Scootervul.com Forum

[XveganstellaX666]

what do you guys/gals use?


i was looking for motul, but couldnt really find it locally, and right now i have some cheap all purpose 2 stroke oil in the stella, but when it runs out i will be using motorex cross power fully synthetic...



as for gear oil, im about to do my first gear oil change and i have spectro fully synthetic platinum 4 10w40.

[XveganstellaX666]

scratch the spectro... it has detergents and friction modifiers. i dont want to shorten the life of my transmission or cause my clutch to slip, so i guess ill be returning that.. glad i researched it more before i used it. the people at commonwealth knew what my intended use was when i bought it though...
i guess they didnt know about the additives.

[PJ]

For your gearbox just use el cheapo straight 30W Non-Detergent, you should be able to find it at any auto parts store and even some gas stations. Synthetic and fancier oils will not make a bit of difference in that department, might actually be worse. Oils have been debated ad infinitum; the 2-stroke oil is a matter of personal preference. I used to love the Ipone stuff that smelled like strawberry, I'd still buy it if I could get it locally. In India they premix with vegetable oil and god knows what else; there's quite a bit of latitude in what you can use.
PJ

[voxboy]

You beat me to it on the gear oil -- likewise, I don't think you want multiweight oil of any kind in there -- I've always been told to just use "straight weight" SAE 30 -- it's usually quite reasonably priced (i.e. "cheap"), and a quart will get you through two oil changes.

It is my considered opinion that the folks at Commonwealth don't know much about scooters, period. That's why I'd really like to develop a clientele of Stella customers, I like working on them, and most of my old P Series know-how is directly transferrable.

As to changing your oil -- I'd see if you can't find an 8.5 oz nut can (Planter's, Mauna Loa, whatever), they make near-perfect drain pans as they'll catch all your dirty oil (you can transfer it to a larger container later, if you like), and -- more importantly -- they'll fit under the machine.

Now, the HARD part is going to be getting the NEW oil into the machine. The best way I've found is to go purchase one of those big squirt-oil cans, with the very long spout, and a trigger on top. The larger the better, but if at all possible, try to get one with a flexible spout. My can must hold about 4 oz., because I can just about fill and empty it twice, before oil runs out the drain plug on the side. Doesn't hurt to run the bike a little bit before draining it, just to get everything warmed up, so it empties faster.

I've not seen one for Vespas yet (and Stellas may already have them), but if you can either get a magnetic drain plug (or magnetize the one you have with a cheap tool magnetizer/demagnetizer from someplace like Harbor Freight), it'll help to collect the little metal shavings that'll invariably be in your oil, making them easier to dispose of, as well as taking them out of circulation (literally) during your daily course of riding.

[XveganstellaX666]

ive got a syringe to get the oil in.

i just want to use synthetic. not for performance, just to be that much farther from petroleum.

as for working on it, i agree about commonwealth, and i was thinking of taking it to don, but im a cheapskate, so if you can do good work at a competitive price lets talk... i do need someone to give it a once over in the next couple of weeks.. maybe adjust the brakes, clutch/shifter cable tensions etc..

im gonna be riding it to indianapolis soon, and just wanna make sure im not on the cusp of any problems before i go. not to mention i feel like it would be a good idea anyway, since i just got it a couple weeks ago, and it was "maintained" at commonwealth its whole pre me life.

[voxboy]

Well, Don's pretty reasonable, but you'll probably get an earful about the Stellas, he's no great fan ... As far as a general tune-up, I could definitely do that, plus I could show you what to look for, should you want/have to tackle any of this stuff yourself, at some point.

The syringe is another good option (especially the big "catheter syringes," they have no needle, and the drug stores will often sell you one) -- the only bad problem I ran into was that the oil makes the rubber plunger swell, meaning they really only work well ONCE, then you have to get a new one. Now, whether synthetic oil will cause this same phenomenon or not, I donlt know -- but you might want to check it about a week after you use it, just so you know.

I'm guessing synthetic oil in the gearbox won't be a problem, but I'm wondering if you'll be able to find that in a non-detergent, non-multiweight variant. If you do, by all means, let us know what it is, it might be well worth switching!

[XveganstellaX666]

I got a syringe made for oil, so hopefully it won't mess the rubber up.

I know o alot of proper synth gear oils, but jut haven't found them locally yet.

Why soupy think it would be bad to use a multiweight? All that really means is that it would actually lubricate properly when cold, right? If so I can't see why it would be bad. I do plan on riding year roud so I figured it would be a good thing.


Let set up a time to meet.

[voxboy]

I'm not sure what the reasoning is, but that's the way they've always done it.

Shoot me a PM, and let me know when your trip is, and I'll try to work around that.

[XveganstellaX666]

well, my oil finally got low today so i put in the motorex. last time i needed oil all that was available was gumout brand all purpose 2 cycle oil. also i doubt the guy who had it before me was picky about what kind of oil he put in...

anyway, i know the oil has a big impact on a 2 cycle engine, but i would never have imagined this kind of impact. i know how long the fuel in my line takes to burn out because ive forgot to turn the fuel cock to on when ive left my house before. about the same place where i ran out when that happened, my scooter suddenly got quieter, more powerful, vibrated less, and when i got to a light i noticed my slightly slow idle didnt seem slow at all. in addition to all of that, when i got to work i didnt smell like i just mowed 100 yards. based on this experience i do encourage everyone to check out the motorex, or some other high quality synthetic 2 cycle oil. i couldnt be more happier.

[voxboy]

Interesting! I wonder if that's what MY problem is ... I rode up to the parade in Pekin yesterday (found out after I got there that this was the ONE year they moved it to Monday, but that's neither here nor there) -- no problems on the way up, but on the way back, the bike WOULD NOT GO ABOVE 40 MPH, no matter what I did. I finally pulled over and added a dose of STP Gas Treatment to the tank (thinking I'd bought a tank of bad gas), and it took right off up to 50+, but it sunk back down to 40. I don't want to push it too much until I put in a proper throttle cable (I'm STILL running on the one I repaired on the road last year!) -- but by the time I got back to New Albany, the palm of my hand was going numb from pulling on the throttle, and that's NEVER happened before! I've been using this Lucas "Semi-Synthetic" 2 stroke stuff, but I used to use Motul 710, until it got to the point that I'd have to ride all the way to freakin' Middletown to get it, after Scootopia closed down. The Lucas was available locally, and about half the price. Interesting that you had such a change in performance just by changing your 2-stroke oil!

[XveganstellaX666]

yea it was a change for sure. definitely more than i expected, but really a scooter should run fine on conventional oil.. maybe if you got non injector oil, or just a bad batch, then it would make sense i guess that it would cause problems.. its not that mine had problems before, its just been performing better since the switch.

[stillpoint]

I've just always used the cheap stuff from Autozone.... but after reading this, I'm going to try a higher-quality oil from Scooterworks.

[voxboy]

Let me know if you want to split a quart, mine's probably due for a change, anyway.

I've also just used whatever the local Autozone/gas station/convenience store had available, I think I've got a couple of different quarts around here.