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Oil

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10-95

10-95

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Just changed the oil in my Speedmaster today. Had a question I'd like to throw out there.

Triumph suggests using their oil --at $48 gal-- :eek: . The manual says it HAS to be either full syntheitc or semi, in 10-40 or 15-50. Bryan/College Station doesn't exactly have the best selection of ANYTHING for a motorcycle, heck I couldn't even find Mobil MX4T, so I did some comparison of m/c oil vs car oil. I even e-mailed Mobil. Here is my e-mail and their reply:

Mobil1 motorcycles have higher levels of anti-wear additives, no
friction modifiers so it will not affect wet clutches, no viscosity
index improvers so the oil much more shear stable, it also comes in the
most popular viscosities that most motorcycles manufacturer's recommend.

******************internet.com wrote:

>Is there a significant difference between Mobil MX4T and Mobil 1 synthetic oil for cars? If so what is it?
>
>I don't see any big difference in motorcycle oil and car oil, so would it be safe to use Mobil 1 in my motorcycle?
>


I just can't see from what I know and what the company told me, why I need to pay $12 qt for oil when I can get Mobil 1 for about $4.50 qt. So I changed the oil today to Mobil 1 15W-50 and went for a test run.......No clutch slippage, pressure is good and the motor is running just fine. I saved about $40 if I bought the oil/filter from my dealer and did it myself or about $130 if I let them do it.

Anyone had any bad results from using car oil in their bike? Think I could possibly have any future warranty issues?
 
I've used Shell Rotella T 15W-40 non synthetic in the past and have had good results. I recently switched to Mobil 1 15W-50 synthetic on my last oil change on the VFR and have had no ill effects. The important thing to check for is the energy conserving label on the oil container. If it is an energy conserving oil, it has the friction modifiers in it that cause wet clutches to slip. I used to buy Honda oil for my bikes until I got smart and realized that Honda doesn't make the oil, some other big name manufacturer does.
Check out this article on the Texas VFR Garage site:

http://www.yft.org/tex_vfr/tech/oil.htm

It was written by an avid motorcyclist and retired chemical engineer. He knows his stuff and is referred to as the VFR List guru for oil related topics. I hope that helps eay some of your concern about your choice of oils.
 
There have been a number of folks on the VFR list who have reported clutch slippage when Mobil 1 changed to their new Supersyn or "Powersyn" or whatever formula. Right Tourmeister?

The main differences I've heard are that moto-specific oil doesn't have the friction modifiers and also resists foaming (bikes have higher revs than most cars) and shearing (car oil doesn't bathe a gearbox).
 
:tab Man I can't believe it took nearly a year for the oil thread to get started!!?? I used the car Mobil One synthetic in both VFR's. My clutch started slipping a little in the 01 but the 98 ran fine. I have since switched to the Rotella stuff recommended by Mike "Oil Guy" Guillory, the retired Shell Oil Chemist Guru. I bought it at Sams for dirt cheap. It runs great in both bikes. The clutch in the 01 still slips ocasionally. I'm starting to think the slippage is not oil related and that I may need to pull the clutch apart to check the innards for problems. Personally, I think a lot of the huffing and puffing about oil in bikes is much to do about nothing. Manufacturers are of course going to recommend their overpriced oil. Using another brand of oil WILL NOT void your warranty on any bike as long as you stay with the right oil weight ranges. Even so, the burden is on the dealer to show that the warranty issue in question is directly related to the use of a different oil, something hard to do. There is an act of Congress regarding use of third party products and manufacturer warranties. I can't recall the name but I'm sure someone here will remember it.

Adios,
 
Lots of folks are usung full synth Mobil 1 car oil 15W-50 in some pretty hot (150hp) Bandits without any slippage issues. Motorcycle Consumer News and Sport Rider also concluded that there was np reason not to use them if they met your viscosity requirements. Personally, I never got past the motorcycle specific part and use Amsoil 10W-40 motorcyle specific oil.They sell it locally over the counter for $8 per quart.
 
$8 per quart.
Click to expand...

Ouch! I paid $30 for 36 quarts of the Shell Rotella stuff at Sam's. It came in (6) six quart resealable jugs. Even with two bikes, it will be a while before I run out ;-)

Adios,
 
Been using automotive Castrol Syntec 10W-40 for a couple of years in two different bikes without any problems. It isn't marked as being an "energy conserving" oil on the API rating on the label and I've never experienced any clutch slippage either. The recent Sport Rider Magazine test article where they compared motorcycle and auto oils also showed that Castrol Syntec has a significantly higher content of acid neutralizers than any mc oil they tested. Since my bike sits unridden for most of the week, that sounds like a good thing.

Like most of you, I'm not convinced that there's a compelling reason to lay out the kind of money they want for motorcycle-specific oil, and for the price of mc dino you can get auto full-synthetic. What it seems to boil down to is using the weight of oil that your bike's manufacturer recommends, installing a good-quality filter and changing both of them often.
 
Tourmeister said:
I paid $30 for 36 quarts of the Shell Rotella stuff at Sam's.
Click to expand...


Sounds about my speed. I'm not afraid to tell you, my wallet is tight as a frog's *** :mrgreen:


Thanks for the replies guys. Now there's no way I'm goign back to that $12qt Triumph stuff.
 
txmedic said:
........ I never got past the motorcycle specific part and use Amsoil 10W-40 motorcyle specific oil.They sell it locally over the counter for $8 per quart.
Click to expand...

