Oil Change - the Good part and the Bad part

[Water Warrior 2]

A lot of folks will think about the wet clutch and forget about the shearing effect of the gears on the oil itself. This is where a designated moto oil will be of benefit to a rider. Rotella has a good shear characteristic and works well in a bike tranny. Amsoil 10-40- or 20-50 moto oil has a shear factor of a 90 weight gear oil and our bikes love it. But we will be switching to Rotella Synthetic now that I have a source in town. 4 liters of Rotella Syn is $34 + tax, 4 liters of Amsoil is now $80 + tax. Canadian $$$ working for the benefit of oil companies.
Shell has never bothered to get the Rotella certified for bike use but it meets all criteria needed.

[patrick_777]

Originally Posted by Easy Rider

Rich should get the super-slick stuff out ASAP. I think the filter should be changed too to get as much out as possible.

:plus1: x 100

[David Bo]

Do you guys think that Rotella would be "better" or "equal to" Royal Purple 10W-40? I am curious because I just paid about 16 bucks for two quarts of the purple stuff... :shocked:

[primal]

I've not heard good things about Royal Purple, to be honest. Of course, like everything, opinions are like a-holes... everyone's got one, and they all stink.

Honestly, as well as Shell Rotella-T works, I see absolutely no reason to pay extra for Royal Purple or any number of M/C oils. I'm even very satisfied with my Rotella-T conventional oil.

[music man]

I used to exclusively use Royal Purple in everything i owned, I also used to use Lucas oil in my bike, and neither one of those compares to the way the Rotella holds up IMHO.

[burkbuilds]

After reading that engineers report somebody posted on here about motorcycle oil, I think the Synthetic Shell rotella is all I'm gonna ever use again, in both my cars/trucks and motorcycles. I was already using it in the trucks and cars for the last 5 years or so, very happy with it. The only oil I ever used in my diesels that didn't look black after the first couple hours running. It still had a gold color even after several thousand miles in my diesel trucks, I've never seen that with anything else!

[adrianinflorida]

Rich, they have Castrol Acti-Evo semi synth at Cycle Gear on US192 for (10w40 or 20w50) $3.99/qt. I've used it for two changes now, and it's held up nicely.

[RichInFla]

Originally Posted by adrianinflorida

Rich, they have Castrol Acti-Evo semi synth at Cycle Gear on US192 for (10w40 or 20w50) $3.99/qt. I've used it for two changes now, and it's held up nicely.

I knew somebody was going to suggest changing the filter as well, I actually thought about that too !! dang...

Is it better to go with FULL synthetic rather than SEMI syn ? Also, it gets hot here in FLA, probably into the upper 90's during the summer. Would it be better to go with 20W-50 or stick with 10W-40 ?

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by RichInFla

Is it better to go with FULL synthetic rather than SEMI syn ? Also, it gets hot here in FLA, probably into the upper 90's during the summer. Would it be better to go with 20W-50 or stick with 10W-40 ?

Probably....maybe.....virtually nobody knows for SURE.

A couple of years back, I say a study that found that "semi" synthetic products were only a tiny bit better than good Dino oil and were not worth the extra price. Wish I could remember where I saw that. Might be in the "Oil bible" that has a link on here somewhere.

So, what to do? If you can afford it, go to Auto Zone and get Mobil 1, Vtwin 20W50 full synthetic.....about $8 a quart the last time I looked. If you use that and don't abuse your bike, it will probably outlive you.

If cost IS a factor, then get a name brand 10W40, be sure it isn't marked "energy conserving" and don't worry about it. If changed on schedule and you don't abuse your bike, it will probably STILL last longer than YOU do.

All modern oils are GOOD. Minor differences in viscosity just isn't that important. The added protection of synthetic is not needed in most circumstances. Use what you can afford and feel GOOD about it. Spend your time riding and not worrying about OIL. :rawk:

[Water Warrior 2]

Rish, if Florida does get that hot for a long time I would suggest a 20-50 oil as well. Synthetics will also withstand the temps better, especially with an air cooled bike that is at the mercy of the elements.