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Recommended oil

Discussion in 'Tech' started by grich575, Sep 4, 2006.

  1. El Skwid!

    El Skwid! Old guy, old bikes

    Regarding the amount, check your owner's manual or call the local shop.
     
  2. The H-man

    The H-man Go Navy!

    Emphasis added.

    :tut: Not according to your Sponsor House profile or those championships in your footer.

    But seriously, trust in your own abilities. Including your ability to discern what's what and right from wrong. Research, read, re-read if necessary. This thread's over 4 pages long. The truth is out there. Trust your feeling Luke. Look within grasshopper. :D
     
  3. tony715

    tony715 Well-Known Member

    i wouldn't run that stuff. not for motorcycles. more made for a diesel than anything. that's why if you get it tested it will hold up well. someone told me that it keeps the motor clean because it has kerosene in it. which is also good for a diesel because of the way it burns. i actually don't run that in my diesel either. anything you buy at wally world is junk.

    good luck with your rotella!
     
  4. tony715

    tony715 Well-Known Member


    mook,

    how many times did you fill up a repsol bottle with the same stuff that went into the pennzoil bottle?

    talk to mike milan and he will give you an hour of why that rotella is junk. he has worked with maxima for the oil he uses in his ducati. i told him about the rotella and he laughed. you get what you pay for.
     
  5. El Skwid!

    El Skwid! Old guy, old bikes

    All hands commence to piling on.
    & plz clean up your title page to read "V6LW"

    So who is "someone"? Name names.
    Kerosene doesn't mix with oil, it's a fuel.

    Oil is oil, if you think $15/1l Motul is the way to go, keep spending it.
    I ran Rotella all season in my Vintage bike, which already had run several seasons, just had the top end done & the builder said it looked just like last time he had it open: before the '06 season started! Check my results;
    myself & the others posting here speak from actual experience.
     
  6. tony715

    tony715 Well-Known Member

    first of all, don't get your pants in a bunch!!
    if i were running vintage bikes i would go to the closest advanced auto and tell them i wanted to empty the old oil bin and use that.

    we got into a discussion at the track ( i don't remember who) but someone was talking rotella and another guy said no way. i don't know shit about oil. i read my manual and that's what i use.

    far as kerosene in oil. i don't know i don't make it. that is what i was told. the theory was that diesel burns dirty. no matter how much you change the oil it's always gonna be black. with that being said. more detergents are added to oils made for diesel motors. i know a couple of guys that dump kerosene in the motor a day before they change the oil. but i think we are getting off track. that is a car/truck motor. if there was not chemical difference in motorcycle oil the manual would say." use whatever the hell you want"
     
  7. the "TRAIN" Rech

    the "TRAIN" Rech Well-Known Member

    As a mechanic I'm a newbie.....thanks for the thoughts. I went to the bike shop and just got what i use to use.....
     
  8. El Skwid!

    El Skwid! Old guy, old bikes

    Ahh, the infamous "track day experts".
    Thanks for clarifying your lack of knowledge.
    If you don't know anything, why did you chime in?
    I believe the manual specifies a specific weight of oil for your ambient temperature range, and a 'S' rating.
    Don't you think the oil is more critical to a motor with many seasons on it compared to a brand new one? You could run the recycled oil in your bike & be fine.
    If we keep this up, we'll have to move over to the Dungeon or Hole.
    I'm guessing you use a $700 helmet with pretty stickers all over it.
     
  9. crshovrd

    crshovrd Well-Known Member

    but what happens to a new motor if you break it in with poor quality oil...it won't last you till you can use it as a vintage racer....
     
  10. BigWill 74

    BigWill 74 Well-Known Member

    If you dont want to run it then dont buy it. We asked for opinions of people who are actually using it. If you want to pay 60 for a oil change then go ahead, but dont dog out the guys who want to save a few bucks. on a weekend. Amsoill,motul,silkolene, they all do the same thing lube parts.

    Tell me why would you change your oil after every race day or every other if you had that much confidence in that 60 dollar oil its good for at least 1000miles thats almost a season for some .you should not have any loose shavings on that stock motor. I dont think you guys are rossi or hayden with all these high tech parts.

    Most people will sell their bike or buy used ones. If its used you dont know what the hell was ran thru the thing. Advertising and pics sell. I bet half just purchased because a buddy said thats the shit its what i run and most have not read a damn thing.

    Try the rotella if you dont like it switch back you always have options.
     
