Tiger engine oil?

[Idhosam]

Well, now that I've had my 06 Tiger a few weeks now and several hundred miles later I opened up the Owners manual to flip through.  It states you must use Mobil1 4T sync oil, well I checked with the dealership who carries it at $48 a bottle.



That IMO is extremely excessive



Soooo is there an alternative or will it void the warranty?  What other petroleum's are  out there worth using, and with what results.

[ghostbiker955i]

I bet there will be a lot of differing views on this :)

While you are getting the first couple of services from a main dealer i would stick with the recomended oil.

As soon as your going to service it your self or take it else where then i use silkoline full synth but any good oil should be ok if changed at the right times.

This is just my view on it, there will be many others.

[Guest]

My '02 book says Mobil4T or similar fully or semi syth oil. It also recommends 10W/40 but my dealer and others have used Mobil4T 15W/50.

So, what do you do? Use a good quality brand within the spec. I'm now using Castrol R4 10W/40 which, over here in Blighty, costs £10 less than the Mobil.

[jcm]

A number of dealers dont use the mobil oil, they use the likes of shell etc. if you are doing it yourself rember dont use car oil only those designed for bikes, the reason I have been told is due to the anti friction aditives which could cause clutch slip in a bike with a wet clutch.

[Sofalofa2005]

Mine's had Silkolene 10W/40 semi synthetic since new (2005, now 20,000 miles)... still sounds great and the gearbox is better than it's ever been now...



My dealer told me that they don't use Mobil 1 any more at their place as it ain't very good on Triumph tripples...



No doubt many oils are fine, but one thing I have learned... The 955i Tiger engine feels at its best when you get past the 12,000 mile service... Like BMW's, it needs a good while to fully bed-in... Then it's a peach... wouldn't have any other engine now, it's great

[M.T.]

I'm in this same boat Idahosam-

Is it true that even a good quality fully synthetic automobile oil (Mobil1 or Castrol Syn) is not to be used? I had never heard this about the wet clutch slipping.  It would be nice not to spend $50 in oil, but maybe that's just how it is, huh?

[speedjunkie]

Most modern day automotive oils have a friciton modifier added.  This is bad news for a wet clutch set up.  Any good semi or full synthetic will work fine, as long as it doesn't have the modifiers in it.  Do a little searching, Motul, Shell, Mobil, Silkolene, Castrol, Motorex, Bardahl, Belray, Golden Spectro, Maxima, BMW, all have a good quality full and semi synthetic bike oils.  Most are available in the states.  A full syn oil will cost upwards of $10/liter.  Just a fact of life.  Now, if you bike is out of warranty, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to use Shell Rotella T full synthetic.  Can be found at Walmart for about $10/gallon!  It does NOT have friction modifiers in it and is a very good oil for bikes IMO.  I've used it on my FJR for 15K miles, with NO problems.  And I'll probably switch over to it when I get more miles on my bike.  Good luck!







Mike

[Sasquatch]

Motorcycle specific oils are the biggest marketing sucess in the last 20 years.  They have convinced us by throwing terms like shear prtection out there to scare us into purchasing very expensive oil that is not very different than quality car oils (if different at all).



I have a fairly loyal group of customers that have me build engines for them.  There are only a few oils that I will warranty my motors on.



Shell Rotella T synthetic ($14 at wally world), my favorite for the last few years.  



Mobil 1 15/50 (getting harder to find)



and for conventional oils;



Shell Rotella

Chevron Delo 400

Mobil Delvac



Notice a theme going on here?  All but the Mobil 1 are HD oils designed for diesel engines.  The additives that they put in the oils to protect very costly diesel engines ($10k+) for millions of miles also are fantastic for motorcycles.  I run them in every vehicle I drive.



If it makes you sleep good to only use oils designed for motorcycles, go right ahead.  I have not ever, in my motorcycling history (nearing 400k miles) have I ever used the stuff.  Never had an oil related failure.

[Idhosam]

Motorcycle specific oils are the biggest marketing sucess in the last 20 years.  They have convinced us by throwing terms like shear prtection out there to scare us into purchasing very expensive oil that is not very different than quality car oils (if different at all).



I have a fairly loyal group of customers that have me build engines for them.  There are only a few oils that I will warranty my motors on.



Shell Rotella T synthetic ($14 at wally world), my favorite for the last few years.  



Mobil 1 15/50 (getting harder to find)



and for conventional oils;







Shell Rotella

Chevron Delo 400

Mobil Delvac



Notice a theme going on here?  All but the Mobil 1 are HD oils designed for diesel engines.  The additives that they put in the oils to protect very costly diesel engines ($10k+) for millions of miles also are fantastic for motorcycles.  I run them in every vehicle I drive.



If it makes you sleep good to only use oils designed for motorcycles, go right ahead.  I have not ever, in my motorcycling history (nearing 400k miles) have I ever used the stuff.  Never had an oil related failure.

OK Sasquatch, I understand what your saying and I'm with you, so exactly what are you running in your cat?



I have a KLR that I run Mobil 5000 in and have yet to have any problems altough the dealership keeps telling me if I don't use the 7 dollar a quart stuff my bike will self distruct that was over 8000 miles ago..Well not so far or has any of my many bikes past owned.

[Sasquatch]

OK Sasquatch, I understand what your saying and I'm with you, so exactly what are you running in your cat?

I run Shell Rotella T synthetic in it.  I have ran that oil with 7k change intervals for the 22,000 or so miles I have on her.  I use that oil exclusivly now in all 5 of my vehicles and 2 bikes.

[tjt]

I believe the only thing that keeps Shell Rotella T synthetic from being JASO certified is the ash content is above the standard for JASO.  But not by very much.



Oh, and the cost of testing and certification which is required annually.



On the "auto oils are bad" topic, it isn't really that they are auto oils, it is that they are labled "energy conserving".  I don't believe the viscosity recommended for most bikes is even available in an energy conserving formulation.  Those are the friction modifiers that everyone is afraid of when using a wet clutch with a shared oil sump.

[99Tiger]

Is that 5W-40 Rotella your useing in your Tiger Sasquatch?

I am useing that in my car and truck but was afraid to cause my clutch to slip if I put it in my motorcycle.  It,s kind of hard to believe that the big oil companies could make a claim that there is something better about the JASO rated oil for motorcycles.  If what you say is true and could be proven then everybody that has bought motorcycle oil is due a refund of the difference in price to automobile oil.  Right?

[Sasquatch]

Yes, I use the 5/40 in the Tiger.  At 400lbs and an ex racer I am hard on my clutch and it has never slipped or failed me.  I use it in my KLR as well with zero problems.



I dont know about a class action lawsuit. That would be like suing Advil because they are more expensive than generic ibuprofin.  They are both exactly the same but Advil advertises that they are better.  Same diff.

[cbxtc6]

Mobil 1 MX4T.  Available at your local Autozone.  ~$5/qt.

From mobil1.com:  "Mobil 1 MX4T 10W-40 was renamed because the product is known as Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W-40 outside the US."

Same stuff as the "Triumph" labelled oil.

[DanoDawg]

Wow! I just called Autozone in Colorado Springs and they want $8.19 per quart!! (MX4T) You are gettin' a hell of a deal. :smt104





Dan