TOPIC:

Is the oil at the following link what we are all talking about? Shell Rotella T

Just wanted to double check because it sounds like the bottle is white down in the US. Also, it sounds like I should be looking for some 15W40 for my KZ750? The fill cap says 5W40 I think? Would I still need a ZDDP additive with this?

kz750saskatoon wrote: Is the oil at the following link what we are all talking about? Shell Rotella T

Just wanted to double check because it sounds like the bottle is white down in the US. Also, it sounds like I should be looking for some 15W40 for my KZ750? The fill cap says 5W40 I think? Would I still need a ZDDP additive with this?

The cap on my KZ-750 says 10-40, but the manual also mentions 20-50 which I assume is for hotter weather. I run 10-40 winter and a 50-50 mix of 10-40 and 20-50 for summer.

I would not run 5-40 because it is 5W base oil with enough viscosity increasers to jack it up to 40W at hot temps. An 8:1 ratio means a lot of VI's which present two issues:

1) VI's are not oil and the amount of volume they displace is not a lubricant.

2) VI's get torn apart by the gearbox so the oil gradually turns back into 5W over time.

IMHO, I think people make the oil thing more complicated than it is. I recommend buying any good quality 10-40 dino oil on sale (or at Wal-Mart) and just change it frequently like 1500-2k mile intervals or six months whichever comes first. The base oil does not fail, it's the additives. Changing frequently will make sure the additives don't run out and will also keep the engine cleaner. Just my opinion.

I believe Rotella still has ZDDP in it but I don't know for sure. Read the service grade off the bottle: if it says SM or SN, you must add ZDDP. Other grades have some but exactly how much varies by manufacturer.

If you dont want to spend a million dollars use this:

[img size=200x478]www.castrol.com/assets/bp_internet/castr...otorcycle400x955.jpg[/img]

And if you want extra protection use this:

kz750saskatoon wrote: Is the oil at the following link what we are all talking about? Shell Rotella T

Just wanted to double check because it sounds like the bottle is white down in the US. Also, it sounds like I should be looking for some 15W40 for my KZ750? The fill cap says 5W40 I think? Would I still need a ZDDP additive with this?

Yes, that is the synthetic version of it. 5W-40 is fine since the 5W is the winter viscosity and the 40 is the summer viscosity. Even 0W-30 would not hurt your bike even a little bit since the 30 is what concerns you. You can run the stuff in the white bottle just as well if you do not want to run synthetic.

Any decent 10w40 will do, Silkolene Super 4 / GTX etc or you could go for Rock oil TRM 20/60 if it's a tuned motor,
It's specially formulated for roller bearing cranks which is what i run in mine.

I googled Shell Rotella T and it says diesel... is this ok to use on a gas?
Also, I was in Walmart and they only had synthetic.
Not sure if it’s ok to switch when my bike’s been used to regular conventional oil for 39 years.
Thoughts on diesel oil or synthetic oil?

KZ1000LTDPENNSYLVANIA wrote: I googled Shell Rotella T and it says diesel... is this ok to use on a gas?
Also, I was in Walmart and they only had synthetic.
Not sure if it’s ok to switch when my bike’s been used to regular conventional oil for 39 years.
Thoughts on diesel oil or synthetic oil?

Shell Rotella Diesel works just fine . I use dino / non synthetic , but synthetic is good too
Dont over think it.

Dave

Quite a few guys run Rotella in our bikes with no problems. The easiest way to be sure an oil is appropriate for a wet clutch motorcycle is to look for the JASO-MA rating. Fully synthetic is just fine, but not necessary.