  11. tony715

    tony715 Well-Known Member

    i chime in because i can.

    as far as knowledge, i guess your an expert on oil.

    if you want to run recycled oil in you vintage POS then do what you feel.

    what i spend on my helmet is no concern of yours.

    i am just voicing my opinion, if you dont't agree that's cool. no reason to get so harsh.

    you need to relax a bit!!:p
     
  12. chase2000gt

    chase2000gt Well-Known Member

    So whats the proper weight of rotela synth? I think the stuff the sell at walmart is something like 5-40 or 50. Is that ok?
     
  13. GixxerBlade

    GixxerBlade Oh geez

    Tony you really don't understand what the whole thread was about. Go back to page one and start reading. There are some very informative links to articles in this thread that will help you get over your prejudices of "cheap" oil. Rotella is reknown for being the best oil for your tractor, F1 car, or hi-performance motorcycle.
     
  14. nig

    nig Well-Known Member

    Yes it's fine. The synthetic is 5W40, the dino is 15W40. I think it's just industry convention with the diesel oils, Delvac, Delo, Rotella they're all the same weight in their synthetic and dino variations.

    I use the dino more often than not because I hate going to Walmart, and that's the only place I can find the synthetic. I've had both analyzed in my SV after 500+ track miles and the synthetic did appear to be in better shape but the difference isn't enough to worry me. Besides the use was not "exactly" the same. The wear with the dino Rotella was pretty much in line with what they said were averages for ~3-4k miles in street motors, which is fine by me.

    Until somebody shows me 2 oil analyses with different oils and very similar use, I usually tell them to STFU. Most people just buy into propaganda, same as helmets, same as leathers. Many opinions, few facts to back them up.
     
  15. rugbymook

    rugbymook Under Construction

    Tony,
    That was a long time ago, but i certainly remember running 4 or 5 lines of oil out of the same tank. From branded to the K-Mart house stuff. First hand experience. As i said, the antifreeze was the same also. We'd run 6 or 7 lines of antifreeze. (fewer with oil because they were larger production runs)

    Mike has more money than anyone i know and if he wants to piss it away on warm and fuzzy Maxima he can. What did he do for Maxima???? Is he a petroleum engineer?? All i know is he takes his $100k+ WSB Ducati to the same mechanic that tore my bike down and i'll trust my guy when he tells me my engine looks great.

    All i know is that the internals on my motor looked fine when we tore it down. That was after running Rotella. My dirtbike is the same. No wear on the cams or anything. I change to oil in the KTM more frequently because i am more worried about contamination.

    I'll take Diet Dr Thunder's lab results as backup to my empiric evidence.
     
  16. BigWill 74

    BigWill 74 Well-Known Member

    It is 5w-40 synthetic
     
  17. GixxerBlade

    GixxerBlade Oh geez

    Looks like some others are re-hashing an old story here.
    They need some help with the Rotella argument and I am not so eloquent that I can explain to them.
     
  18. mpp12

    mpp12 Well-Known Member

    Is the retella same as the helix?
     
  19. GixxerBlade

    GixxerBlade Oh geez

    I assume you mean Rotella. Rotella is a diesel oil made by Shell that can be bought at WAL-Mart usually for about $15 gallon.
     
  20. iceman017

    iceman017 alive and kicking

    Wow. some of you guys really read too much into this. I am a mechanic; yes a motorcycle mechanic - in fact I work on mostly high-end stuff and racebikes. the guy talking about packaging several (read: a bunch) different oils from the same container is absolutely correct. Also, the Rotella fans are smart as hell. Rotella is {{Perfectly}} ok for your racebike. I like the stuff. On a side note: The factory trainer for a certain italian bike company uses rotella in all of his vehicles, from gas trucks to deisel to vintage bikes to superbikes to touring bikes. He is the one who tells me how and why a certain change to a motor was made this year and/or other extremely technical stuff etc etc. He also approves and or denies warranty claims for this company. Rotella will not void warranty, and will not cause engine failure. Not getting enough rotella (or any oil) to a certain part of the engine will cause failure. simple as that. as far as gunk, build up, oil sludge, or other super duper advertising terms, one oil may leave more or less deposits over a LONG time period. but somehow I thought we were racing here, not driving miss daisy. change your oil. rebuild your motor before you hear noises. with some luck, you won't have a catastrophic failure because of some part that's a little weak.

    in short, +1 for rotella (or +2 if you count high-end racing pedigree bike company guy too)
     

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