OTC motorcycle oils

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Kennan

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I am about to buy a brand new 2012 Honda CBR1000rr and 250r. I have had many bikes in the past and I always used Mobil 1 4t oil. That was about the only thing you could get back in the day over the counter at Advance Auto Parts.

So now these are the oils I can find "over the counter" at my local AAP store. Valvoline syn 4t, Castrol syn 4t, Mobil 1 4t, Rotella T6 (which is JASO MA rated), and I can get Royal Purple max cycle at AAP.

All of these are 10w40 except the Rotella which is 5w40, and most are around the same price except the RP which is 17.00. I have found some good info on the Rotella T6 and the Castrol, but on the Royal purple, Valvoline, and the Mobil 1 I feel I have not been able to find much information about these oils, not just on this site but on the web overall.

So out of these oils which one doesn't shear down as bad, which one protects the engine the best, and which one doesn't make the clutch packs feel notchy when you shift?
 
Originally Posted By: Kennan
So out of these oils which one doesn't shear down as bad, which one protects the engine the best, and which one doesn't make the clutch packs feel notchy when you shift?


For $9.97/quart at Wal-Mart, it's very difficult to beat Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W-40 when you're talking about the best for your bikes.

With that said, Rotella 5w-40 is $21/gallon, and the arguably superior (when it comes to motorcycles) Rotella 15w-40 is $13/gallon. They're obviously the economical choice, but that's only a decision you can make.
 
Mag1 10w40 is a synthetic blend and you can get 6qts for $28 on amazon. It exceeds all the required specs and will do just as good in a reason OCI.
 
I've got 3 shared sump bikes and a Harley.
The best value out there is rotella conventional 15w-40. I'm using it in all my bikes, including my 106 cammed,tuned 107hp/115tq Harley.

In my venture and my shadow I used m1 10w-40 4t oil. Notchy shifting within 1500 miles. Amsoil lasted a bit longer but rotella conventional lasts the longest before the top end gets loud and shifting is affected.
The rotella 5w-40 syn shears very fast in bikes and isn't a good value.
I use a conventional and change the oil as soon as I feel something has changed and I don't think twice about it. Cost is minimal as compared to synthetics and I'm not trying to squeeze out an extended interval to make the added cost pay off.
If you are going synthetic no matter what I'd use amsoil based on my experience with the oils you listed.
Royal purple comes in a very close second. My Harley was absolutely whisper quiet on top with automotive 20w-50. If I was going to use a synthetic again that wild be it
 
I ran nothing but 15/40 Delo or Rotella in my old '03 600RR. The T6 would shear to quick in a high power or high rpm bike. It's funny but the only bike I have that gets the T6 is my Piaggio MP3, but it doesn't have a shared sump.

ROD
 
Originally Posted By: Kennan
I am about to buy a brand new 2012 Honda CBR1000rr and 250r. I have had many bikes in the past and I always used Mobil 1 4t oil. That was about the only thing you could get back in the day over the counter at Advance Auto Parts.

So now these are the oils I can find "over the counter" at my local AAP store. Valvoline syn 4t, Castrol syn 4t, Mobil 1 4t, Rotella T6 (which is JASO MA rated), and I can get Royal Purple max cycle at AAP.

All of these are 10w40 except the Rotella which is 5w40, and most are around the same price except the RP which is 17.00. I have found some good info on the Rotella T6 and the Castrol, but on the Royal purple, Valvoline, and the Mobil 1 I feel I have not been able to find much information about these oils, not just on this site but on the web overall.

So out of these oils which one doesn't shear down as bad, which one protects the engine the best, and which one doesn't make the clutch packs feel notchy when you shift?

Any of the oils you mention will work just fine. But if you are looking for bang for the buck Rotella 15w40 is the go to oil. The other oils are just more expensive, and MAY not protect any better. While Rotella Syn 5w40 is a great oil, it just isn't so great in a shared sump bike. It does shear pretty quickly, and a UOA will tell you just how fast in your application. The list you have is all synthetic, and any of them will do as well as the other.IMO, there is nothing spectacular about any of them.
I'm like Chris, and have used so many oils in bikes I've lost count. The only oil I've ever used I just really didn't like was Valvoline Premium Blue 15w40 in my ST1300. It went from being a mild mannered Clark Kent with zero driveline issues to a grabby, unfriendly from stop lights Bronco that needed to be tamed. Basically anything with a wider spread shears quicker,( with the exception being the 20w50's in many cases), and lighter oils can let more wear happen. Pick what fits your pocketbook, and get a UOA to determine when the oil no longer protects what it's in. What does Ma Honda recommend for weight? Those bikes may be on the 10w30 list like the new Wing and later model ST1300.
 
