How long has Rotella 15W-40 been JASO-MA?

[heypete]

I was at the local Wal-Mart this evening and decided to check the label on the back of the Rotella 15W-40 (white bottle) and noticed that it met JASO-MA (i.e. ok for use in wet-clutch motorcycle) specifications.

I admit the last time I checked was several months ago, but I distinctly recall it didn't have the JASO-MA certification, as I was looking for it for a friend when we were going to change the oil on his motorcycle. At the time, Rotella T6 was JASO-MA, but not the white bottle stuff.

Has this changed recently? If so, anyone know when Rotella became JASO-MA certified?

 

[Colt45ws]

That came with the change to T* branding

 

[heypete]

Aha. Thanks.

 

[dwendt44]

They started testing for JASO a few years ago, but didn't change the label until the 'T' branding/labeling came along.
It became popular with cycle riders after Mobil dropped it's 'RED CAP'.
Repeated inquires to Shell got that ball rolling.
As it turns out, most quality HDEO oils will work fine in cycles.

 

[daman]

yup shell chose to do the smart thing and spec'd there HDEO for that use and at a good price,others put out a ridiculously over priced "MC" oil that most people will not buy.

 

[whitesands]

I'm running the Rotella 15W40 JASO-MA in my bandit 1250 right now and it's working well...Runs very smooth, clutch performing well, and shift action is very good....

 

[TucsonDon]

Before the CJ-4 compliance the Rotella oil failed to meet the JASO ash test. The older CI-4+ had too much ash to meet JASO specs.

With the CJ-4 the ash level dropped below JASO maximum. That allowed Shell to invest the time and money to test for the remaining metric -- the friction test. They did, it passed, and now that ash was below maximum it met JASO-MA.

There's no reason not to use the stuff. It works well.

 

[dwendt44]

Quote:
Before the CJ-4 compliance the Rotella oil failed to meet the JASO ash test.

That was the synthetic Rotella 5W-40.
The conventional oil passed the JASO test right of the bat.
Even then, the blue jug Rotella was just barely over the limit on ash. Still, no one has shown that that little short coming was of much import as far as cycles go.
Many cycle riders used both flavors for millions of miles combined with no adverse results.

 

[TucsonDon]

Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Quote:
Before the CJ-4 compliance the Rotella oil failed to meet the JASO ash test.

That was the synthetic Rotella 5W-40.
The conventional oil passed the JASO test right of the bat.

Not true.

JASO-MA calls for no more than 1.2% sulfated ash.

The CI-4+ Rotella 15W-40 conventional had 1.47% sulfated ash.

The CI-4+ Rotella -- conventional or synthetic -- was eligible for JASO-MA due to the ash.

See the third page of this and you'll see the 15W-40 (conventional) CI-4+ had ash of 1.47%.

http://www.shellusserver.com/products/pdf/RotellaTCI-4CI-4.pdf

Long before Rotella CJ-4 was JASO-MA compliant I had done the analysis on this. You'll see my posts at the Rotella forum and the Hondashadow.net forum on this topic. I e-mailed Shell and they too indicated that the ash level was what precluded them from setting up and validating the friction test because they knew they'd fail the ash level.

CJ-4 brought the ash to 1.0%. That left only the validation of friction to qualify for JASO-MA. That applied to both the conventional and synthetic.

In this case I know of what I write. Please refute only when you know the facts.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is the last post I'll make to this forum. I've been banned twice now. I guess it's okay to speak dismissively and contemptuously of others, but it's not okay to allude to certain words some faceless moderator doesn't like.

It seems all motorcycle forums are the same -- they start out civil enough, then the same senseless debates start.

I dare not say more because my fingers may slip and I'll type some word they don't like. Heck, they may not even like the mere tone of this note. Or they may just not like me.

Whatever. 'Bye all.

 

[boraticus]

Maybe they don't like your bike? There appears to be some bias.