Synthetic Atf Or 5w30 Mobil 1

[dmx84]

I have a

[jaylael]

The '00 Beta Rev 3 I had produced alarming amounts of aluminum shavings like you describe. I turns out after teardown and inspect that the source is the innermost friction disc is meant by design to ride against the aluminum surface on the clutch "quill" or center hub. There are actually no ill effects from this as long as you change your oil frequently. It eventually will taper off as the aluminum gets polished by clutch use. Many a Beta owner has spent sleepless nights over this NON PROBLEM. As for using 10 30 versus atf, either one is o.k. as long as you are satisfied with the clutch release. I suspect you are not, hence the desire to put atf in it. Go ahead and flush it with some kerosene like you describe. Just make sure to change the oil frequently and try not to worry too much about the aluminum chips. It O.K.! These are great bikes as you know. Happy Beta riding, Jay L.

[clarkp]

My '03 had ATF in it from a previous owner - presumably to reduce clutch drag. I spoke with the US importer and he strongly recommended against using ATF but to go back to a motorcycle transmission fluid or something in-spec per the owner's manual. I now use Torco MTF with fair results... by that I mean the clutch drags until it gets hot.

I purchased a clutch master cylinder rebuild kit (haven't installed it yet) to hopefully help with the amount of fluid that gets displaced with each lever stroke to get the clutch plates to separate farther and reduce drag. Hope it works.

[ronm]

One of the more interesting things about trials is the range of opinions on any particular subject. In some circles, in the late 90's ATF was considered a no no. Bad for the clutch, too thin for the gears, etc. But lots of Beta riders used it with no problems. I did not like the fact that it made the clutch in my '96 Beta a little too grabby on the release. But lots of these bikes had clutch drag problems. I tried the Maxima gear oil, but it caused too much drag. A good compromise was the Elf 2 stroke gear lube. It gave a pretty good clutch action. It is no longer available in the states. Then I got a GasGas and 10w30 motor oil was the recommended product. Conventional -not synthetic. There were some reports that synthetics were not good for the clutch plates. After a while the recommendation changed to ATF. I was reluctant to try it because of the Beta experience. But I finally tried it and liked it a lot. Now I have an '04 Rev3 I am using 5w30 conventional in it. It is working fine. I would rather use this than ATF as long as the clutch does not drag.

If your clutch is working OK, I would not go back to ATF. An interesting note is that lots if not all car makers use ATF in the manual transmissions of their cars and trucks. I think the reason though is fuel economy since the thinner stuff creates less drag. There you go- another free opinion and worth every penny you paid for it!

[ron]

Beta builds it's motors to a very close tolerance and ATF is adamently not recommended as the oil actually is used as a buffer or (shim as you will) ATF is not thick enough and can cause Machined parts to get too close together.. on a side note the new REV 3 engines are about 1.9 " narrower than the techno predecessor.. although they look the same they are very different.. Ipone makes an oil that is comparable or better than the Elf .. so Here in America you can get a high Quality Synthetic Again .. We have tested almost all Brands and this one seems to work the best..

A little insight never hurt....

[dmx84]

Ron, is that oil just gear oil? I

[ronm]

Thanks RonC,

Thanks for jumping in.

I assume that means you are using Ipone in your team bikes? I should have asked Ray about it. Is the gear lube synthetic or conventional?

In the same vein as the first part of my post above about various opinions, there was a thread going around a while back talking about Ipone engine oil being too dirty for trials engines. Have you guys noticed it being any dirtier than others?

BTW, the test in Trials Comp. this month sure made the Rev sound like the ideal bike.

[dmx84]

RonM, I guessing that you don

[ronm]

Sorry to give that impression. I really do not know much about it. That is why I was asking Mr Commo. They have some pretty cool stickers. I think oils are somehow a personnal thing. I thought it was horrible when they quit selling Elf over here. I switched to Belray H1R and have been using it for a couple of years, so I am comfortable with it. But the guys at Beta USA are super knowledgeable about Betas and trials, so if Ron C likes it, that is a good endorsement. I will probably at least give the gear lube a try.

[dmx84]

I just purchased Red Line 20w50 for my bike. The book calls for IP duel grade 20w30. I