How do you feel about mixing Rotella?

[mjoekingz28]

Most sportbikes manufacturers specify 10w40 for their I-4s. Rotella makes 5w40 and 15w40. How do you feel about mixing the 5w40 synthetic and 15w40 conventional?

I'm on the fence on which to get and mixing makes the most sense to me since I would probably only change it once a year (Honda 8k intervals). Reason is I read about better shifting ability with the 15w and the 5w has better cold flow and longevity.

 

[dwendt44]

The 5W-40 works fine as is.
You can, of course, mix all you'd like.
Still, there's no reason to do so.
Either works fine in cycles as is, and both have a following.
If you put on a lot of miles per year, I'd lean toward the synthetic, if not, there's no reason why the conventional 15w40
won't serve you well.

My 2¢

 

[prs]

Either would do well. Given the temps in which a same person would ride, 15-40 has you covered for cold starts just as well and I see T-6 as being on the viscous end of the 5 grade anyway. The makers state 10-40 becasue they know that will help you avoid oils heavily doped with moly that might slip the clutch.

prs

 

[bepperb]

In my opinion, they both had the same shift feel initially, and the 5-40 lasted longer. Good shifts seem to only last about 600 miles on my bike and get progressively worse until the season is over.

 

[Errtt]

Most oils are generally compatible and can be mixed.
Mixing Rotella's is one thing. If I was to mix 2 different oils, say a high quality and something of lesser quality, I would treat the mix as if it was the lower quality.
Say a dino I was using for 5k, or a synthetic I was using for 7k. If I was to mix the two, I would treat the mix for 5k use.

 

[merlin1650]

Rotella DOES make a 10w-40. It is Rotella T5, and is a semi synthetic. It is not JASO MA rated. However, it has not caused any problems with my V* 950 clutch. I have settled on this as my year round oil of choice. Price is between the conventional 15w40 and the T6 5w-40.

 

[dwendt44]

Rotella T5 is not JASO MA rated, but it likely meets those requirements.
Shell had the Rotella T6 and 15w40 JASO rated as cycle owners were using it a lot and they requested it.
T5 isn't that popular, if even used, by many cycle owners; it's a fairly new product.
I wouldn't hesitate to use it if I were to stick with a 10W-40.

 

[helix_rider]

I would (and do) just run the T6.

 

[RonH]

The 10W40 T5 is hard to find. If you have a Tractor supply chain store near you, they are about the only place I know that stocks it. It's a 600 mile ride for me to get it, but it works great for me. 15W40 doesn't work in the winter and I have reservations about the 5W40, so even though T5 is not MA rated I use it and it works fine.