seavoyage Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) I recently acquired a 1995 JT35. http://www.gasgasmot...ntact_jt_35.jpg Gas Gas http://www.Gas Gas.com/tech.htm recommends 650cc of 5W30 which seems to be difficult to find in a non-synthetic JASO-MA certified version. Gas Gas is also quite specific not to use Synthetic oils in the transmission/clutch. Modern synthetic motorcycle oils are not recommended in trials bikes which demands a lot from the feel of the clutch. I'm hesitant to try a 5W30 motor oil with friction modifiers designed for automobiles. I run ATF-F in my 2003 Pro, as recommended for the 'Pro' motor; but I don't think ATF-F is appropriate in the older motor. The Gas Gas JT35 motor was based on the older GT Contact, and used in the JTR/JTX/TXT and 'Edition' line all the way to 2004, with a similar design used by Sherco till 2009. Absolutely bullet-proof engine with the first 4 gear ratios for trials, and 5th/6th for trail riding. The same engine design was adopted into the Gas Gas Enduro and MX engines from the mid-'90s to present. Any recommendations for a 5W30 Dino oil without friction modifiers? BTW - On my Gas Gas EC300 I run 900cc of Rotella T (15W40) as recommended for the Rekluse clutch. Edited March 14, 2013 by seavoyage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jse Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 I recently acquired a 1995 JT35. http://www.gasgasmot...ntact_jt_35.jpg Gas Gas http://www.Gas Gas.com/tech.htm recommends 650cc of 5W30 which seems to be difficult to find in a non-synthetic JASO-MA certified version. Gas Gas is also quite specific not to use Synthetic oils in the transmission/clutch. Modern synthetic motorcycle oils are not recommended in trials bikes which demands a lot from the feel of the clutch. I'm hesitant to try a 5W30 motor oil with friction modifiers designed for automobiles. I run ATF-F in my 2003 Pro, as recommended for the 'Pro' motor; but I don't think ATF-F is appropriate in the older motor. The Gas Gas JT35 motor was based on the older GT Contact, and used in the JTR/JTX/TXT and 'Edition' line all the way to 2004, with a similar design used by Sherco till 2009. Absolutely bullet-proof engine with the first 4 gear ratios for trials, and 5th/6th for trail riding. The same engine design was adopted into the Gas Gas Enduro and MX engines from the mid-'90s to present. Any recommendations for a 5W30 Dino oil without friction modifiers? BTW - On my Gas Gas EC300 I run 900cc of Rotella T3 (15W40) as recommended for the Rekluse clutch. I always ran Dexron ATF in my 96 JTR370 and never had any problems. I did, however, change it often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copemech Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 In answer to your specific question, no. I understand what you are asking, and if you do not want to use car engine oil of 10-30(the 5 or 10 is irrelevent), then try using a high quality motorcycle gearbox oil. I use Maxima MTL 75 and there are many other motorcycle specific oils. To each his own, and your clutch bite may vary, such as with ATF, which is of course a bit lighter viscosity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seavoyage Posted March 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) I use Maxima MTL 75 and there are many other motorcycle specific oils. To each his own, and your clutch bite may vary, such as with ATF, which is of course a bit lighter viscosity. Ryan Young has promoted Maxima MTL 75W for the Sherco which is a similar engine design. I just got off the phone with Gas Gas - Rotella and Amsoil came up. We're considering Rotella T - only a bit heavy at 15W40: need a good warm up, but that should be Standard Operating Procedure in 2-strokes to extend piston/cylinder life. Anyone try Maxima Snow 4T which is a JASO-FC Dino 5W30? http://www.maximausa...&products_id=10 or Maxima Premium4 JASO-MA Dino 5W30 http://www.maximausa...1&products_id=6 Sherco recommended Valvoline Syntec or Durablend 4T 10w-40 for the gearbox Edited March 14, 2013 by seavoyage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copemech Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 Yes, both Sherco and Beta are similar design, not sure the origin of the friction plates in the old gasser, yet Sureflex being the most in the later bikes of that type. You did toutch on a point, and that is the amount of heat in the motor, and I could potentially relate this to other issues such as cold clutch drag and poor(cold start) separation due to sitting and surface tention. Fact is, it can be difficult to get heat into a trials motor, putting around, stopping at sections, the stuff may never warm up on a cold day! I have done a fair amount of experimentation over time with the Shercos, and quite frankly, I think a lot of this may come down to what you expect and may tolerate as a trade. There seems no magic here, as you might imagine, so feel free to experiment as I think it safe and as you have already seen may go either direction. Nothing against synthetics here either, as I ran the Mercedes ATF, prolly similar to Amsoil or others for several years. Bit more thin and rattley, but works a trick because I like a light clutch and can actually pull a couple opposing springs out the basket for my use and still get a good action. You be the judge! