I may be asking this question in the wrong place, so if I am..I apologize. I have a 95 Yamaha Kodiak atv and it's time for an oil change. I use a 10w-30 in the engine and I was wondering if I could safely switch to a synthetic oil in this machine? I don't ride the thing on a daily basis nor do I take it in the mud. I mostly ride my son around yard(2 acres).
I will change the filter plus the machine has an oil cooler. Can I safely make this swap in oil types after all these years? If I can, will the engine benefit from the synthetic oil in any way?
Thanks for any advice.

 

Yes.

Yes.

No.

I'd keep using what you are using. If you really want something better, look for a 15w40 diesel rated oil.

 

Thanks Rusty! I really appreciate your response!

 

i think a good synthetic 15w40 diesel oil would be the way to go

 

If the ATV has a wet clutch, then I wouldn't use a synthetic unless it's made for an ATV or motorcycle with a wet clutch. The friction modifiers that are added to automotive oils can cause a wet clutch to slip and wear out sooner.

 

According to my '05 Honda Rancher TRX350ES manual, any SJ rated oil that is not energy conserving can be used. However they reccomend using "Honda" oil (who would have guessed?).

 

Don't worry about switching to a synthetic. If your current oil has worked thus far, it will keep working for many years to come. If you really want to switch, a good oil is Torco with the MPZ, but you would have to switch to a 10w-40. This is a motorcycle/ATV specific oil. Just out of curiosity...are you using the Yamalube 10w-30? or just a plain car oil?

 

I'm with hitecdan - I'd shy away from any oil containing friction modifiers. If you have a wet clutch it just might slip...Been there, done that!
I use Shell Rotella T 15W40 in all my motorcycles.
Both the CBR 1000 and the Super Hawk 996 will spin the back tire out of turns with zero clutch slip. Been there, done that too.
I believe a good diesel oil is one of the most overlooked lubes around. I have run my bikes HARD (not abused, just run hard) and the Shell diesel oil seems to suit them just fine.

 

I'm not sure what brand of oil is in the machine. I bought it used and I had the local Honda dealer service it since they service all brands of bikes and atvs in this area. I need to call them i guess. I was just wondering since I don't ride it that much that I would be better off switching oil types. Since it doesn't use any oil....I guess I better take the advice and just stay with regular oil. I really appreciate all of the replys. Thanks again for the advice.

 

Its not a question of regular versus synthetic oil. Just make sure that you use the correct type for your wet clutch tranny. A regular oil that is energy conserving and contains friction modifiers will cause just as many problems as a synthetic. Whatever you use make sure that it is rated for motorcycle use with a JASO MA rating.