Supertech 15w-40 in Honda VT1100

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Well, I recently purchased a '94 VT1100. ~25,000 miles on the bike, looks almost new.
I have been out of bikes for a long time, and for my initial change, decided to use some Supertech 15w-40 (bike is a 10w40 spec) for a short flush interval (500 miles or so).

No idea what oil was in it (it was overfilled though, 4 qts came out + what was in the filter, a 3.3 qt fill with filter is what the manual says and what the stick showed as full after the change).

Engine sounds that same as before the change (good), but shifting is better and finding neutral is super easy now, before was hard to find from 1-2 and 2-1 shifts.

Still not sure what I will be using in the future (may stick with this ST 15-40 for winter and move to ST 20w-50 during summer unless I find a great deal on oil).

Pulled off a dented OEM Honda filter, put on a 6607 Supertech for this flush cycle. Not crazy about the small size and nitril combo valve on the ST, but for a short change it will be fine.
I found that the Fram 3593a will fit, and Walmart had some of the Toughguard on clearance in that size, so bought a few of those for future use.
 
Should work fine. Sunruh has said in the past that ST 15W40 is a great oil for wet clutch bikes.
 
If your oil was overfilled, be on the lookout for fuel getting into the oil. Could be a bad needle and seat in the carburetor, or a failing fuel petcock. If its a manual petcock, be sure to turn it off as you pull into your driveway. If its a vacuum petcock, they go bad and suck fuel into the vacuum air stream. On a 23 year old bike, I would almost guarantee a bad vacuum petcock, assuming your bike has one and not a manual petcock.

If its wet clutch, you want a JASO MA oil. Rotella 15W40 is the only HDEO that list it on the label, and the cheapest "motorcycle" oil you can find. I believe SuperTech has a higher moly content, and thus, might be bad for the wet clutch. Perhaps.
 
I have used super tech 15w-40 in two different Falcos with zero issues. The clutch has never slipped with it and it retains shift feel all the way through its 5k interval.

do not worry about it
 
I have no personal experience with your VTX but have run 15w40 in all my dirt bikes, street bikes, and ATV's over many many years and have never had an issue with any of it as long as the weather is reasonable.

I agree with the post above also. If you are concerned with it, get the Rotella T4 15w40 or the T6 5w40. They Both have the JASO MA ratings. Just be careful. There is a T6 multi-vehicle and I think it is different
 
Originally Posted By: jstutz
I have no personal experience with your VTX but have run 15w40 in all my dirt bikes, street bikes, and ATV's over many many years and have never had an issue with any of it as long as the weather is reasonable.

I agree with the post above also. If you are concerned with it, get the Rotella T4 15w40 or the T6 5w40. They Both have the JASO MA ratings. Just be careful. There is a T6 multi-vehicle and I think it is different


The 5w-40 shears incredibly quickly in every bike I have put it in. I do not know why people keep recommending it for shared sump bikes tbqh
 
Originally Posted By: brave sir robin
Originally Posted By: jstutz
I have no personal experience with your VTX but have run 15w40 in all my dirt bikes, street bikes, and ATV's over many many years and have never had an issue with any of it as long as the weather is reasonable.

I agree with the post above also. If you are concerned with it, get the Rotella T4 15w40 or the T6 5w40. They Both have the JASO MA ratings. Just be careful. There is a T6 multi-vehicle and I think it is different


The 5w-40 shears incredibly quickly in every bike I have put it in. I do not know why people keep recommending it for shared sump bikes tbqh


I agree that it does sheer rather quickly. I know many people that have used it with fine results though. I use it in the winters for the ATVs when its going to be down in the teens or lower. For motorcycles and mild weather I use the 15w40.
 
Originally Posted By: bubbatime
If your oil was overfilled, be on the lookout for fuel getting into the oil. Could be a bad needle and seat in the carburetor, or a failing fuel petcock. If its a manual petcock, be sure to turn it off as you pull into your driveway...

