Rotella T motor oil

[voyager55]

My last case purchase of Amsoil lasted me a long time & I got a really good deal. Checked new pricing & shipping, unreal. A quart almost cost what a gallon of Rotella cost.
I have been using KN filters.

bravo!! welcome to the world of getting your moneys worth!! next get a quality oil filter, i prefer the K&N 401, they can be bought for less than the OEM filter which is made by EMGO (cheeeep). your oil is only as good as the filter.

[SgtSlag]

Update on a previous posting regarding Shell Rotella T6, and shifting problems on my Voyager...

I switched from the Rotella T6 Synthetic, 5W-40, to Rotella T, 15W-40 conventional. We had run the T6 Synthetic for a couple of years, but we began experiencing shifting issues where the transmission would 'miss' a gear, and we'd hit 'neutral', between 2-3/3-4/4-5!!! Did some research, here and elsewhere, and others had experienced similar situations -- rare, but there were other postings, on other web sites. Also discovered a comment about the minimum weight of oil being critical: oil adheres to the metal surfaces, I forget the technical term for this (film strength?), but it is critical. If the oil is too thin of a viscosity, it will not adhere to the metal, and you get metal-on-metal wear. I suspect this is what was happening in my Voyager's transmission: the 5W, T6, was too thin, cold, and it was causing issues... Only way to test the theory, was to change the T6, 5W-40, for T, 15W-40, and see what happened...

I changed the oil a week ago, and we finally got the bike on the road Sunday. We put 300+ miles on the bike, and we had one mis-shift incident, but the wife says it was likely her error, not lifting fully on the shifter. We traded positions on the bike several times during our 300+ mile ride, and it shifted almost perfectly -- the issues seem to have disappeared.

I have nothing against synthetic oils -- I think they are a superior oil, IF they are of the proper viscosity for the engine in question. The manual specifies 10W-40 for a reason: the 10 weight is the thinnest oil to be used to maintain an oil film on the metal parts, IMO, so I likely caused some excessive wear by using 5 weight oil (cold). Food for thought -- no scientific evidence, only some anecdotal, personal experience, for what it is worth. Cheers!

[Tonyvdb]

Things that make you go Hmmmm....
Very interesting results SgtSlag, now you have me thinking I should have gone with 15w40

[voyager55]

When in doubt, follow the manual guidelines

[Scott-(Altoona, PA)]

here's a seller on eBay selling them for $5.26 (free shipping).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Engine-Oil-Filter-K-N-KN-401

[SgtSlag]

Thanks, Scott! Ordered a few, so now I am set for around four year's worth of riding. Great price -- best I've seen yet! Cheers!

[Mr Jensee]

I don't think I paid any more than that at the local Advance Auto Parts the other day. Also got the Rotella T Diesel oil, 15w40 for $13. If you guys have summers in the mid to high nineties as I do I would go with no less than 15 weight oil. We never experience bone chilling winters here so I never have to worry about the cold viscosity problems.

[usmalenurse]

Things that make you go Hmmmm....
Very interesting results SgtSlag, now you have me thinking I should have gone with 15w40

Me too and I just bought another gallon of T6 today for mine. May see if Wally World will swap it out for the diesel 15/40. I have had a few shifting issues...not very often but it might just be a factor as I have been running the T6 since I bought the bike in 5 years ago. Guess I can always keep it to run in the Vulcan Classic..

[deperk1941]

my 1988 has performed flawless. The last ride it would not shift from 2-3, 3-4, or 4-5. I could press the shifter down a little for each shift and it would shift. Had to do this for shifts 2-3, 3-4, 4-5. Any observations???

[Mr Jensee]

From everything I have read the only difference between motorcycle oils and car oils is that motorcycle oils have more anti foaming agents additional zinc. The Voyager doesn't rev high so the anti foaming agents isn't an issue.

[Nails]

And I understand the Zn is primarily for engine breakin.

[823JIM]

From everything I have read the only difference between motorcycle oils and car oils is that motorcycle oils have more anti foaming agents additional zinc. The Voyager doesn't rev high so the anti foaming agents isn't an issue.

My understanding was that the anti foaming is quite important to the Voyager in as any type of foaming can introduce air into the hydraulic lifts causing them to clatter . Same problem as caused by over filling with oil which allows clutch basket to whip the oil introducing air (foam) into lifters. Or did I completely misunderstand the importance of not over filling a Voyager.
Also thought that the Rotella diesel oils were good because of their resistance to foaming and shearing.

[Mr Jensee]

Using Rotella T it is most important to put the exact amount specified in the Voyager.

[Thud300]

Sticking with Rotella (now T4) for my oil change, supplemented with a few oz of Marvel Mystery Oil. All my Kawi's have responded very well in terms of shift quality when adding MMO.