Shell Rotella 5w40 Synthetic, Amsoil 10w40 & 10w30

[BigJohn]

I have a question about Rotella 5w40 Synthetic, but I suppose it could apply to any oil.

In the first 500-1,000 miles, my bike....(DL650, V-Strom...Liquid Cooled V-Twin)....feels as if it is running very smooth and shifts very smoothly. Then after 1,000 miles, the "feel" seems to be rougher.

Now I am confident that the oil isn't shot, that it is still lubricating, but wonder if part of the additive package has been chewed up in the tranny....which eliminates that silk smooth feel.

Can someone provide input and info to explain the early mileage change in the feel?

By the way, I have been trying and shooting for 3k change intervals, but I continue to experience this "roughness" and end up changing the oil at the 1,500-2,000 mark.

A second question.....For those of you using Amsoil 10w40 motorcycle....do you experience increasing "roughness" as the miles build?

A third question.....what about this new Amsoil 10w30 for motorcycles???? Do's? Don't? Comments?

Thanks,

 

[BigJohn]

Well, I leave in the morning for ADV WestFest in Lake City, Colorado for three days of Adventure Riding in the Colorado Rockies. I currently have 1,800 miles on this oil (Rotella T 5w40 Synthetic), and simply don't want to change it tonight. So, this 1,200 mile trip will bring me squarely around to 3k on the oil. I think I will drain and send in for analysis.

Seriously considering 10W40 Amsoil Motorcycle.

 

[Mackelroy]

Well, if you want to try the ams, I see no reason not to

some bikes do shift better with the ams verses the rotella and others dont matter much

 

[arkainzeye]

When i tried Rotella 5w40 synth in my vulcan 2000 (v-twin) at 1000 mile the shifting got so rough i changed the oil back to amsoil. I was trying to save a buck, but in my case i couldnt stand how it made my cycle shift after i put some mileage on the oil

 

[Norm Olt]

Either the Amsoil 10W-40 or the AME 15W-40 work just great! Even a little 20W-50 in the heat, if you prefer.

 

[sunruh]

none of the add pack is chewed up.

the VII's are done.

5w40 didn't last long in the MMoD!

 

[RWEST]

Hi John -
At the risk of offending the legion of 'Strommers who love RTS 5-40, I've got to put in a plug for Castrol ACTevo 10-40. I ran it in my 1000 Strom for just about 1 year/2,000 miles, and the shift quality never degraded, at least not that I could tell. The UOA is here http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1071143&fpart=2 about 1/2 way down the 2nd page. The numbers are still pretty good.

I put RTS 5-40 (CI-4+) in when I drained the ACTevo, and noticed a 'grittier' shift feel almost immediately, so I drained THAT out at only 350 miles or so and used Red Cap MI 15-50. Now, we're back to silky-smooth shifting again. Suzuki filter in both cases.

I know shift quality isn't the only determining factor, or maybe even one we should worry about, in whether or not the oil's doing its job. But, it makes me feel better when it shifts nice/smooth.

I know M1 has some reported shear issues, so, we'll see. If nothing else, I still have some of that Actevo left.

 

[BigJohn]

Interesting thing I learned......

The oil sight window on the Strom showed the oil between Full and Low. I thought that was ok. But, just for grins, I decided to top it off to the Full line. Once I did that, the shifting went back to silk smooth. I added about a 1/3 of a quart.

Then.....

I get the September Issue of Motor Cyclist and find an interesting article on page 136 about the SV650 engine....near identical to the DL650.

According to James Holland at JHS Racing - renowned for rapid SV650 and 1000 racebikes in the UK ...... "Oil level must be set to the "Full" line, not the minimum or anywhere in the middle.

So lessoned learned.....keep it completely topped off and it shifts smoothly.

 

[daman]

Hint...

try some wal-mart super tech HDEO 15w40,,sleeper oil..

 

[wileyE]

John,the failure mentioned with oil level was: on running engine, on a perfectly flat road, bike not leaning side for miles on end stayed below a gear set collar bushing and could starve it. An unlikely occurrence but Suzuki updated to a new bushing with channels that allow oil into the suspect area on later models. Running the oil level at the full mark was cheap insurance, and if it helped the shifting? why not.