In my last report on the Sherco 300 SE Factory long term test bike I mentioned using four-stroke motor oil in my gearbox for a two-stroke.
I was half-expecting a barrage of abuse and a bunch of people telling me I’m liable for a bunch of blown up two-strokes. Fortunately, the only messages I got were about the other oils I use. It seems my motor oil trick in my Sherco 300 SE Factory long term test is not so secret! Everyone must be using it.
In regards to the other oils I use, I try to stick with the oils recommended by the manufacturer no matter what bike I’m riding. I know most manufacturers have a deal with an oil company that means they have to run their oil regardless of the quality but seeing as how Sherco’s is with Motul and Motul are well-respected I had no issues. SO I’ve been running their regular two-stroke oil in my premix at between 40:1 and 50:1 depending on the riding I’m doing, the Motul Air filter oil and as mentioned the Motul four-stroke motor oil in my gearbox.
So far I have had no issues with any of the moving parts inside my engine. I haven’t stripped it down but it still has excellent compression, starts easily and there’s no sign of engine wear. In my experience these engines have been pretty bullet proof anyway but making sure it has top-quality oil in it helps. I know Motul is a little more expensive that say Shell oil, but I do believe companies like Motul do make a better oil and if it saves an early top-end rebuild, I’d happily pay the little bit more.
Getting back to my fuel and oil ratios, it might sound strange to vary them but I have good reason and I haven’t had any issues. You probably know by now that most of my riding is in slow, snotty stuff where I’m rarely in third gear. The engine is never working that hard and therefore does not need as much oil. I’ve always run at 40:1 but I found the motor was getting all fouled up and needed blowing out after every ride. It was leaving a nasty oil stain on my pipe and when we ran it on the dyno a few months ago, the neighbors thought there was a bush fire with the amount of smoke it spewed out.
So I have switched to 50:1. I was originally a little nervous as I didn’t want to run into any engine problems but after at least 10 hours running this ratio I had no problems. Any time I go beach riding or for a long trailride on singletrack and fire road I bump it up to 40:1. It means I’m wasting less oil, there’s less residual oil at the bottom of my exhaust and I’m blowing less blue smoke.
MITCH LEES