Rotella Synthetic 5w40

Rotella 15w40 Synthetic

I have a '95 K11LT with 20K miles and thinking of switching to this oil.

I was reading about oils at; http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Consumables.html#Oil

Have any of youse guys tried or are usuing it?

Opinions please !

Thanx,
Ragman

I suspect that 5w-40 in any oil is not approved by BMW for your motorcycle. Do you mean 15w-40?

BeemerMike said:

I suspect that 5w-40 in any oil is not approved by BMW for your motorcycle. Do you mean 15w-40?

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Mike, Whoops! I meant to type - 15w40

K bikes still call for 15W50 or 20W50, correct? That should tell you the answer right there (god, i hate oil threads!)

Don't spend a lot of money on oil for your K bike. Castrol 20w50 is fine. Really.

jdiaz said:

Don't spend a lot of money on oil for your K bike. Castrol 20w50 is fine. Really.

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Isn't it late in the season for an oil thread?

I agree...I've tried the Mobil 1 15-50, the Rotella 5-40, etc. I went back to the old reliable dino of Castrol 20w50, high mileage...as I'm hitting 90k.

Whats more important is how frequently you change your oil...Paul G reminded me early on in my ownership. PLUS, the cost of Castrol dino combined with a Toyota oil filter is not a deterrent to frquency

Shell Rotella T (dino) 15W40 works just fine in my K100RS.
It is a HDEO that was spec'd for my 02 HD Road Glide and worked very nicely in that. If this oil worked very well in my air-cooled HD, it will also work very well in water cooled bikes.

Lots of friends use this oil in their Honda ST1100/1300 bikes and Suzuki SV650's.
Very popular in those groups.

HDEO like Rotella T have higher amounts of additives and detergents than most oils as they are designed for Diesel trucks.

Just my personal spin on this...

Dale

cruise_carter said:

HDEO like Rotella T have higher amounts of additives and detergents than most oils as they are designed for Diesel trucks.

Just my personal spin on this...

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So do more additives and detergents equate to a better oil choice?

And just because its good for a diesel truck, why would it be good for 3/4 cylinder gas motor?

Do you prefer to trust the engineers of the motor or the marketing department of oil companies?

The owners manual is pretty straightforward on this subject...and still a very reliable source of info.

Use whatever you want, I was just posting MY examples.

Diesel rigs are a lot harder on the engine than my motorcycle.

When my HD engine (TC88) was torn apart to do some mods, the engine showed zero wear from new and was perfect inside. 4 years of using Rotella T didn't hurt it one bit.

Oh, and according to my riders handbook, ie: the manual, it states that 15W40 is an acceptable weight according to the BMW ENGINEERS THAT WROTE THE BOOK in the temperature range I am riding in most of the time.

If you are looking for the specific page, it's on page 78.

Again, it was MY OPINION, like it or not, don't slam me because I have an opinion.

AMSOil

cruise_carter said:

<SNIP>

Again, it was MY OPINION, like it or not, don't slam me because I have an opinion.

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Read my post again please, I'm not trying to slam you...

I'm just reminding anybody reading this thread to make sure they review what their owners manual recommends and consider its opinion before making their oil choice. The OM offers a range of choice!

Apparently I'm not the only one mistrustful of additives and hype, as the article below notes:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/sea-foam/

cruise_carter said:

Oh, and according to my riders handbook, ie: the manual, it states that 15W40 is an acceptable weight according to the BMW ENGINEERS THAT WROTE THE BOOK in the temperature range I am riding in most of the time.

If you are looking for the specific page, it's on page 78.

Again, it was MY OPINION, like it or not, don't slam me because I have an opinion.

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Don't have a MOM (motorcycle owners manual) anymore, but my Clymers manual indicates that 15W50 is good for a temp range of ~ -5 deg F to +70 deg F. 20W50 is recommended for 15 degs F (about as cold as most of us generally ride) up to 105 deg F.
So, which temp range is more typical of your riding habits? Yeah, you can use 10W40 or 15W40 in those extreme colder temps- but for the bulk of most people's riding season, it just doesn't make good sense.

ragman said:

Rotella 15w40 Synthetic

I have a '95 K11LT with 20K miles and thinking of switching to this oil.

I was reading about oils at; http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Consumables.html#Oil

Have any of youse guys tried or are usuing it?

Opinions please !

Thanx,
Ragman

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An API rating SF/SG OR SG/SH should be fine. The latest and greatest API ratings are for modern gasoline engines equiped with cats and heated AF sensors. Basically the cheap oil ( lower API rating) is actually better for the older engines. The weight is based on what the engineers deem vital to maintain oil clearances under all loads and temperatures. From what I have read from BMW and my past 30 years of pulling wrenches a winter number of 20 would be ideal in most riding conditions, Northern riders have exceptions, only if you guys ride in 10 degree F and below weather. The high temperature number for most of the older non-emission bikes seems to be 50. I have been running 20W50 year round here in upstate NY and temperatures range from 10 to 100 F. I'm not riding on either side of those temperatures anyway. Our bikes are kept in a heated shop year round and I can honestly say I have never started our K75's in temperatures below 20 degrees F. Does the chain rattle when first starting using 20W50?
Dino or Synthetic is a debate for the ages. If you change your oil every 3-5000 miles or every 6 months it doesn't matter as the additives in the Dino will be fine at thoses intervals. If you abuse the engine (racing, high speed at high temperatures) then Synthetic has advantages of higher film strength under extreme conditions. Yeah Sythetic is better then Dino in almost every respect but if you don't mind paying 3-4x for it go for it. I run Amsoil in my trucks and plan to give it a try in one of the bikes this year.