Favorite Cycle Oils

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Lurch

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Heavy-Duty Oils

My favorite oils and the ones I most mostly recommend for motorcycle use, are the "heavy-duty" oils. They 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. Following are some examples of these oils, generally 15w40 oils by industry convention. There may be several other 15w40 oils that I am not familiar with.

1. Castrol RX Super 15w40
2. Chevron Delo 400 15w40
3. Mobil Delvac 1300 Super 15w40
4. Pennzoil Long-Life 15w40
5. Quaker State 4X4 Synthetic Blend 15w40
6. Shell Rotella-T 15w40 (my personal favorite)
7. SuperTech 2000 (WalMart) 15w40
8. Valvoline All Fleet 15w40
9. Castrol Syntec Blend Truck and 4X4 15w40

Motorcycle Motor Oil by Mike Guillory
 
Can't argue with any of those...

For 50 weights, if your manual calls for a 50, I like Valvoline VR1 20W50 for all weather, or straight 50 VR1 in hot weather...

Dan
 
My thinking is that Rotella T6 5W40 would work just fine. But since a cycle is not likely to be used at very cold temps, I don't see much reason for the wide viscosity. I'd think the 15W40 doesn't have any more or maybe even less VII, and might be more sheer stable and les volatile. Both are JASO rated. I guess you could try the 15W40 and then 5W40 and see if there's any difference in shifting or anything.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
What about Shell Rotella T6 5w-40?

I am still trying to figure out which oil I will use in my Suzuki.



I bought 3 gallons of T6 5-40 on sale for $24 after MIR but when OCI time came, I decided to add Delvac I had bought earlier. Delvac is great stuff. Try it. You will not be disappointed.

I've run Rotella T 15w40 also, and liked that very much.

I think the T6 5w40 would work well for you. He talks about it in this article.
 
That's cool if you like the universal type oils in a bike. I thought they were the greatest thing from all the internet hype until I actually ran Rotella T6 and subsequently, Rotella dino 15w-40. Both shifted bad out the gate, and they felt like they fell out of grade in 2k miles, then began shifting horribly (gear driven cams).

So back to Mobil 4T and 3k miles later still shifting smooth as [censored]. I was really banking on getting away from motorcycle specific oils for cost reasons, but it didn't work on my bike.
 
I'm for number six for sure.

After decades of use in numerous machines without any oil related problems, why would I change? Particularly when such good oil is sold at a very reasonable price.
 
I have been using Mobil 1 15w50for the last ten years with good results in the follwing bikes:
1997 Honda Valkyrie
1983 Yamaha 750
1983 Honda CB1000C
2006 HD Sportster 883
2003 HD Road King
2008 HD Road Glide
Clark
 
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