Motul All About Lubes : Choosing the Right Engine Oil For Your Commuter Bike

The quality of engine oil matters as much for your everyday commuter bike as it does for your high performance motorcycle. Now, if you use a scooter for your everyday commuting purposes, we recommend you read our guide on choosing the right oil for your scooter by following the link. However, if you own a small commuter motorcycle with 100-150 cc of cubic capacity, this is the place where you’ll get to know all about the right engine oil you need to use. Let’s get going with our commuter bike special in our informative series called Motul All About Lubes.

Older generations of 2-stroke motorcycles such as the Yamaha RX100 or the Suzuki Samurai required you to premix oil with fuel in the tank, which used to burn and get spent in the combustion chamber. Those bikes are obsolete now, and almost all the motorcycles on Indian roads currently run on four-stroke engines. These engines require the oil to be changed at regular intervals.

Unlike high performance motorcycles, small capacity bikes don’t test the capability of engine oils to their limit in most cases. It is therefore, safe to assume that synthetic engine oil isn’t indispensible for your everyday commuter. A good-quality mineral or semi-synthetic engine oil should work pretty well for almost all commuter motorcycles.

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To start off, and as we always recommend, stick to the OEM specification for the engine oil, and don’t change its grade at will. Also, you should not mix synthetic, mineral, or semi-synthetic oils with each other or with grades or brands that differ. Make sure that you know the brand or grade of oil which was filled in previously while topping up.

Always follow the time intervals recommended by manufacturer for oil change. Since modern four stroke bikes are pretty reliable, changing engine oil at regular intervals itself will ensure that your motorcycle engine runs for years without trouble. It is advisable to go with a high quality brand. While it may cost a little more, it helps engine run optimally and in a trouble free manner in the longer run and eventually pays for itself.

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Knowing that most of the commuter bike owners get their bikes repaired from a local mechanic, it’s important that you always oversee you engine oil changes. Most mechanics try to save some money by putting in cheap, low grade oil while charging you for a higher grade. In most cases they use 20W40 oil, while most motorcycle makers recommend 10W30. So while your bike is serviced, ensure that your local mechanic uses either 10W30, or a grade matching the manufacturer recommendation.

Using 10w30 engine oil over 20w40 oil ensures that the oil flows through the mechanicals without resistance even in low temperatures, and prevents engine damage during cold starts.

Another important thing to look out for is the JASO MA2 grade. The JASO MA2 grade was introduced by JASO in 2006. The JASO MA2 is a higher grade of engine oils for modern motorcycles. JASO MA2 approval means the oil is suitable for use in bikes with catalytic converters in the exhaust system. Always ensure that the engine oil you are buying is JASO MA2 graded if the manufacturer so requires.

One also needs to be wary of the engine oil grade if the motorcycle is very old. It is advisable to use 15w50 grade oil instead of 20w40 on motorcycles made before the year 2008. This offers a double benefit of quicker cold starts to prevent engine damage and thicker viscosity even at higher temperatures, preventing the engine from leaks.

Motul, the brand behind this informative series is lauded the world over for its quality lubes and innovation. The Motul 300V range of oils is pretty much the best engine oil for motorcycles money can buy. Motul is also a pioneer and a global leader in ester technology which the absolute best form of motor engine oils. Motul offers its range of high quality, premium engine oils for commuter motorcycles as well.

The recommended range of oils from Motul for a variety of commuter motorcycles such as the Splendor, Star City and Victor is the 3000 4T Plus 10W30 mineral oil with JASO MA2 grading. The oil features Motul’s HC-TECH formulation for superior engine and gearbox protection. For motorcycles which were made before the year 2008, Motul recommends its 30004T Plus 15W50 oil.

As always, we hope this instalment of Motul All About Lubes was useful to you. If you have any questions or doubts, please share them with us via the comments section, or by giving us a shout-out on any of our social channels. It would help if you use the hashtag #MotulAllAboutLubes. The lube experts at Motul would be glad to answer all your questions in detail.