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What kind of oil do YOU trust in your bikes?

  • Conventional motorcycle only oil

    Votes: 2 11.8%
  • Full or semi synthetic motorcycle only oil

    Votes: 4 23.5%
  • Rotella T or similar auto oil

    Votes: 11 64.7%

Motorcycle Oil...Are You Paying Too Much?

17K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  Repsol_RR 
#1 · (Edited)
Looking around at motorcycle oil, there are tons of different brands. I've always gotten silkolene full synthetic race oil, which runs around $60-80 per gallon. Which is crazy especially if you're changing it monthly or even ever weekend at the track. I was talking with the owner of Speedcell, which designed the original lightweight racing batteries, he's also built some awesome bikes (check out the pictures), anyway he recommended I use Rotella T in my bike. I trusted him cause he's pretty smart, but I decided to dig into it a little cause that sounded crazy. Turns out he's spot on.


So wanna save some money? What seems to be recommended are "heavy duty" diesel oils that are 5w40, 5w50, 10w40, 15w40 being the industry standard, 15w50, or 20w50.

Castrol RX Super 15w40
Chevron Delo 400 15w40
Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 15w40
Pennzoil Long-Life 15w40
Quaker State 4X4 Synthetic Blend 15w40
Shell Rotella-T 15w40 Generally favored
SuperTech 2000 (WalMart) 15w40
Valvoline All Fleet 15w40
Castrol Syntec Blend Truck and 4X4 15w40

If you're like, what the hell is this guy talking about. Car oil is for cars, motorcycle oil if for motorcycles......then read on and check out the links.

"The owner's manual of your motorcycle probably says something very similar to the following:
Use only high detergent, premium quality motor oil certified to meet API Service Classification SF or SG (shown on container). The use of additives is unnecessary and will only increase operating expenses. Do not use oils with graphite or molybdenum additives as they may adversely affect clutch operation." That's pretty clear. But what do you do since automotive oils now say on the container "meets SL Service?" That's easy! By consensus of the API and the manufacturers, the current SL classification meet all requirements of SF, SG, SH, and SJ plus all earlier API gasoline categories. The current SL actually offers some additional benefits over the older classifications. So, if the motorcycle requirement says "SG", be confident that "SL" indeed meets that requirement.

The above mentioned heavy duty oils are commonly misunderstood, and often referred to as "diesel oils." They are NOT energy conserving, have higher zinc levels, as high as 0.16%, and by virtue of their multi-duty have a better engine protection package than an oil that is only rated "SL". These heavy-duty oils are rated SJ or SL, plus CH-4. They are currently closer in formulation to the motorcycle specific oils and to the "SG" oils that many motorcycle makers recommend.

Be sure and use the recommended viscosity range, e.g. 10w40, 20w50, etc. for the climate in your area. In general, to protect your motor use the heaviest oil you can that still meets the manufacturer's guidelines. For example, 20w50 is better in warm weather than 10w40, because it gives you a thicker oil cushion between bearing surfaces at operating temperature. For racing, a thinner oil will offer less resistance and thus more power, but will offer less protection."

quoted from:Motorcycle Oil Explained

Shell Rotella Full Analysis

Rotella "T" JASO/MA Certified - Bob Is The Oil Guy

Here is the email from a Rotella engineer that I found on the Shell forums.

"We recently ran the JASO MA friction test on Rotella T with Triple Protection 15W-40, Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 (CI-4) and our soon to be introduced (within the next 2 months) Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 CJ-4.

All three oils passed the wet clutch friction test. Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 (CI-4) has more than 1.2% ash (JASO MA spec limit) so it can not be classified as JASO MA. However, Rotella T with Triple Protection 15W-40 and our soon to be introduced Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 CJ-4 do meet JASO MA."

If you have any additional questions please call us at 800-231-6950.
Thank you for your interest in Shell products."

Richard Moore
Staff Engineer
Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc.

Quoted from" Bob is the oil guy

So to wrap it up, do what's in your budget. For me, that's gonna be Rotella T.

As promised, heres a picture of the. Its a built honda rc, making somewhere around 140-150hp. Note the brake reservoirs. Even cooler in person.
 

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#9 ·
Thanks for the input guys. All of this was new to me and alot of people I talked with weren't sure, so figured I'd put it out there for anyone else and make sure I got it all straight haha you can count of TSC for that.



That's what I thought! But that's what racers say. I guess it makes sense if you're pushing it at redline all day long..I figure I'll do it more like once a month.


6 Gallons at Sams is $75 so about $15 per jug
Ya it's a good deal. I price out a 55 gallon drum from sams at $599, so $11ish a gallon..... :secret:
 
#6 ·
The only time I change oil so often was in my air-cooled turbocharged Kawasaki especially when I raced it often way back when. That oil got worn out fast......I used 20w50 Valvoline car oil. With combined drag racing and street rides about 800-1000 miles.

My other bikes I have always used Amsoil and have had good experiences with it. Depending on how hard I am on them, my oil changes become more frequent but not every week. Just depends.
 
#8 ·
I run Rotella T Diesel in my dirt bikes now and it's great. I ran Mobil 1 15W-50 in the 1000RR. The Rotella works great in wet clutch applications. 6 Gallons at Sams is $75 so about $15 per jug. Not bad at all. My YZ250 takes around 750ml and the CRF450R around 1.5L. Every time I change this oil in the dirt bikes it comes out squeky clean, and I push 8-10 hours on the bottom ends. Good stuff!

I run Amsoil Interceptor 2T for premix. Also great stuff!

I also read a lot on Bob is the Oil Guy and the articles are great. You'll see the Rotella T being recommended a LOT on the dirt bike forums.
 
#12 ·
I'm surprised there are so many running Rotella these days. I remember years ago a much smaller collection of us used to push Rotella..all whilst getting demonized for not running 'motorcycle oil'.

Good to see that it's caught on and people have become more educated on the subject.
 
#15 ·
^^ Doesn't happen often huh? lol

Nice post. I'll start using my leftover "diesel oil" in my bikes
 
#17 ·
hahaha that's funny man. glad i could pass on some knowledge, but more importantly, save some money! :money:

it's funny, a local motorcycle shopowner i talked to looked at me like i was an idiot when i mentioned this to him. he even said he asked around about it, but no one backed it up....then again maybe it's just business or people with his budget don't care.
 
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