Randman

Nope, nothing that would make me say, oh I need to change the oil....

Now unless that is the problem with the front rotors....LOL:-D

Les

I would not buy a bike where the owner had been running diesel engine oil just to save a few bucks, plain and simple. Nowhere on the Rotella site do I see that this oil meets the SH's requirements of SF or SG. You guys have no idea what the long term effects are going to be. You run it for a few miles and assume everything is OK. That's dumb.

superhawk22

Hey Les, maybe a little research should be done before you start slining insults around.


API Service Classifications
The American Petroleum Institute (API) has standardized a series of service classifications for motor oils. An oil is run in laboratory engines to determine its resistance to wear, oxidation, corrosion and deposit formation, as well as its overall ability to lubricate. Oils for gasoline engines have service classifications beginning with an "S" (for Service) and followed by a letter "A" through "L" to indicate increasing performance levels. Oils for diesel engines have service classifications beginning with "C" (for Commercial) and followed by a letter "A" through "I." Classifications CG, CH and CI are followed by the number 4: CG-4, CH-4 and CI-4. The "S" and "C" prefixes of the service classifications do not stand for "spark" (gasoline engines) and "compression" (diesel engines), as is sometimes thought.
Service classifications SA and SB never were suitable for automobile engines. You may find bottles of SA and SB oil on grocery store shelves, but these classifications are barely suitable for lubricating hedge clippers. Similarly, SC through SG oils have been superseded for use in modern gasoline engines. Oils for late-model gasoline engines carry service classifications SH, SJ, SL and the newer GF-1, GF-2 and GF-3. Service classifications SH (1996 and older), SJ (2000 and older) and SL (2001 and later) can be substituted for SF and SG oils. Some SL oils also meet the GF-3 energy conserving requirements. We'll cover GF ratings in more detail later.

So as you can see the SJ and SL exceed the older SF and SG API ratings and the oil is NOT an "energy conserving" oil that damages the clutch so what's the argument?

Here's some more info if you'd like. http://vmaxoutlaw.com/tech/motorcycle_oil.htm

Les

I stand corrected. I agree that it is acceptable to run these oils. See below from The Shell Rotella FAQ. Note that they say to look for the SL rating though.

"Can heavy-duty diesel oil be used in motorcycles?

Motorcycle gasoline engines may not seem in the same league as the big displacement diesel engine under your hood, but they share some of the same lubrication requirements. So yes, in many cases, a premium heavy-duty universal oil capable of serving both diesel and gasoline engines is the best choice for your bike.

The high power-to-displacement ratio of a motorcycle engine means rod and main bearings are subjected to loads that are not normally found in passenger car engines. The valve train is also highly loaded, and requires extreme pressure boundary lubrication. The same can be said about gears in the transmission, which are normally lubricated by engine oil. Oil additives containing phosphorus protect these highly loaded extreme pressure areas (in both gasoline and diesel engines). Because diesel engines have higher loading of components, more of the phosphorus-containing additive is present than in typical passenger car oils. And with advanced catalyst systems for gasoline engines, the phosphorus content has been declining in passenger car oils.

Since many bike engines are air-cooled, and tend to be operated at high power outputs and speeds, their lubricating oil needs to be more resistant to high temperature oxidation. That?s another advantage of a premium universal oil. Another thing you want in your motorcycle is oil that has excellent viscosity control, so that with use it retains high temperature viscosity. Some multiviscosity grade passenger car oils, subjected to extreme loads, can quickly thin out. Their viscosity can drop to the next lower grade.

One last thing to consider is whether oil contains friction modifier additives. For improved fuel economy, most passenger car oils have such an additive. But the wet clutch in your bike doesn?t perform right with friction modifiers. Universal engine oils don?t have friction modifiers.

Be careful choosing diesel oils. Not all of them are universal. In addition to the API Service Category CI-4 PLUS for diesels, look for API Service Category SL.

Premium universal oils like Shell ROTELLA? T Multigrade are formulated for heavy-duty performance, and your bike engine has some heavy-duty challenges for oil. For optimum performance, be sure your oil is up to the challenge."

J.J.

Dude, that WHOLE section has been quoted at least once already in this thread, ONE page back. And, if you were to look at a bottle of Rotella, you would see that it is, indeed, rated SL.

Galaxieman