what kind of engine oil does the garelli engine use? i opened up an engine that i have and plan on using, and red liquid came out. i know puchs use red transmission fluid. but minarelli uses non-detergent SAE 20 (or 30) weight oil. any ideas? thanks.
Miguel,
I'm also running a Minarelli. A buddy of mine running a Puch told me to put automatic transmission fluid in (wine colored). That stuff is thin as water, so i was skeptical. I went to the motorcycle shop, and they recommended "motorcycle oil", which i did put in. It's much thicker, like engine oil. So far I have had not complaints; however if you hear better, please post. Thankyou.
whatever you put in the minarelli, it has to be NON-DETERGENT oil. the manual calls for SAE 20, but that's very rare. we use SAE 30 non-detergent oil. valvoline makes one which is pretty good. even if you're not having problems ... if it's not nondetergent, i'd drain the oil and put the right stuff in.
Miguel,
SAE-20 and automatic transmission fluid still seem awfully thin for the transmission. I will probably drain down to SAE-30 as you suggest. No offense,
but I'd rather hear the sound of churning butter, than grinding gears. However, I'll
stay on the lookout for SAE-20 and post if I find some. By the way, does your
manual have any suggestions about spark plug gap for a Minarelli? Thanks.
sae 30 for a minarelli engine should be ok. that's what i've been told ... since quality of oils changes after 20-odd years. but be sure it's non-detergent.
as for spark plug .... the manual calls for:
bosch w 145 t1 gap: 0.024 inches
i use a bosch platinum 4214 (same as champion L86c). use bosch platinum. it's the best.
Hi! Guys(and gals),I've got a MOTOMARINA SEBRING with a Minarelli engine and it has over 8500 mi. on it.I don't buy into the SAE 30 argument. Since I could hear some gear clash and the moped is so old I don't want any major gear repairs, I filled it with 5W-50 FULLY SYNTHETIC EXXON and I've noticed a big imrovement in the reduction of gear noise with no ill effects.The clutch grabs just as well as with the less protective oil.You see,the synthetic behaves just like a straight 50 weight oil when it's hot,and like a 5 weight in cold weather.That's what the `W' stands for:Winter.NOW, I'm not recommending it for any other type of tranny because I don't know enough about them. But it is GREAT in Minarellis. I routinely drive this SEBRING on 50 to 80 mi. trips,so I'm not talking thru my hat!
Use only non detergent oil in tranny. The reason being that detergent oil softens the clutch rubbers and they start dragging.
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