Last edited:
Kennan, you're talking about two different standards. 4T is the Japanese Automotive Standards Organization (JASO) standard for 4 stroke motorcycle engines. MA is their standard for wet clutches; this can be split into halves for MA1 and MA2.

So...all the oils you list are excellent. No one knows the answers to your questions. All the oils will give excellent results. Buy whichever you prefer. Expect them all to shear to 30 weight, and that's probably what the Honda design engineers expected. The recommended oil is the Honda-label conventional 10W-40, isn't it? Good oil, not great oil, and all your listed oils likely beat that.
 
I've used Castrol Power RS and Mag 1 syn blend with fine results for 3k oci's. My bike doesn't shift at all well with Rotella 15w40, but many others report excellent results.
 
Ok so skip on the T6... I was iffy on that one anyways.

Don't worry about the UOA's as that is in the plan for both bikes. I do want to stick with a synthetic oil, however I might try the rotella 15w40 in the 250r with a few UOA's, vs the syn.

I'm not trying to find the cheapest oil, I care more about protection for the bike.

As far as what Honda recommends I would say that it would be 10w40 as most Honda's I have owned in the past used that weight. I did read somewhere that the manual says you can also use 20w50 in warmer areas. Not sure about that one as I don't have the factory service manual yet.
 
I did use just regular Valvoline motorcycle 10w40 in a SV650 I owned and thought it felt good as far as shifting goes, no UOA's to back up if it was doing a good job or not.
 
Yes that is one reason for wanting to go with one. I have always had 600 bikes and I am finally stepping up to a 1000cc bike.
 
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
My bike doesn't shift at all well with Rotella 15w40, but many others report excellent results.


Similar to my experience.

I've tried pretty much every oil available over the years, in a succession of mostly big-bore I4 sportbikes. Some of which were highly modified. The Rotella variants 15w40 and 5w40, always produced notchy shifting in short order.

My favorite is Motul 300V, closely followed by Redline M/C oil. With either the shifting stays as smooth as can be, until I decide to change the oil. Which in street use is usually around 4k miles.
 
Originally Posted By: Kennan
I did use just regular Valvoline motorcycle 10w40 in a SV650 I owned and thought it felt good as far as shifting goes, no UOA's to back up if it was doing a good job or not.


I've used it in my Can Am which shears like crazy and the Val 10-40 compared well to
Amsoil which I used the most. It sheared just a tad more, but not significantly so when tested at 3000mi.
Curiously tho, I've also used and tested a Castrol Blend 10-40 which does shear significantly
at 2000 mi but on the other hand, I've never had such smooth transmission shifting. Never tried the Castrol full syn.
 
I have used a ton of different oils in my bikes too. Never been a UOA done and did not even know about them until I joined this site. But I can tell you I have seen some mentioned oils and expensive oils been used in engines that failed and cheaper oils have turned good results on tear down. Not that it means anything since a failure is not usually or hardly ever the oils fault, its usually a part. That said, I have no brand loyalty anymore when it comes to this, but I never put many miles on my bikes oil anyway.

I had a cam lobe flatten out on me on a stock bike on one of the highly mentioned oils here yet none of the other lobes were damaged. Most likely not the oils fault, but I am staying away from that oil now since there was no proof on why either way, but being it was stock and not even hammer much at that point, it made me wonder and worry about the oil.
 
ashland or sopus for dino, whichevers on sale and mobil 1 for syn because it always seems to be on sale, mobil syn is actualy pretty good oil.
 
Ok so looks like I will stick with the M1 and the Valvoline and see which one feels better, and do some UOA's to see which one is doing better. I might toss some RP max cycle in to compare just because I can get it over the counter.

Thanks guys!
 
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