Shop around for your Amsoil motorcycle sythetic. I have found it for $5.50/qt when you buy a case at a time from this independent dealer: http://www.syntheticwarehouse.com/ (Just do a google search)

Amsoil sells a motorcycle specific full synthetic that outperforms Mobil 1 for only about $1 more. It has scored highly in the MCN tests as well.

http://www.amsoil.com/products/streetbikes/index.htm
 
I have a guy on the Max-Zuk site that sells at a discount to members when I plan that far ahead. I forget what it comes to per quart, but it is probably in that range.
 
This is why I love my Beemer. Dry clutch baby!!!!!!!!!!! :mrgreen:

Cars switched to dry clutches decades ago. Boggles my mind that so many motorcycle manufacturers don't do likewise.
 
Boggles my mind that so many motorcycle manufacturers don't do likewise.
Click to expand...

:tab It makes the bikes sound like International Harvestors :-P We toured with some friends that were on a Duc ST-2 and a 748. We nicknamed them Massey and Ferguson :lol: The rattle at stoplights was deafening :roll: Otherwise, I see your point, hehe.

Adios,
 
The Veg said:
This is why I love my Beemer. Dry clutch baby!!!!!!!!!!! :mrgreen:
Click to expand...


My dept just got RT-Ps. Went to add some oil and top one off so I went to the owner's manual, which was as confusing as heck. Called the dealer in Austin and they poo-poo'd the use of just about anything I can get around here. They gave a big thumbs down on anything but m/c specific oil and said they would not recommend Mobil MX4T, which I had 8 qts.

Of course when I e-mailed the owner for some problems with our next 2 bikes he said it wouldn't hurt anything to top them off with any synthetic oil as long as it was the same weight. So who knows?? :shrug:

Oh, BTW that BMW oil $78 a case :eek:
And it's just Castroil!!!!!!!!
 
I use Mobil 1 in both my bikes and have never had a problem. I know that isn't mutch help but, at least another opinion.
 
If something was rattling I'd be a bit concerned. Are you sure it was the clutch? Sounds like bad design to me if was.
 
My Ducatisi friends tell me loud clutches save lives! :wink: :chug:

I'm not so sure about the clutch rattle, but a pair of Termignoni's on a Duc makes up for the rattle quite well. Its the sweetest sound I've ever heard from a bike.
 
:tab The clutches are what makes the noise. The plates rattle when the bike is in nuetral with the clutch lever out. Wet clutches do it a little as well, just no where near as loud. On the Ducs it is loud enough to hear easily when sitting next to them at a stop light. I ride with ear plugs too :lol:

:tab The 748 Aaron was riding has a set of Fast By Ferraci pipes on it. MMMMmmm.... When he went blasting around a curve for a photo op, the sound as he approached and then blew by was intoxicating!! For some reason the ST-2 doesn't seem to sound as good to me :shrug: Not that it is bad mind you ;-)

Adios,
 
Tourmeister said:
:tab The 748 Aaron was riding has a set of Fast By Ferraci pipes on it. MMMMmmm.... When he went blasting around a curve for a photo op, the sound as he approached and then blew by was intoxicating!! For some reason the ST-2 doesn't seem to sound as good to me :shrug: Not that it is bad mind you ;-)
Click to expand...

How a Ducati sounds depends a lot on the particular end-can you install. Opening up the airbox lid can also free up a lot of that v-twin music. I wish you could have listened to the 750SS I had a couple of years ago. It had twin C-5 Two Brothers titanium cans (same as on Beth's VFR, in fact) plus a cut-down airbox and a custom tune for the fuel injection. At idle it had a very nice, deep rumble, but the best thing was to chop the throttle and listen to the intake roar while engine braking - that always gave me a huge grin. :mrgreen: 8)

I really do miss that bike sometimes... :(
 
Howdy,

:tab My buddies (91 or 92) 900SS has lots of those mods done to it. He bought it from a guy in Salt Lake City that is known for hopping up Ducs. When I was riding the bike, the coolest thing was to roll off the throttle, then whack it to WFO and listen to the howl from the air box. It would literally make my ear drums resonate and buzz. I could not quit doing it :twisted: Oh, and the pipes sounded pretty good to, hehe.

Adios,
 
They sell it locally over the counter for $8 per quart.

I'm running Amsoil in all my vehicles. I signed up as a dealer to save some $$. I get it delivered to my door for about $5.75 / qt.
Click to expand...
 
Sphpkr, is this some lame attempt to recover this thread from a serious hijacking? :-P Okay, okay... we'll get back to talking oil ;-)

Adios,
 
Does anybody use Shell Rotella 5W-40 synthetic? Have read a few articles on this particular oil.Any opinions?

I have used it for about 2 years,3 motorcycles,2 fourwheelers with what appears to be good results.


Used synthetic after break-in period.

Keith
 
Howdy,

:tab I am using Shell Rotella SAE Multigrade 15W-40, have been for quite some time now (last 15K miles or so). I bought it at Sam's Club. It came as a box of (6) six quart resealable containers for a whopping $38. I think that is a little over a buck a quart. Work's great. I like being able to use the old containers to hold the old oil. They work better than any of the oil containers I've gotten from any Autoparts stores. I've even been using the stuff in the cars.

Adios,
 
I've used the Rotella T 15W-40 with great success in both my bikes. I've never tried the 5W-30 though. I'm trying Mobil-1 15W-50 currently and so far I've seen slightly reduced operating temps, so I'd imagine the Rotella Synthetic would do the same. After just installing the top-end oiling kit on my 500 as well as using Engine Ice instead of regular coolant, I'd say my temps have dropped about 20 degrees. I'll have to check it next to another 500, but it at least seems that much cooler.
 
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