Vetech 10w40 semi synthetic oil - it works!

Just a little note for anyone out there who finds themselves wondering if they can get away with using this in a bike with a wet clutch - yes you can. A while back I bought a 20L tub of Vetech 10w40 semi synth from GSF, Vetech appear to be their own brand - after some amazing discounts I actually only paid £30 for all of it! You can find it here.

I bought it with the K100 in mind because of course I can use whatever oil in like in that because it has a dry clutch and the gearbox uses separate oil too, so no worries about excessive shearing or low ZDDP levels breaking the gearbox. It is classed as API SN which is slightly concerning as the low (possibly non existent?) ZDDP level may harm the shims/cam lobes but supposedly it will be fine as long as the motor is run in, which it is. It didn't really matter anyway as I filled it with a 50:50 mix of this Vetech and some SG rated Carlube stuff. I did notice the K drank it's oil a bit quicker than normal, which I put down to the seemingly low viscosity of the Vetech - I know it doesn't touch the Carlube oil.

Anyway, finally running out of a large stock of Hein Gericke 10w40 bike oil posed desperate times when the TRX850 needed a change. Even worse is it takes 3.5L of the stuff, and of course bike oils are so overpriced that an alternative must be found. I figured there was little chance of frivolous things like friction modifiers to be found in such cheap oil as this Vetech, particularly with it being old fashioned 10w40, and the TRX's clutch always seemed strong and grabby so.. What the hell. Sure enough, no clutch slip has been found even under strenuous testing in top gear - the only question now is how quickly it will be burnt off but I cannot answer that just yet, more testing required. I'm also tempted to buy some of that ZDDP paste you can add into your oil, it might help things..

Happy scrimping!