Another Oil question

[Guest]

My 05 uses about a qt in 2500 miles, after reading the oil consumption threads I am happy with that.

What is a good cheaper alternative to Mobil 1 4T, Went to buy another 4ltr and the Triumph shop wanted over $60.00 for the full synthetic, I bought the semi synthetic for about 38 buckos.

Pretty fricken proud of their Oil , gotta be an equivalent for a lot less .

[brad1098]

Try the Mobile 1 10w40 "High-mileage"  The high-mileage part is only a marketing name.  It is simply synthetic 10w40.  $6.29 a qt.

[Guest]

After doing a little on line research, I'm gonna go with Shell Rotella T   Synthetic .

[ridin gaijin]

Some people will tell you it matters--I'm not so sure. I have a lot of experience with oil consumption on my Tiger and I'll say that during periods of greater or lesser oil loss (it varies according to my activity), different brands or weights of oil have made not one bit of difference. Synthetic, yes, all the way since Day One. But other than that, my Tiger hasn't behaved any differently despite a lot of experimentation. YMMV, do what you're comfortable with. :-)

[Guest]

Yeah, a lot of opinions on best MC oil. some interesting information here:
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html  (scroll down to MC's)

A long article for fricken motor oil, but does explain why Certain brands or types are good or bad for mc's.

Mobil 1  "Packaged"for Triumph (not manufactured or developed for Triumph)  is a rip.

I wanted to understand why any particular oil is or is not good for bikes

I think you can get Rotella at walmart for a lot less. More money for Gas and
Beer.

[Brother Number One]

Unless someone stops me in time, I will be putting in the first API SM fully synth I can find, later today.

Why are bike-specific packages always a few API grades behind?  Is it just obsolete car oil repackaged for motorcyclists?

[jammed_stick]

Don't ruin your engine by using an oil intended for car engines.
Select an oil that fulfills the requirements stated by Triumph.
It doesn't necessary mean you have to run "Mobile by Triumph" oil.
Check around and I'm sure you will find an oil that fulfills all demands and with a decent price.
Yeah you might save a few bucks on buying a cheap "car" oil from wallmart but I'm sure the "bill" will come sooner than you expect and I'm quite sure the bill is much higher than the amount of bucks you have saved.
As far as I know there are e.g some extra additives in motorcycle oils needed for "wet" clutches.
Few car engines revs as high as motorcycle engines so the demand on the oil to fulfil it's job is much higher in a motorcycle engine than in a normal car engine.

[ridin gaijin]

Some interesting points j_s. I don't think I remember ever seeing a motorcycle-specific oil, even at a dealer. I'm not saying they're not out there; just that I can't recall any.

I don't know how much of the value I perceive in an oil is due to its brand. I tend to stay with Castrol and Mobil (synth) these days. This guy has done a tremendous amount of thinking about motorcycle oil...worth a read. His conclusion? Shell Rotella synth from Wally World FTW. (Interesting.)

Fishbone would seem to have at least one fellow traveler! I may well do the same at next oil change.

[abruzzi]

The main motorcycle spec for oil is the JASO-MA spec.  There are MC oils out there.  The autozone here sells Castrol 4T dino for $4.99/qt.  Mobile1 Synth 4T is $9.89/qt.

While second hand info, this post implies that while not officially certified (that costs money) Rotella T is actually up to the JASO-MA spec.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub ... ost1090054

"We recently ran the JASO MA friction test on Rotella T with Triple Protection 15W-40, Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 (CI-4) and our soon to be introduced (within the next 2 months) Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 CJ-4.

All three oils passed the wet clutch friction test. Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 (CI-4) has more than 1.2% ash (JASO MA spec limit) so it can not be classified as JASO MA. However, Rotella T with Triple Protection 15W-40 and our soon to be introduced Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 CJ-4 do meet JASO MA."

If you have any additional questions please call us at 800-231-6950.
Thank you for your interest in Shell products."

Richard Moore
Staff Engineer
Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc.

Note: while second hand, the info comes via an engineer at Shell.

Geof