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outlaw dave Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 WE have used 5w30 Opti 4 for years in all older Gassers and other Trials bikes - available at most Lawn & garden stores in the States or check with Interlube International out of Blaine Washington - 1-800 332 5851 ask for Paul or Brad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sting32 Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) SeeVoyage... you are getting the same information that thousands of "riders" have used, even myself for several years, on this and adv, and or ThumperTalk. JSE is a highly regarded technical expert when it comes to Gas Gas, goto Gas Gas.com click on the tech link, notice who you see giving us pointers on our bikes? Yep, mr JSE... The information flows much easier now than it did when your JT35 was new. Because we can look it up on the web. In the older days we'd have to ask dealers, parts places, and respected riders, "what you runnin in there?" Most everyone runs ATF, like JSE states. There are hundreds of posts and topics on all these forums, arguing the same thing. Seems to me we used 50cc less than the "book says to use" as well, which can help with clutch dragging. BUT if you are going to ride this thing, as a "dirt bike" instead of trials competition type, then by ALL MEANS use the thicker 10w/30 and use the FULL amount !!!! What worked good in my Gas Gas, "MAYBE" hasn't worked as well for Sherco/BETA/Montesa, so keep that in mind. I had a buddy that had left over oil that was great for his 2003 ish Sherco, that he tried in his Gas Gas "pro" model, and we thought (until he told me what he'd done that is) had a serious problem in the tranmission area (clutch). How we figured it out was, the week before we were riding, bike is just fine (new to him at the time) next weekend we're starting to ride, and he's all "crap! something is wrong" so I start trying to help figure it out. I finally said, "what did you do since last weekend"???? He said I changed the tranmission oil. I said what did you use? He said well I had that brand new quart of (oil he was given when he bought the sherco) which was not the ATF, nor any other 'weight or brand' I have used in a Gas Gas, and I've had a few... Changed it back to ATF, and the bike was fine. Edited March 14, 2013 by sting32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seavoyage Posted March 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) I always ran Dexron ATF in my 96 JTR370 and never had any problems. I did, however, change it often. The PO ran Rock Oil. Response from Adrian at Lewisportusa was to go with Jon Stoodley ( JSE?) recomendation: 650cc 5W30; given his response on this thread we'll try Dexron ATF. I did find Yamalube 5W30 JASO-MA certified Dino oil: http://www.yamaha-mo...458/detail.aspx Edited March 14, 2013 by seavoyage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jse Posted March 14, 2013 Report Share Posted March 14, 2013 (edited) The PO ran Rock Oil. Response from Adrian at Lewisportusa was to go with Jon Stoodley ( JSE?) recomendation: 650cc 5W30; given his response on this thread we'll try Dexron ATF. I did find Yamalube 5W30 JASO-MA certified Dino oil: http://www.yamaha-mo...458/detail.aspx I think the 5W-30 or ATF should work fine, each has a little different engagement profile. I also ran Rock Oil Lite in the 370 as it as available on the West Coast when I lived there. I also ran 650 and 700 cc's and could not feel the difference. From my experience, the key is to change it often, Trials stresses clutches more than any other motorcycle sport so you want to keep your tranny oil fresh and moisture free. Jon ps. That guy on the Gas Gas websites is really my Evil Twin...... ps.ps. If you want the final say on the GasGas, talk with Jim Snell in the U.S. or Factory Kev in the U.K., those guys have forgotten more than I'll ever know about them. Edited March 15, 2013 by jse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandabs Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 I went with 5w-30 non-synthetic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biffsgasgas Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 Jon ps. That guy on the Gas Gas websites is really my Evil Twin...... ps.ps. If you want the final say on the GasGas, talk with Jim Snell in the U.S. or Factory Kev in the U.K., those guys have forgotten more than I'll ever know about them. You sell yourself short sir. I disagree... --Biff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonezone Posted June 16, 2014 Report Share Posted June 16, 2014 i just buy the cases of 5-30 synth from costco and change it often. never had an issue... trail ride, not trials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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