...


I will keep an eye on it. Oil did not smell of fuel at all.
Guy I bought it from said he had changed the oil recently, but did not find out how recently.
These bikes get overfilled often, it is supposed to be checked upright, but many check it on the sidestand, which will cause overfill.
I have a manual petcock and turn it off about 1/4 mile from home, it usually runs out of gas after a minute of idleing (usually while turning it around and going back into my garage).


Not really worried about using the ST, I have read a lot of good about it here and on other forum. just was wanting to add my experience. So far.

The more I read the more I am apt to use it for ~2500 miles and change the filter every other oil change.
 
From what i have seen of the motorcycle branded oils Honda/Kawi/Yamaha the HDEOs have much better add packs and TBNs.

ZDDP should keep that bike happy.
 
i've tested the Kawi 20w50 and while ok, it was not impressive at all, BUT it wasnt bad either.
heck it was better than castrol gtx 20w50.

but i would pick supertech 15w40 over either one of those for any motor.

heck i would even pick salad dressing before i would pick castrol gtx
 
Originally Posted By: sunruh
...
heck i would even pick salad dressing before i would pick castrol gtx

It was that bad?

The only other oils I am considering right now are Rotella T4 15w-40 or maybe Mobil 1 15w-50 if I find it on clearance (wish I bought more last year for the $2 qt price, only bought 4 for my brothers 883).

I have debated a straight 40 wt as well, since it rarely gets below freezing here, but have read of a few possible issues with seals and increased initial pressure when in the below 50°F starts, plus I do a lot of short tripping (only 3 miles to work).
 
Plenty of us use HDEO's for our motorcycles with success. Supertech, Rotella, Delvac, Delo, Valvoline and others are all commonly used in wet sump bikes of all different makes and engine sizes. For me, Delo seems to give the best shift quality and is usually the best value next to Supertech. For the people that have machines under warranty or really want to play it safe, the rotella oils with the jaso-ma markings are a good choice.

As for filters, I would go with a filter that has good construction and flow over a filter with a super fine micron rating. Becuase of the high rpm nature of motorcycles, they need good oil flow on demand and the last thing you want is a restrictive oil filter to potentially slow down the oil flow. For motorcycles, I like OEM or Wix (Napa) oil filters. Napa's web site shows part number 101000 or 1358 both fitting, depending on the height of filter that will fit; with the 101000 being 2.576" tall and the 1358 being 2.782" tall.

For a new to me but used motorcycle, I like to add a strong dose of (pick your favorite) fuel system cleaner and then change all of the fluids and all of the filters. You (usually) never know what the previous owner's maintenance schedule or fluid choices were like. For a bike of that age, I would also closely inspect the all of the hoses and rubber parts.
 
AMC, All hoses have been looked at, and so far look good (but looks don't always mean anything).
Only fluid that has not been changed (yet) is coolant. Oil, shaft drive, clutch and brake fluid have all been changed.
Carbs were rebuilt by the guy I bought it from, but I am using 2-3 oz of GumOut All-in-One per tank (recommended dose is 1oz/3.5 gallons) for the next few tanks just because I have several bottles of it.
After that I will probably just run one oz per tank just to keep things clean and hopefully prevent any issues.

AS for the filter itself, I have thought about the flow vs filtration. With the Toughguard, it is more of a filtration, but not that worried about the flow. Once I am done with them, I have debated just going with an Ultra for 10,000 miles. I would get flow and filtration with that.
 
my previous bikes -- Honda Shadow 750, Yamaha V Star 650, Suzuki GZ250 --- all disliked anything 15w-50 & 20w-50; shifting was horrible! current bike -- Yamaha V Star 250 -- has Traveller 15w-40 (same company bottles Supertech brand oils) and it is doing fantastic! have used Supertech 15w-40 & 10w-40 in the past with great results...shifts like butter!
 
Blu- Sounds like you are on the right track with that machine. Well done sir!
thumbsup2.gif
 
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