Honda air cooled 200cc engine oil change???

[AtcMan4Life]

so I'm looking for some info on changing oil on these older air cooled engines, I was a bit confused with the newer liquid cooled engines. Do these air cooled 200cc motors share the oil for the engine and trans??? I could not find anywhere that the trans would have a drain plug.... I have an 84 200M and also a 2000 XR200 dirt bike pretty much the same engine by the looks of things. Is that all I need to do for oil is take out the big drain plug on the bottom side and clean the filter screen and do I refill through the dip stick hole and keep checking with the dip stick until full???

[AtcMan4Life]

Also what kind of oil should I use what can I use if I cant get honda brand stuff say maybe a automotive oil???

[Honda_ATC]

I use vaoline atv 10-40, and yes the top end shares the same oil and the drain plug is next to the recoil, i believe that its a 22mm

[tripowersport]

ONLY use motorcycle or atv oil NO car motor oil! They have wet clutches. I also use 10-40 tho. I think it is a 25mm bolt on the side with a spring and screen filter.

[WJG1000W]

ONLY use motorcycle or atv oil NO car motor oil! They have wet clutches. I also use 10-40 tho. I think it is a 25mm bolt on the side with a spring and screen filter.
why not thats what i always use

[tripowersport]

I fup my new clutch kit once and that's what Barnet told me.

[WJG1000W]

huh good to know

[kb0nly]

I have always used off the shelf SAE grade automotive oil in all my trikes, bikes, quads, everything we have ever owned, never any special oil in them. The local dealer has a 50 gal drum of valvoline in the shop thats all he put in everything he works on.

I put Castrol GTX in every thing i own with a motor, have been for many many years. We had trikes and bikes on the farm that ran whatever was cheap at the farm supply store or from the local parts dealers. One ran implement dealer oil for years cause we got a good deal on gallon jugs of 10w-40 from them. Never a problem.

Just don't dump in stuff like high mileage formulated etc, they have extra wear prohibitors in them that will mess up wet clutches in these motors. Other than that whatever brand is your favorite go with it. Considering my stuff has survived 20+ years, almost 30 years on a few of them, running nothing but off the shelf oil from the local auto parts stores i have no worries.

[AtcMan4Life]

I use mobile one stuff in all my cars I do all my own maintenance on my vehicles just these atvs are a little different I had no idea that they used the same oil for the trans and engine in one..... weird but makes for less maintenance and cost so I like it :) is the mobile 1 motorcycle 10w-40 good for these engines and clutch??? I know its synthetic right which is good for the motor but it wont mess up the clutch since its a shared system???

thanks guys

[TimSr]

Considering my stuff has survived 20+ years, almost 30 years on a few of them, running nothing but off the shelf oil from the local auto parts stores i have no worries.

I've been waiting for one of those elusive clutch failures due to automotive oil since 1970. Still waiting.

[TimSr]

I use mobile one stuff in all my cars I do all my own maintenance on my vehicles just these atvs are a little different I had no idea that they used the same oil for the trans and engine in one..... weird but makes for less maintenance and cost so I like it :) is the mobile 1 motorcycle 10w-40 good for these engines and clutch??? I know its synthetic right which is good for the motor but it wont mess up the clutch since its a shared system???

thanks guys

Thats one of the best choices for your 4 cycle atv. befor ethey had that I alwsy ran the regluar Mobile 1 Synthetic in my 4 strokes. Nothing weird about it. Your car is a 4 cycle engine as well. Its only the 2 cycle engines where oil needs to be premixed or injected into the fuel intake.

[kb0nly]

I've been waiting for one of those elusive clutch failures due to automotive oil since 1970. Still waiting.

I have been waiting since about 1989 which is the first year i had a Honda 250ES. We had an old Kawasaki dirt bike, i don't even remember model or such but it was on the farm since before i was born, and that ran whatever oil was handy to toss in there as well. I would guess there is more to the story than just the oil that causes the elusive clutch failure but who knows!

Regular maintenance is the key, drop the oil regularly, its only like 1.2 quarts per change. Buy a case of quart jugs and keep it changed often, your engine will love you for it and its cheap insurance. Whats the cost of a case of oil compared to an engine rebuild? Exactly...

And everyone so far is wrong on the size, the drain cap is a 24mm wrench, if you still have the factory tool kit then its the big spanner wrench that also removes the valve adjustment caps. A tip there... If you have the factory tool kit take the 24mm spanner and put the handle into the 17mm side of the t-wrench (the plug wrench) to extend the wrench handle and give you a bit more torque, like adding a cheater bar. If you don't have the factory tool kit buy a 24mm wrench at a local farm supply store or a good hardware store that sells them by the wrench so you don't have to buy a set. Its well worth having a wrench that size on hand.

[AtcMan4Life]

Ok so I figured regular non synthetic 10w-40 would be fine in these???

[philbill47]

I heard that automotive oil has additives that makes the wet clutch in a trike slip and burn out. ATV oil does not have these additives. Correct me if im wrong?

[yaegerb]

so I'm looking for some info on changing oil on these older air cooled engines, I was a bit confused with the newer liquid cooled engines. Do these air cooled 200cc motors share the oil for the engine and trans??? I could not find anywhere that the trans would have a drain plug.... I have an 84 200M and also a 2000 XR200 dirt bike pretty much the same engine by the looks of things. Is that all I need to do for oil is take out the big drain plug on the bottom side and clean the filter screen and do I refill through the dip stick hole and keep checking with the dip stick until full???

Yep, they share the engine and transmission share the oil on the 84 200M. Refill through the dipstick hold and just dip the stick in, don't screw it in.

[yaegerb]

Ok so I figured regular non synthetic 10w-40 would be fine in these???

I don't recommend synthetics in the older four strokes. Below was copied straight from Powroll who does extensive testing with motor's.

"Petroleum oil seems to have an advantage over synthetic in how it sticks to the metal, and protects metal to metal contact areas better.
This is especially helpful in older style four strokes where you have many of high pressure metal-to-metal contact areas - cam and rockers, cam and head, etc."

If you want to read more about what oils to use go here: http://www.powroll.com/tech_specs_OIL.htm