why and he cited good film strength for really highly-loaded gears as the reasoning.

Best,

Matt

Danny Cooke recommended this oil to me for the Hodaka crankcases. It's all I use now! ; D Victor

DOH! I didn't read further than Bel Ray Gear Saver on the label. The proper Bel Ray product motorcycles and wet clutches on the label I think. Sorry 'bout that!
Ed

oops. that should have said, . . . mentions motorcycles and wet clutches . . .
Ed

Thanks guys, guess it's a good idea to check the label when taking off the shelves at the store.

Good discussion, as usual. Many good gear oils on the market. Check the label, and "avoid hypoid" and double-check "wet clutches". Hodaka is old-school and some products are for the new-fangled scoots. One thing we find on the old BMWs is that _synthetic_ oil may cause an old oil seal to start leaking. It appears to be OK with a new seal installation.

Now that everyone got me confused, I thought I'd better say that I've been using Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10w-40 Synthetic for years in Hodakas, my Yamaha XS-650 and even the farm Yamaha 4-wheeler. API SG rating as called for in wet clutch application and weights listed in real oil weight rather than gear oil conversions. Multi-viscosity for all weather, winter to summer. I think it also comes in 20W-50 for the Harley boys. Just my opinion!

Max

Max, this is a dreaded oil thread. "Confabulated" is normal. Use whatever works for you and ride happily.

A few more comments on oil. I'm not selling Mobil 1 products but I do use them for all my engines. Synthetics have more designed features than standard oils could ever have. Nothing works harder than air-cooled 4-strokes such as tillers and mowers. I use the same synthetic brand with different ratings for all my equipment from the family car to the garden tiller including motorcycles. API rating SG is not only for wet clutches but for meshing gears. Current automobile ratings SN,SM are for better mileage but not for transmissions or wet clutches. M1 4T is rated for both so I can safely use it in my Yamaha XS-650 where the oil is used in the engine and transmission along with the wet clutch. The farm Yamaha 4 wheeler does't use a wet clutch but does share the oil with the transmission and needing SG rating. The Hodaka has both wet clutch and meshing gears again needing SG rating. The four wheeler and Hodaka also need multi-viscosities for different seasons which most straight gear only oils do not. All things to consider when choosing oils for different applications. It does cut down the number of bottles on the shelf. Again, just my opinion. The bottom line is the proper API rating for each use.

Max

PS--Hey Bill, the dreaded oil discussion does come by fairly regularly and I always like to give it a shot.

This is the oil that I use in my hodaka and have had great results. My transmission parts are isotropic polished so I think that helps with wear and keeping the trans oil clean. I started out changing oil about every 400-500 miles and the oil was just like new, so I started to go longer between oil changes and the last one was 2000 miles and the oil was still clean. When I pulled the engine apart with about 7000 miles, the gears and all the parts still looked new. The oil I've been using is this amsoil 0-40w motorcycle oil.....good stuff and worth a look.
http://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-product/m ... rts-0w-40/

Hey Doug, The "what oil'' discussions are really fun and I was surprised that the last one ended that quickly. I think the bottom line is to just check the ratings for wet clutch and transmission gear usage. Synthetics have advantages over conventional oils and multi-viscosity is a good idea for seasonal usage. Anything with SG or equivalent ratings will protect your clutch and gear contact areas well, while new automotive engine oils provide better mileage and adequate protection for that application they can cause clutch slipping and gear face erosion in our case.(so to speak).

Looks to be a good choice!

Max