Engine Oil

Def · Oct 16, 2010

I hear alot of talk about Shell Rotella T synthetic motor oil being used by members of this forum. Went down to Walmart to check it out here in Canada and couldn't find it. Could only find Shell Rotella T 15-40 dino oil. Funny thing is...it states on the can that it meets or exceeds the JASO MA standard. Has anyone in Canada tried this oil? Have you found the synthetic variety up here? Any thots?...or am I opening a new can of worms?:Flash:

chimneydoc · Oct 16, 2010

It is a can of worms. For what it's worth I have tried the Shell and other oils, but for me I always go home to mama, Amsoil. It shifts better and runs cooler.

My .02 worth.

Doc

Fastwagon · Oct 16, 2010

I've switched to Rotella T in both my bikes, Try Canadian Tire, they have the blue jug Rotella
I'm no expert, but plenty of good reviews on here and other bike forums,

thieu · Oct 17, 2010

I have also found it at TSC stores! Usually a good price too!

RJ2112 · Oct 17, 2010

Def said:
I hear alot of talk about Shell Rotella T synthetic motor oil being used by members of this forum. Went down to Walmart to check it out here in Canada and couldn't find it. Could only find Shell Rotella T 15-40 dino oil. Funny thing is...it states on the can that it meets or exceeds the JASO MA standard. Has anyone in Canada tried this oil? Have you found the synthetic variety up here? Any thots?...or am I opening a new can of worms?:Flash:

In a colder climate, I would avoid running thicker base weight oils.... but a 15w-40 should be fine. Given the owner's manual states 10w-30 or 20w-40, the oil you are looking at is a bit thicker when it's cold compared to the 10w-30 spec. As the bike is water cooled, that means the operating temperature is much more stable than with an air cooled bike... the -XX number will be operating in a relatively stable environment.

Were it me, and I chose to use that below 40°F I would allow extra time for the motor to warm completely up, before I put a load on it. Idling, light throttle application... no 'blipping' of the throttle, attempts at wheelies, running two or 3 gears higher than normal ('lugging'). If the oil is harder to pump, you can risk starving a bearing.... add in a hard engine load demand, and you could potentially have contact between the crank and a bearing, or a cam lobe and a bearing or tappet.

I'd be more comfortable with a 10w-40 in the cold, rather than a 15w-40. 10w-30, best of all.

MoeDog · Oct 18, 2010

I Just tried the Rotella T6 oil, I have 10,300 miles on her changed it at 10,000. I just changed the oil not the filter Because I am going to do a major tune up at 12k. I Cant really notice anything diffrent just seems to run a bit hotter thats it for now.

viviifz6 · Oct 18, 2010

I just bought my bike 2 weeks ago and have only had a chance to put 300mi on the engine and i was told it was done less than 500 mi before I bought it, but before she gets stored for the winter

I am going to put a fresh change of Amsoil in her! Thats all I ever use in my vehicles

Goop · Oct 18, 2010

Ever since 2000 miles I've been using Rotella 5W-40 full syn. It works fine but it does run a little hotter. The weather stays mild here so I was thinking of trying Amsoil 20W-50.

deeptekkie · Oct 30, 2010

Def said:
I hear alot of talk about Shell Rotella T synthetic motor oil being used by members of this forum. Went down to Walmart to check it out here in Canada and couldn't find it. Could only find Shell Rotella T 15-40 dino oil. Funny thing is...it states on the can that it meets or exceeds the JASO MA standard. Has anyone in Canada tried this oil? Have you found the synthetic variety up here? Any thots?...or am I opening a new can of worms?:Flash:

While I personally use Mobil 1 Synthetic Motorcycle Oil I have heard nothing but good about Rotella. Where I used to work we had hundreds of company vehicles, (everything from lawnmowers, portable welding machines, and generators, to cars, trucks, tractor trailers, and heavy construction machinery), and they used Rotella in EVERYTHING, (except two stroke stuff)!

Silver05 · Jan 18, 2011

chimneydoc said:
It is a can of worms. For what it's worth I have tried the Shell and other oils, but for me I always go home to mama, Amsoil. It shifts better and runs cooler.

My .02 worth.

