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A lot of motorcyclist use Shell Rotella T6 synthetic.That's what I run and notice the bike runs cooler and smoother and get better mileage. I also run it on my KLR650 and same result. Wallymart has it for $20 bucks a gallon.

kennyb wrote: A lot of motorcyclist use Shell Rotella T6 synthetic.That's what I run and notice the bike runs cooler and smoother and get better mileage. I also run it on my KLR650 and same result. Wallymart has it for $20 bucks a gallon.

Wow !!!You're running a diesel specific oil??It should be "full" of friction modifiers , low ash, Low Phosphorous and Low sulfur.

I'm siding with KZQ here. It's really important that you observe the "MA" standard in order to minimize the clutch slippage. There are a lot of really good oils out there but not specific to engines with wet clutches.

KennyB, Are the motorcyclists you know running Shell Rotella running Harleys with dry clutches??

Shell Rotella T6 synthetic is rated JASO MA.

Typical Diesel oils are great for bikes as they contain (or at least used to contain) higher phosphorus levels which typical auto oils don't have as phosphorous tends to foul cat converters. I think some Diesels have cat converters now so not sure if typical Diesel phosphorous levels are as high as they once were.

Are you sure you getting Synthetic T6 for $20 per gallon? If so, I'm going to have to make a stop at Wally World the next time I'm stateside. Shell has booth regular T6 and Synthetic T6 (both rated JASO MA). Around here the regular stuff is about $20 per gallon but the synthetic T6 is more like $50 per 4.4litres (slightly more than a US gallon).

It would appear that I posted a comment before verifying the info. You guys are correct. Rotella T6 "meets or exceeds the requirements of" JASO MA. I see a lot of motorcycle sites have done their backyard research ie. posts from members using it and their feelings on engine wear and shifting quality and they seem to be happy for the most part. There are a few who have voiced in and stated that they thought the shifts were more harsh. But for the most part those using it are more happy about the price savings over JASO MA "certified" oils.
There's a large cost to actually certifying oils to the JASO MA standard and that cost is rolled down onto the end purchaser. If an oil company applies to JASO for certification of one of their blends of oil, Jaso will review the contents of that product for a paltry sum of $500 and either accept or decline the product for testing. If they accept for testing it means that that product generally meets the standard by nature of content. If the oil company wants to proceed with certification then an additional cost would be required. Most companies will stop there and not certify the product and then they can label their product as "meets or exceeds" the standard because JASO accepted the product for testing.

AHHH the controversy over oil. A worthy topic and I'm sure that there are a number of members out there who have done their own testing and have found results they're happy with for whatever reason I hope more will chime in and give opinions on what they are using and why. Engine noise, shift quality, fuel mileage etc.

I have several bikes and use Shell Rotella T6 synthetic in all of them. For the most part I have no complaints - I buy it as it's often on sale at a price that's better than other synthetics and the only one that's rated JASO MA aside for much more expensive Motorcycle specific synthetic oils.

One thing though..I used to use Mobile Synthetic oil in my Vulcan V twin. The Vulcan motor has always been noisy but I swear, the noises have gotten louder since I switched to Rotella (slightly thicker oil - 15w50 vs 5W50 for the Mobile). Of course, it could all be in my head, like many oil issues, but I'm going to switch back to Mobile at the next oil change to see if things get any quieter.

There goes a few more kittens.

Oh man, the age old Engine Oil question....

Seems this topic comes up on every motorcycle and car forum quite often.

Rotella Is a very popular oil for vintage motorcycles and is good quality stuff. I run Castrol 4t 20-50 in my z650 currently. That engine is high compression and I tend to push that bike when I go out in the country side so I don't mind the heavier oil.

The most important factor in oil relalatin to flat tappet engies, like our 1300's, is ZDDP. The zinc dithioposphate additive is designed to form a layer and prevent wear in high pressure bearing surfaces, like cam lobes running on flat tappets. It is a necessary component in oil for a KZ1300, and just about any other motorcycle for that matter.

The problem is that ZDDP can poision catalytic converters over time so it has been removed from most automotive oils. Do a Google search and you will eventually come to a very interesting website at www.bobistheoilguy.com. There you will find actual chemical analysis of common oils, and analysis of used oil filter paper samples. You don't have to take any one's word as to what oil to use because the science is plain as day.

Rotella and believe it or not, the cheap Wal-Mart branded TECH oil are some of the best performers. Castrol 4t has ZDDP additive and its viscosity modifiers tend to hold up well in higher temperature use, such as in my air cooled 650.

www.bobistheoilguy.com