Rebuilt engine, oil mix question

[Mik]

Hello everyone,

I am a newbie here, having just recently discovered this wonderfully informative site. I have been doing a lot of reading in the last few days and have learned a lot along the way.

I am the proud owner of a 1999 Honda VTR1000F (Superhawk in the US, Firestorm everywhere else). See pic here:
http://s784.photobucket.com/albums/yy126/vtr_mick/May 2011/?action=view&current=P1140090-1.jpg

The bike is extensively modded, the icing on the cake being an engine which was rebuilt last fall (and now sports JE high comp pistons, Carillo rods, balanced crank, Yoshimura Stg 1 cams, various DLC-coated bits, ceramic hybrid trans bearings,....). I am just completing the break-in now (used Rotella dino oil) and was thinking of switching to a mix of oils based on what I have read here. What I was looking at usign is the following:

i) 2 L Rotella dino (15W40; good all-round oil, good additive package with lots of detergents, and quite shear stable)
ii) 1 L Rotella T6 5W40 synth (again, a good all-round oil with robust additives but not ridiculously expensive)
iii) 1 L GC 0W30 (Group IV for better protection on start-up after long lay-ups, few Grp VII so very shear stable, excellent wear protection)

I am looking at OCIs of about 4000 km (2500 miles) and just picked up some Supertech filters (7317s) to use (based on the high reating it received here: http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/FilterXRef.html)

FWIW, the engine has a very strong low-end and mid-range and seldom, if ever, sees sustained high revs (ie. over 7K). It is used on the street and receives careful warm-up and all-round maintenance.

Thanks in advance for your comments and help.

 

[needsducktape]

personally, I've always run dedicated motorcycle oil in my bikes -LOVE the Motul line a oil.

Having said that and bike shop will have a good selection of decent oil.

My twin (Sv-650) did well on Amsoil and my Ducati got the Motul. Both ran well -very nice clutch engagement.

 

[Mik]

I ran bike oil (Motul semi-synth mostly) for the majority of the bike's first 140,000 km. The engine always ran fine and the tech who did the rebuild said the internals were amazingly clean and fresh for the mileage.

Unfortunately, bike oils are typically insanely expensive (at least in Canada). Research has shown that HDEOs are more than up to the job while costing much less.

The mix I am considering should be resonably inexpensive while also providing great protection. My concern lies more in the possible complications arising from mixing the three oils together.

 

[Radman]

If it were my bike I would run Red Line Motorcycle Oil 10W40 with a Mobil 1-110 filter. If I were on a budget Rotell T6 5W40 with a Pure 1 PL14610. I would change the oil at the first sign of sluggish shifting i.e 2500 - 3500 miles.

 

[Mik]

Don't be bashful now folks.......

 

[hate2work]

Many will tell you not to mix oils, don't play chemist, etc. But there are many of us that have blended diff oils for many years will good results, but that's typically with non-modded larger vehicle engines, so..

Does your bike have a wet clutch? Some oils don't play well when asked to do more than one thing.

Will your particular mix work for you? Trying it would be the only way to find out.

 

[Mik]

Thanks for the reply. My bike does indeed have a wet clutch (as do virtually all Japanese streetbikes). All of the oils listed have been run in streetbikes before (based on what I read here and elsewhere) so it's mostly the actual mixing factor that I am concerned about. The only possible problem I can see is how the GC will mix with the Rotellas. Essentially the Rotella 15W40 is Grp II, the T6 is Grp III and the GC is Grp IV (PAO). IN theory they should all mix no problem.....


FWIW, I have searched using many different terms to see if anyone has mixed these together and not found much.
Looks as though I'll have to try it. I have one more "dino oil" oil change (with Rotella 15W40) to do then I will try the elixir.....