calling on the experts. diesel oils in bikes??

[675luke]

Hi guys,

I have read alot of posts on here relating to guys in the US running Rotella T6 in their bikes and guys in Australia running Delo 400 or Shell Rimula.

The only question I have is:

Is there any solid evidence proving that these diesel oils perform every bit as good as a bike specific oil in track/race bikes, eg Honda HP4, Yamalube, Motul 300V, Shell Advance Ultra etc ??

I am trying to find some evidence before I look at running one of these diesel oils in my race bikes. I dont want to do anything to hurt my babies (2x Triumph Daytona 675's)

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[UltrafanUK]

None I've seen and I would use the oil finder guide page of the major brand oil company you like to figure out which oil to use.

 

[InhalingBullets]

I know for sure that Rotella T(now T4) and Rotella T6 are both approved for JASO MA/MA2. I do not believe Rimula or Delo is approved. I have used the R-T6 in my bike with good results as have thousands of others. That said I, if I had a track bike I would likely use an ester based oil like Redline, though I am not sure what be available to you in that category. Shared sump bikes can shear oil like mad and it would appear that the ester based oils are more shear resistant than the hydrocracked groups.

 

[Lyman]

Is it the best oil to run? probably not. For a street ridden bike I would say it would be good enough. Race bike? Im sure there is a better oil.

 

[hansj3]

My Klr s love rotella. It's jaso certified, and a stout add pack.

Unless you have a race bike, an older air cooled, or a Harley I wouldn't worry too much

 

[675luke]

Great feedback guys, really appreciate it. keep it coming.

 

[Kawiguy454]

Look in the M1 product guide at the Motorcycle 10w-40 add pack then look at the M1 15w-50 add pack ...look similar to me. Ive been putting M1 15w-50 in bikes forever no clutch harm and no explosions. ...ZX-14 and H2 @ over 200HP

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: Kawiguy454
Look in the M1 product guide at the Motorcycle 10w-40 add pack then look at the M1 15w-50 add pack ...look similar to me. Ive been putting M1 15w-50 in bikes forever no clutch harm and no explosions. ...ZX-14 and H2 @ over 200HP
H2? tell us about it !!!

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: 675luke
Hi guys,

I have read alot of posts on here relating to guys in the US running Rotella T6 in their bikes and guys in Australia running Delo 400 or Shell Rimula.

The only question I have is:

Is there any solid evidence proving that these diesel oils perform every bit as good as a bike specific oil in track/race bikes, eg Honda HP4, Yamalube, Motul 300V, Shell Advance Ultra etc ??

I am trying to find some evidence before I look at running one of these diesel oils in my race bikes. I dont want to do anything to hurt my babies (2x Triumph Daytona 675's)

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.


My advice is just my experience and opinion.

I've tried a lot of different oils in a series of mostly I-4 Sportbikes. My current bikes are a modified all-motor Hayabusa making just shy of 300 rwhp, and a more lightly modified S1000RR making 208 rwhp. In the 'Busa I've tried several 'Diesel' rated motor oils. They were okay, but the shifting always left something to be desired. After trying many different oils, I settled on Motul 300V 4T for both bikes. Redline M/C oil was a close second.

Nice bikes. The Triples always sound good.

 

[alarmguy]

My thoughts ...

First off, there is no API standard for a motorcycle oil to qualify as a motorcycle oil.
HOWEVER there is a JASO Japanese standard for motorcycles, when called for by the bike maker. Jaso Motorcycle standards are important for bikes that share the engine oil with the clutch. Jaso has standards for friction, so as to prevent clutch slippage.

There is also no such thing as a Diesel only oil.

All Diesel oils contain everyday automobile GASOLINE API ratings such as API SM/SN just like the oil you buy for your car and if your car calls for the API on the bottle, its a great oil to use.

Oil labeled as Diesel oil also in addition to the gasoline API (S) rating carry the additional API (C) rating for a Diesel fueled engine. So you are getting an oil that meets two full set of standards.

When you buy "Diesel Oil" you are getting an oil that not only meets API gasoline standards but ADDITIONAL API standards for Diesel engines. So your getting double the certifications from one oil.

