Rottela T6

Joined
Oct 21, 2013
Messages
58
Location
Dallas, TX
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NT700va
The Pacific Coast Owners site has articles about oil and filters. Many suggest OEM ( Honda) or Pulator as the best filters. Fran was near the bottom. If you ever remove the o-ring gasket on these, beware that some are not exactly round and will leak if reinstalled incorrectly. Please do not ask how I know this. The site also backs Rotella including the blend RT.
 
Joined
Jun 9, 2013
Messages
125
Location
Glenwood, Mn
Bike
2011 NT
Being an old Farmer I switched to the Rotella 15-40 Diesel service and used it everything I owned. Bought in bulk at $3.50 a gallon. Now it is around $12.50. I take my gallon jug up to the guy I have been using for the last 30 years and he sells it to me at $12.50. My first oil filter was a K & N filter. Then did a cross reference and found the Goldwing filter would work in the NT. I buy the Wix filter for it now. Works great. Hand tight only. But with my newer pick up and car they want 5-20 in them The local Chevy dealer charges $16.00 for oil and filter. I'm afraid to ask what they use for oil and filter.
 
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Dec 14, 2010
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Tijeras, NM
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1984 Moto Guzzi T5
Ditto to that.

I had a new truck, less than 5k miles and the service manager said I needed new brake and power steering fluid. I stopped going there and now drive 20mi across town to a different dealer who does not do that.
 

ett

Joined
Aug 21, 2015
Messages
285
Location
Allentown, PA
First; sorry for replying to an old thread.
But I'd thought this thread is as good as place as any to share my findings.

When I first got the NT. I saw it's recommended oil is 10w30; with 10w40 being an acceptable alternative.
And the only fully synthetic, locally available, motorcycle specific, 10w30 oil; is Honda's HP4S. ( As stated in other threads: Coincidence ??)
So I had used Honda's HP4S for the first couple oil changes in my NT.

I know over the years I've seen a few guys using Rotella in their race bikes at the track.
But never gave it much thought; until I saw several threads; including this thread; about it on this forum.
So over the past several months; I did a lot of reading about using Shell's Rotella; specifically their T6; diesel motor oils in motorcycles.
I learned that many diesel motors also have wet clutches, that Shell's Rotella motor oils are MA rated,
and many riders with high mileages on their touring or sport touring (think Aspencades, Concours, ST, NT, etc..)
have been using the Rotella oils.
I was satisfied with what I found. So decided to give it a try.

Here is a BlackStone Labs UOA (Used Oil Analysis) of the T6 used in my NT.



While the report is specifically of the T6 taken on 10/13/2016.
It also shows the Honda HP4S from 5/31/2016.

I should note.
That the HP4S is one oil change pre-crash; using Honda's oil filter.
And the T6 is one oil change post-crash; using K&N oil filter.
ie. The NT was using T6 oil + K&N oil filter 1,800 miles before crash and
2k miles after the crash.
And this sampled T6 is not what was in the NT during the crash. (Hope that makes sense.)

I wonder if the more wear shown in this report is from the T6, the crash, or my riding the NT harder.
For another comparison; I'm considering going back to Honda's HP4S and re-testing that oil.
And perhaps using Motul's 300V and testing that.
After all; my GSXR that had 260K miles before being totaled by a deer; was running great, needed only two or three minor valve adjustments through out it's life, and used 300V exclusively it's entire life.

Once (if ?) my Griso dies; my NT will be my only street bike. And I will be putting 30k miles on it per year on the NT.
So I'm really interested in finding out if the difference of
$5 per quart of Shell Rotella T6,
$10 per quart for the Honda HP4S,
and the $18 per liter for the Motul 300V.
is actually cost effective.

