Best Oil For Bikes

Yes... I know we have been thru this a ZILLION times,but....OK I vote for Rotella T 15w40 in the white jug,AND Rislone 3X ZDDP additive.With a new Fram filter,all for about $30 from my local Advanced Auto.I'm not plugging any particular place,but it's the closest to my house,and the Rotella T is what seems to be the prefered choice of many people here,and you need the extra ZDDP additive.I'm going to stick with this combo from here on out.After a quick ride out to the shop and back for the NYS Inspection (required here $6) the 750 seems a little peppier,a tad stronger.Oh... I'm gonna try the non-ethanol fuel from Fast-Trac.I'm only getting about 100 miles out of a 3 gal tank,where I was getting 135-140 from it BEFORE the dreadded ethanol mix.We'll see. I could try the "Racing Fuel" from Delta Sonic,but at $8/gal,it seems a little excessive.I can allready spank a H/D on a quick stoplight blaster.

I'm no fan of Fram filters. I'll stick with K&N oil filters, although there are some other quality oil filters, but Fram is pretty much bottom of the list. Ed

Alright! An Oil Thread! :laugh:

Seriously, I do not trust Rotella. Many riders swear by Rotella but I will not use. I use motorcycle specific oils. Price be damned. I currently use Repsol 10W40 Full Dino in my KZ 650. I use full synthetic racing oil in my ZRX 1200R, Repsol, Redline, Motul, etc. I use blended synthetic in my Concours 14 and thinking of switching to full synthetic.

Oil Filters? Fram is low on my list. I have known of others using the Frams and getting failures such as the filter media collapses or fails by tearing. I agree with Ed and use K&N Oil Filters. It is worth the extra few $$.

Flame On Oil Thread Haters!!!

The best oil is any one that you change before the additive package wears out. Base oil is surprisingly irrelevant in about 99.999% of applications. But, when the VI's, detergents/solvents and the acid neutralizers get used up your engine is being ruined by your oil.

I bought my bike in '79 so that was decades before the ridiculously expensive "motorcycle" oils were around. Car oil is fine as long as it isn't energy conserving. And I definitely agree you need to add ZDDP to put back what they now leave out.

I thought the consensus was that Shell Rotella T still had the ZDDP in it?

For my big hp bikes I use Gibbs Racing oil, dino for break-in and Synthetic Motorcycle oil the rest of the time. ~$10-$11 a quart from Jegs or Summit Racing (and a bunch other places). All the ZDDP you could ask for.

Shell Rotella T with no additives added in my 750 twin.

gotta love me some royal purple, and running AV gas! bikes love that lead mix :)lol

steell wrote: I thought the consensus was that Shell Rotella T still had the ZDDP in it?...

It did as of January of last year (see link), so unless they changed the formula it still does. It might be worth sending the question to Shell; apparently they are happy to answer questions - good for business. Ed

www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57953

650ed wrote:

steell wrote: I thought the consensus was that Shell Rotella T still had the ZDDP in it?...

It did as of January of last year (see link), so unless they changed the formula it still does. It might be worth sending the question to Shell; apparently they are happy to answer questions - good for business. Ed

www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57953

Last I read, the "legal" limit for ZDDP for use in passenger cars (SM or SN service grade) is under 800 PPM which is about half as much as should be in there. Optimum is more like 1600 ppm. I have no idea what Rotella has but lately, I don't believe anything oil makers publish.

rotella t from wal mart 15 bucks...oil filters from Z1 e bought a few at a time...change it whenever i want but often....38 yr old motor runs great.....cams looked fine.....cant see inside....cant seem to break it ,,,so why look

I use straight Valvoline 50Wt. Racing oil with Fram filter because fram filters have big holes in there paper to flow the thick oil.

www.penngrade1.com/Products/Motor-Oils/SAE-20W50.aspx

Used the 40wt last year, and now using 50. The engine loves it, and it's green!

daveo wrote: www.penngrade1.com/Products/Motor-Oils/SAE-20W50.aspx

Used the 40wt last year, and now using 50. The engine loves it, and it's green!

+1 That is also what I use.