Its really that simple ... API "S" oils are rated for Spark Ignition Engines. (gasoline)
API "C" oils are rated for Compression Ignition Engines. (diesel)

With that said, Rotella, claims to meet these Jaso standards on some of their oils and i am sure they do as most others that claim too.
However they are not certified Jaso oils, only claims to meet.
Most oils many used for bikes are not Jaso Certified that carry the Jaso Certification symbol, like automotive/diesel oils carry the API Donut symbol. We tend to trust the manufacturers word for it.

Interestingly, one oil company, Valvoline Motorcycle oils are JASO CERTIFIED and carry the symbol. They are also very well priced.

Bottom line, use the oil recommended by your motorcycle maker.
If it calls for Jaso, Rotella Diesel oil (which is also rated for gas engines) also claims to meet Jaso on some of their oils and I certainly do believe them.
Other oils from Castrol, Valvoline etc etc same deal.
But if you REALLY want a CERTIFIED JASO OIL then buy an oil that carries the Certification on the bottle.

 

[WANG]

Here is a link to the UOA on Rotella that I did on my F800S. There is a link in that post to a UOA on the same bike with Amsoil. Both of those UOAs had one trackday on them. For that bike, I see no reason to use anything other than Rotella. Maybe a pair of UOAs after race weekends on what you use now and what you might use from the HDEOs available to you would tell you if diesel oil is suitable for your application? I very highly doubt that any harm would be done in a weekend even if it turned out to be not as good as a gucci oil.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2934714

 

[sunruh]

 

[williestreet]

I can't offer proof but, I have run Rotella T 15w-40 or T6 in all my race bikes for the last 15 years and have never had an issue. From 2002 to 2005 I was running 15w-40 in my R6. In hindsight it would have been nice to have a used oil analysis done but considering how often most racers change their oil (way too often) I saw no need.

I think I switched to T6 around 2008/2209. I have run it in zx10, SV650's and currently GSXR600. All engine refreshes showed no obvious signs of problems. If I hadn't broken my femur to bits this past year I would continue to use T6 with no hesitation.

Clutch slippage has never been an issue on any of my race bikes so don't worry about that. Anyone I see at the track with clutch issues can easily be traced back to tight clutch cables 99% of the time.

If money was not an issue I would use Motul. I just couldn't justify the cost knowing I would dump it far too soon, even if I knew better.

 

[AMC]

Another diesel oil user here. I have no scientific data but I have plenty of positive experience. I have always used HDEO's in motorcycles and never had a problem. I have been riding and wrenching for over 10 years and never had an oil problem. During that time, I have used actual motorcycle oil maybe 3 or 4 times and I can't tell any difference in anything between motorcycle oil and diesel oil. The only thing that seemed different between them was the label and the price tag.

As you can see, I also put my money where my mouth is, look at my signature below.

 

[675luke]

With the exception of the "motorcycle oil mythbuster". Thanks so much you your comments guys. Very much appreciated. Some solid advice that has definitely helped my decisions moving forward.

Thanks again.

 

[JeepWJ19]

My Honda CBR600F4i seems to like Rotella T4 15w40 fwiw.

 

[bonjo]

I posted a similar topic a year ago. My interest being to find out what options I had in case of emergencies where M/C oil were not available.

My first question would be why would anyone want to use an oil that has not been specified for M/C use?

I don't think it'll be a better oil. MY logic is that the additive requirements are different, the loads and the working environment in an M/C engine are very different to those of car engines.

So if it is not a cost or availability issue, then why not stick to the recommended products?


BTW when mobile originally brought out diesel engine labelled oil, I question this with their technical center and was told the oil was exactly the same just different packaging. But things have moved on and engine oils have been fine tuned for specific application. As castrol use to say in their commercial it is "liquid engineering"

 

[BigCahuna]

Oil doesn't know or care what type of motor it's being used in. There must be thousands of motor cycle owners that have used Diesel oil in their bikes, with Good UOA"S to backup their decision. Look in the motorcycle UOA section if you need to be convinced of it.,,

 

[Truckedup]

Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Oil doesn't know or care what type of motor it's being used in. There must be thousands of motor cycle owners that have used Diesel oil in their bikes, with Good UOA"S to backup their decision. Look in the motorcycle UOA section if you need to be convinced of it.,,


So you would be ok with using "bike" oil in a Diesel engine?

 

[Robenstein]

If the bike oil meets or exceeds the API requirement on the engine, then yes.

For instance, I bet Mobil V twin would return a pretty good UOA in my old Big Block Chevy.