--ET
 
Joined
Jun 5, 2011
Messages
630
Location
Western Washington
Bike
2010 NT700V, 2015 CB500X
I wonder if the more wear shown in this report is from the T6, the crash, or my riding the NT harder.
I wonder if it was the filter, or lab difference, or sample difference, or some other variable.
For another comparison; I'm considering going back to Honda's HP4S and re-testing that oil. perhaps using Motul's 300V and testing that.
I understand the temptation. I would be more tempted to use & sample the T6 once more to confirm the results. Blackstone's comments don't really sound any alarms, so I wouldn't be alarmed. But hey, what is up with the Magnesium?
After all; my GSXR that had 260K miles before being totaled by a deer; was running great, needed only two or three minor valve adjustments through out it's life, and used 300V exclusively it's entire life.
Once (if ?) my Griso dies; my NT will be my only street bike. And I will be putting 30k miles on it per year on the NT.
So I'm really interested in finding out if the difference of
$5 per quart of Shell Rotella T6,
$10 per quart for the Honda HP4S,
and the $18 per liter for the Motul 300V.
is actually cost effective.
My line of thinking about oil brands is that if I religiously change my oil & filter at the correct periodicity & correct weight with the cheapest oil, my engine could last 458,709 miles. If I use the best oil (T6, Synthetic, or whatever is considered "best") at the same periodicity, my engine could last 461,066 miles. The difference is minuscule .Either way, the engine will outlast one of the following:
1. My interest in the motorcycle and I will sell it.
2. The wiring harness, or final drive, or throttle bodies. I will lose interest and....see item 1.
3. My ability to avoid wrecking the entire motorcycle.
Even after saying that, I use T6 in my motorcycles, and crap oil in my 343,000 miles 1985 Toyota truck that has never had the head off & purrrs. It will not die, ever.

Thanks for posting this. I find it interesting although I avoid to ever get into oil discussions with our resident oil expert at my work. He will numb my mind in a few short minutes and it is a multi-day recovery. Our 2 turbines have 16 years without an oil change and are scheduled for their first oil change next year. We analyze frequently and put in additives to get the most out of our oil because an oil change is not cheap. We use SuperTech 10w40 High Mileage. Not really. That was an alertness check to see if you're mind-numb yet. It doesn't take long.
 

Warren

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Dec 13, 2010
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O'Fallon, MO
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2019 Yamaha XMAX
Since I ride in the winter I also like the lower pour point of the T6 although I saw a youtube video where a couple of guys put several oils in a freezer and later took them out and put them in a fixture and measured how long it took to drain the bottles. Mobile 1 emptied faster than T6 did. I think the Mobile 1 was 10W-40.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alnOguGvyh8
 
Last edited:

ett

Joined
Aug 21, 2015
Messages
285
Location
Allentown, PA
First; sorry for replying to an old thread.

Since my previous posting on Oct 2018; post #25. I've put a little less than an additional 30K miles on my NT.
And have exclusively used Rotella T6 since that post.

And I thought adding an additional Used Oil Analysis to this thread might be of interest to some people.

Here is the UOA:


--ET
 

mikesim

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NT700, Red, #989,
Eric, great report from Blackstone! Based upon the TBN's and viscosity, you could easily extend the oil change intervals to 6-7.5K with no problems.

Mike
 
Joined
Jan 23, 2011
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Arkansas
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2020 Kawasaki Versys
This is an old thread on oils but since several here use Rotella I thought I would let you know that Motorcycle Consumer News has an article in the new edition (June 2019). It is in the downtime file section. I enjoy reading that section and believe the author (Kevin O'Shaughnessy) is very thorough and quite knowledgeable.

He doesn't rate Rotella the highest in his book generally because the zinc additive (ZDDP) seems to deplete faster than some other oils but curiously only in certain engines. His bottom line is to use the correct rated oil and then have it tested to verify wear properties. I will probably not go that far.

