Hi, I am unsure as to what oil to put in my beta techno 250, I’ve done some reading and it seems to suggest 80W? But I’ve just dropped the oil and it looks a lot like ATF? 

Any help would be much appreciated! :D

I use ATF, seems to work well 

 

If you use Automatic Transmission fluid in place of a heavier weight grade of oil then although no apparent damage is done, the down side can be for some bikes that the transmission is noisier or rattles at low idle or both. There are different types of ATF so pick carefully. ATF works extremely well in nearly all all metal clutches in bikes as the oil can work at really high temperatures just as it has to in a vehicles auto trans.?

Whenever i hear someone using ATF in a gearbox i laugh

9 minutes ago, faussy said:

Whenever i hear someone using ATF in a gearbox i laugh

any particular reason?

28 minutes ago, jimmyl said:

any particular reason?

Inappropriate usage, the clues in the name. 

Edited September 23, 20196 yr by faussy

2 hours ago, faussy said:

Inappropriate usage, the clues in the name. 

Automatic Transmission, (Gearbox with wet clutches).

whats the problem, and its in some user manuals

 

Edited September 23, 20196 yr by suzuki250

Ha! Ha!

Edited September 24, 20196 yr by lineaway

Faussy, and I run 10/40 motor oil in my Allison transmission instead of ATF for the same reason. Because it works better for what I use it for. Manuals are just a guide, not the last word on a subject.

6 hours ago, faussy said:

Inappropriate usage, the clues in the name. 

An automatic gearbox is very close to a trials gear box and clutch. Designed for good clutch operation and planetary gears

1 hour ago, jimmyl said:

An automatic gearbox is very close to a trials gear box and clutch. Designed for good clutch operation and planetary gears

Never knew my bike had planetary gears, learn something every day

No but more than capable of high pressure loading as on the spur gear 

Automatic transmission FLUID is designed to flow through the valve chest to operate the selection of brake band servos ( to engage or release a planetary gear set) and system control valves such as the ‘ kick down’ system ( theres more but thats enough for now). This Fluid has to operate straight from cold and all the way up to high temperatures 100+degrees C ( hence the transmission fluid cooler)due to the fluid having to flow through the torque convertor ( stator, turbine, impeller etc) to create drive from the engine to the transmission until ‘lock up’ when you have 1 to 1 all components in the torque convertor rotating at the same speed. Mercedes Benz used ATF in some of their manual gearboxes to enable easier gear shifting for the driver at the cost of added gear noise at idle when you could notice it. Many other vehicle manufacturers use ATF in their manual gearboxes but now there are specialist oils specifically developed for a particular gearbox.  

The straight cut gears in a motorcycle gearbox will happily churn away in what ever oil you care to treat them to, too thick ie EP 90 in some cases can cause stiff selection and that grade is not necessarily suitable for some clutches if lubed by the same gearbox/sump. Straight cut gears will put up with a tremendous amount of load and poor gear selection by the rider, unlike the helical cut gears in a car gear box. Indeed the main reason that you can select a gear without clutch use when moving is the dog teeth desin

In so far as using a multi-grade engine oil in an agricultural machine with a form of automatic transmission I would not like to pass comment. But British Leyland used multi-grade engine oil in their automatic transmissions, the Maxi, the 1800 and 2.2 Land Crab, the Mini, 1100 and the Allegro all disastrous vehicles as automatics. They had to use engine oil because the gearbox was also the engines sump! Can’t remember any that operated smoothly or did not require major transmission work at some stage in less than 30-40,000 miles. The oil needed changing every 3,000 miles because it got so trashed trying to work as an engine lube and an auto transmission fluid (which it wasn’t)! Mainly the clutch packs burned out due to the oil breaking down due to the high temperature the oil was expected to work at! 

Some auto trans fluids can contain certain chemical additives that will attack and destroy bushes used in some transmissions so check before you bung any old fluid in.

ATF lends itself to motorcycle all metal clutches and drive pinions or chains because it can deal with the sudden rise in temperature generated when the clutch is slipped etc. Again as the ATF is chemically designed to operate with friction materials (clutch packs and brake band linings) it can be ideal for those bike clutches that employ friction blocks, corks, glued on friction material etc...not for all but most??

Edited September 24, 20196 yr by section swept

12 hours ago, jimmyl said:

No but more than capable of high pressure loading as on the spur gear 

 

10 hours ago, section swept said:

Automatic transmission FLUID is designed to flow through the valve chest to operate the selection of brake band servos ( to engage or release a planetary gear set) and system control valves such as the ‘ kick down’ system ( theres more but thats enough for now). This Fluid has to operate straight from cold and all the way up to high temperatures 100+degrees C ( hence the transmission fluid cooler)due to the fluid having to flow through the torque convertor ( stator, turbine, impeller etc) to create drive from the engine to the transmission until ‘lock up’ when you have 1 to 1 all components in the torque convertor rotating at the same speed. Mercedes Benz used ATF in some of their manual gearboxes to enable easier gear shifting for the driver at the cost of added gear noise at idle when you could notice it. Many other vehicle manufacturers use ATF in their manual gearboxes but now there are specialist oils specifically developed for a particular gearbox.  

The straight cut gears in a motorcycle gearbox will happily churn away in what ever oil you care to treat them to, too thick ie EP 90 in some cases can cause stiff selection and that grade is not necessarily suitable for some clutches if lubed by the same gearbox/sump. Straight cut gears will put up with a tremendous amount of load and poor gear selection by the rider, unlike the helical cut gears in a car gear box. Indeed the main reason that you can select a gear without clutch use when moving is the dog teeth desin

In so far as using a multi-grade engine oil in an agricultural machine with a form of automatic transmission I would not like to pass comment. But British Leyland used multi-grade engine oil in their automatic transmissions, the Maxi, the 1800 and 2.2 Land Crab, the Mini, 1100 and the Allegro all disastrous vehicles as automatics. They had to use engine oil because the gearbox was also the engines sump! Can’t remember any that operated smoothly or did not require major transmission work at some stage in less than 30-40,000 miles. The oil needed changing every 3,000 miles because it got so trashed trying to work as an engine lube and an auto transmission fluid (which it wasn’t)! Mainly the clutch packs burned out due to the oil breaking down due to the high temperature the oil was expected to work at! 

Some auto trans fluids can contain certain chemical additives that will attack and destroy bushes used in some transmissions so check before you bung any old fluid in.

ATF lends itself to motorcycle all metal clutches and drive pinions or chains because it can deal with the sudden rise in temperature generated when the clutch is slipped etc. Again as the ATF is chemically designed to operate with friction materials (clutch packs and brake band linings) it can be ideal for those bike clutches that employ friction blocks, corks, glued on friction material etc...not for all but most??

Sorry guys, i disagree but that's ok. I have a GG so an overly thin oil with extra detergents that is also used for oiling the main bearings is an absolute no go for me. Literally heard the consequences of running ATF in gasgass. Most people i know who run ATF do it to fix their draggy clutch, while ignoring the detrimental effects it has on everything else. Just fix the clutch instead and then you can run an oil that will provide you with a bike that still sounds good in 5 years. Ive tried ATF numerous times, never liked what it did to the feel of the clutch

Edited September 24, 20196 yr by faussy

I've used ATF if my gasgas for over 11 years, never had a single problem and it’s still on its original main bearings

Don’t autoboxes have bearings, and how much oil do most 2T mains (and big-ends) get with a weak premix!

Whenever i hear someone say "Literally heard the consequences" I laugh  

 

 

Edited September 24, 20196 yr by suzuki250