Doc

ditto. A local rep gives it to me for $90/case. I run it in all my motorcycles, dirt and street...

red06 · Jan 18, 2011

viviifz6 said:
I just bought my bike 2 weeks ago and have only had a chance to put 300mi on the engine and i was told it was done less than 500 mi before I bought it, but before she gets stored for the winter I am going to put a fresh change of Amsoil in her! Thats all I ever use in my vehicles

i waited until 10 000 KM (full break in) to put in some synthetic , i tried semi synthetic motul 15/40 and i could feel alot of performance . Next to try will be mobil 1 10/40(full synthetic) , why put anything but the best, and it will outperform that shell made oil i am sure

Bumgrapes · Jan 23, 2011

Def said:
I hear alot of talk about Shell Rotella T synthetic motor oil being used by members of this forum. Went down to Walmart to check it out here in Canada and couldn't find it. Could only find Shell Rotella T 15-40 dino oil. Funny thing is...it states on the can that it meets or exceeds the JASO MA standard. Has anyone in Canada tried this oil? Have you found the synthetic variety up here? Any thots?...or am I opening a new can of worms?:Flash:

Going off the subject a little bit but I recommend an oil additive called activ8 I've used it on many bikes and recommended it to friends, some of whom have BMW's with notorious clunky gearboxes. It really makes for a smoother gearbox and reduces metal to metal friction. As for oil any good quality motorcycle oil, we're all influenced by motor racing etc and what they use. We are not riding around on 200hp+ bikes so it's a bit OTT putting in the most extreme and expensive oil in a Yamaha Fazer??? Save your wallet some $$$ just change at the specified intervals.

Vikingj · Jan 27, 2011

Then

why bother with active 8 ?

deeptekkie · Feb 8, 2011

RJ2112 said:
In a colder climate, I would avoid running thicker base weight oils.... but a 15w-40 should be fine. Given the owner's manual states 10w-30 or 20w-40, the oil you are looking at is a bit thicker when it's cold compared to the 10w-30 spec. As the bike is water cooled, that means the operating temperature is much more stable than with an air cooled bike... the -XX number will be operating in a relatively stable environment.

Were it me, and I chose to use that below 40°F I would allow extra time for the motor to warm completely up, before I put a load on it. Idling, light throttle application... no 'blipping' of the throttle, attempts at wheelies, running two or 3 gears higher than normal ('lugging'). If the oil is harder to pump, you can risk starving a bearing.... add in a hard engine load demand, and you could potentially have contact between the crank and a bearing, or a cam lobe and a bearing or tappet.

I'd be more comfortable with a 10w-40 in the cold, rather than a 15w-40. 10w-30, best of all.

Words of wisdom spoken above. I had a buddy who did exactly what you warn against here. He was running thick oil, (50 weight), one cold and frosty morning. As soon as he pulled out of his driveway he romped it and she blew up on him!

Chris_D · Feb 9, 2011

For what it's worth I just did an oil change yesterday with Motul semi-synth 10W-50 5100, as well as Yammie oil filter, and it's still running. I have 47000k's on the clock btw. It looked pretty good going in. :thumbup:

macem29 · Feb 9, 2011

Bumgrapes said:
Going off the subject a little bit but I recommend an oil additive called activ8 I've used it on many bikes and recommended it to friends, some of whom have BMW's with notorious clunky gearboxes. It really makes for a smoother gearbox and reduces metal to metal friction. As for oil any good quality motorcycle oil, we're all influenced by motor racing etc and what they use. We are not riding around on 200hp+ bikes so it's a bit OTT putting in the most extreme and expensive oil in a Yamaha Fazer??? Save your wallet some $$$ just change at the specified intervals.

not trying to argue with your success, but is this stuff compatible with a wet clutch?

ilinimud · Apr 5, 2011

Anyone tried Royal Purple? I used that in my VTwin ATV's with sucess.

iSteve · Apr 5, 2011

I hear a lot about people using Rotella in there motorcycles. I thought Rotella was what farmers bought in 55gal drums for their tractors. Other then being cheap is there a reason why Rotella has become so popular?

REDHAWK22 · May 6, 2011

First, is this the right Mobil 1 Full synthetic?
Second, I can't believe how expensive this is ($24.50) @ Walmart.
This is the only Mobil 10W-40 that I saw @ Walmart that doesn't have that "energy conserving" thing on the back label. Igoing to hold onto the Oil change until this is verified by some expert than me.
If this is wrong, which exactly or what kind of Rotella are you guys talking about? What weight? My temp is averaging at about 176-183 @ cruising speed and goes up to 207 at stops, is this a normal thing?
The bike only has about 1300 miles.

REO Scorpio · May 6, 2011

Without looking at the label and additives, can't say if it is okay for wet clutch use. The "high mileage" label would have me concerned about what additives were being used. I believe most that are using Mobil 1 are using the 4T stuff (about $9 a quart at places like Autozone).

I'm currently using Rotella T6 synthetic and my temps in the summer here are usually around 190 local, 170-180 highway. My fan will often come on at stops (212 degrees) when it is warmer outside.

09 has approximately 7k on it.

Scorp

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