I do find getting the correct oil and also other fluids sometimes confusing (esp since I need it for bIke, truck, mower, etc) . For instance Rotella has several blends and only a couple are motorcycle rated. The same is true of other fluids. I once bought some new coolant thinking it sounded like it had been improved but after I researched some I wish I had stayed with the original version. New versions of fluids constantly come out and you need to verify you get the right stuff.
Back in the old days things were simpler and not so many different versions. Of course engines didn't last all that long back then either so I'll just read labels closer and keep on trucking.

Brad
 

mikesim

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Rotella has three blends that are sold in the US. T4 which is conventional 15-40 and is certified to the JASO MA spec. T6 which is full synthetic 5-40 and is also certified to the JASO MA spec. T5 which is a synthetic blend 5-40. This oil is a 50/50 blend of T4 and T6 and while it is not certified to the JASO spec it is formulated from the oils that are certified. I asked a Shell engineer why it was not certified and he advised that the motorcycle market is so small for Rotella that Shell did not want to undergo the time or expense to obtain this certification. He advised that you can use T5 with full confidence in a wet clutch bike. As far as the zinc content, the Blackstone oil analysis above shows that the additive package in T6 is quite robust with the T6 with respect to zinc.. I have found that to be the case on my NT as well. I prefer the T4 in my bike though as the conventional oil seems to shear less than the synthetic which makes the transmission somewhat clunkier. The TBN's are still quite good as well as the wear metals plus it is a tad cheaper! What's not to like.

Mike
 

DirtFlier

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Troy, OH
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2010 Silver NT700V/ABS
I've been using Rotella 15w-40 (diesel rated) oil in my last two bikes (PC800 & NT700V) without a bit of trouble and nil oil consumption. In my NC700X/w DCT I'm still using the Honda 10w-30 but will probably switch to Rotella in the near future. :)
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2012
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Location
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Black 2009 NT700
Mike, I agree with you completely on transmission smoothness with regard to the Mineral versus Synthetic question.
I have tried several highly rated "synthetic bike oils" but consistently find mineral oil just seems to work better.
I also find that a heavier grade is much better than 10w30, especially in hot weather.

Macka
 

mikesim

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Mike, I agree with you completely on transmission smoothness with regard to the Mineral versus Synthetic question.
I have tried several highly rated "synthetic bike oils" but consistently find mineral oil just seems to work better.
I also find that a heavier grade is much better than 10w30, especially in hot weather.

Macka
I have a theory as to why that is as it seems to be a constant amongst synthetic vs conventional oils. No matter what brand, the conventionals seem to do better for me vs synthetic when it comes to transmission smoothness.

Mike
 

Mellow

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I just put the T4 into my Tracer so will have a chance to see what that's like.. have been using synthetic oil in all my bikes for a while but I just don't think the value is there. Especially when you change the oil at the recommended intervals.
 
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I just put the T4 into my Tracer so will have a chance to see what that's like.. have been using synthetic oil in all my bikes for a while but I just don't think the value is there. Especially when you change the oil at the recommended intervals.
Typically with synthetic oils, you can double the mileage between change intervals. I am currently running Amsoil 10W-40 for motorcycles in both NaTalie and NaNCy because I got a great deal on a couple of cases while at a car show years ago. They recommended the change intervals to be at 16,000 mi versus the mfg recommended 8,000 miles.

I have been running Rotella in both the white (T4) and blue (T6) bottles for many years. Megas is currently running the synthetic blend (T5) as the T4 was not available at the time at Walmart when I needed the oil, so I bought the T5 instead.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2013
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58
Location
Dallas, TX
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NT700va
Many of us evolved from Honda Pacific Coast and can attest to some of the good sites for that bike: most these forums warn of using Fran filters for the NT. They recommend Honda, then Purolator. Do not recall part no. Mike likely knows number. Most problems happen because of defective valves in filer.
Russ Foster
 

mikesim

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I use the WIX WL10000. This filter was engineered specifically for Honda bikes taking onto consideration the height constraint on the NT700.

Mike
 
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