The Official Oil Thread

[BusyLittleShop]

Through oil analysis

Good... what lab did the analysis??? and post them up for all to see...

[mello dude]

I would really like to see an oil thread of Lab Analysis - Blackstone - mileage, and data results.

[spud786]

I dont presently have a camara or camera phone , and I thought I might have one stashed on photbucket, but no dice.

so here's the numbers from Blackstone

Your motor is showing High Lead in the oil, probably , which may be due to Racing.

(next round, I told the its from leaded race fuel, they were relieved LOL!)

amsoil 15w40 1900 mile on oil Rotella 5w40 1100 miles on oil

alumi 8 alum 6

iron 9 iron 7

copper 1 copper 1

tin 1 tin 1

moly 3 moly 6

boron 1 boron 0

silicon 3 silcon 4

sodium 4 sodium 6

cacium 3170 calcium 2670

magneisum 8 mag 7

phos 1065 phos 1003

zinc 1289 zinc 1150

flash 370 flash 360

sus vis 62.9

insolubals .1

thats all i have its 5 years ago when I did this, miles on bike on both oils under 8,000 miles

[spud786]

Lead was 20 ppm on both oils

Flash on rotella was 385 and not 360

the rottella sus vicosity 62.7

Edited December 13, 2011 by spud786

[BusyLittleShop]

I dont presently have a camara or camera phone , and I thought I might have one stashed on photbucket, but no dice.

so here's the numbers from Blackstone

Your motor is showing High Lead in the oil, probably , which may be due to Racing.

(next round, I told the its from leaded race fuel, they were relieved LOL!)

amsoil 15w40 1900 mile on oil Rotella 5w40 1100 miles on oil

alumi 8 alum 6

iron 9 iron 7

copper 1 copper 1

tin 1 tin 1

moly 3 moly 6

boron 1 boron 0

silicon 3 silcon 4

sodium 4 sodium 6

cacium 3170 calcium 2670

magneisum 8 mag 7

phos 1065 phos 1003

zinc 1289 zinc 1150

flash 370 flash 360

sus vis 62.9

insolubals .1

thats all i have its 5 years ago when I did this, miles on bike on both oils under 8,000 miles

Thanks... sus 62.9 is equal to the viscosity of 11.1 cSt

[texasvfr]

Just because it is snowing and I do not want to get out.

Sent in sample to Blackstone from 2000 bmw rt using Lubro-Moly (German syn.) lab report said there was- NO ! metal in the oil of any kind. He said it was the cleanest oil he had seen in a 249 bmw engine. I do not want to talk about the rest of the ****

bike. Blackstone said that to change it before 8,300 miles was throwing money away. Sent sample in at 5,000 miles.

Hope the vfr and ducati samples are that good.

Without scientific proof everything else is informed or uninformed opinion.

[spud786]

Could all the metals have settled out of the oil, Ive never seen a used oil sample show no metal at all, try a Hot drain.

[texasvfr]

The oil was hot,hot,hot and I changed it in hot Corpus Christi. I did not believe no metals but Blackstone said it was the cleanest 249 that they had seen.

My only point is scientific lab reports are the way to go and the only way to know what your oil is really doing.(Along with cutting the oil filter in half.)

I am sure Mr.H.Slammer is getting a kick out of all this.

All oil is good, running out of oil is bad.

On the other hand , I run plugs in tires and mix-match brands of tires on bikes. Mixed bias and radials on cars and trucks- air in tires beats type of tires.

[rangemaster]

Well, I put Larry's 0W30 M1 in my '97 last night and rode to work today. Air temp on way to work 25F, on way home 37F. I had M1 10W40 motorcycle oil in it. Starter had and easier time spinning it to start and cold idle was higher. Less internal engine noise until it warmed up, then the same as normal. Shifting seems a bit notchier than with the 10W40. It seems overall to like the 0w30 in these colder temps, may work out great as a winter commuting oil. Because of our temp extremes here in New Mexico I feel I have to change twice a year 'cause I ride year round. This stuff and the M1 10w40 bike oil may be my 4th gen's diet for the future.

[2thdr]

Just because it is snowing and I do not want to get out.

Sent in sample to Blackstone from 2000 bmw rt using Lubro-Moly (German syn.) lab report said there was- NO ! metal in the oil of any kind. He said it was the cleanest oil he had seen in a 249 bmw engine. I do not want to talk about the rest of the ****

bike. Blackstone said that to change it before 8,300 miles was throwing money away. Sent sample in at 5,000 miles.

Hope the vfr and ducati samples are that good.

Without scientific proof everything else is informed or uninformed opinion.

Thanks for this report...

[BusyLittleShop]

Well, I put Larry's 0W30 M1 in my '97 last night and rode to work today. Air temp on way to work 25F, on way home 37F. I had M1 10W40 motorcycle oil in it. Starter had and easier time spinning it to start and cold idle was higher. Less internal engine noise until it warmed up, then the same as normal. Shifting seems a bit notchier than with the 10W40. It seems overall to like the 0w30 in these colder temps, may work out great as a winter commuting oil. Because of our temp extremes here in New Mexico I feel I have to change twice a year 'cause I ride year round. This stuff and the M1 10w40 bike oil may be my 4th gen's diet for the future.

Thanks for the report... may I quote you in an another forum where they believe 0W30 is "horrible" for our engines???

[rangemaster]

Well, I put Larry's 0W30 M1 in my '97 last night and rode to work today. Air temp on way to work 25F, on way home 37F. I had M1 10W40 motorcycle oil in it. Starter had and easier time spinning it to start and cold idle was higher. Less internal engine noise until it warmed up, then the same as normal. Shifting seems a bit notchier than with the 10W40. It seems overall to like the 0w30 in these colder temps, may work out great as a winter commuting oil. Because of our temp extremes here in New Mexico I feel I have to change twice a year 'cause I ride year round. This stuff and the M1 10w40 bike oil may be my 4th gen's diet for the future.

Thanks for the report... may I quote you in an another forum where they believe 0W30 is "horrible" for our engines???

Hahahaha! Sure, not that my experience means much. Like I said, the bike seems much happier with the "lighter" stuff in it. In the winter I just commute or go meet for lunch, no long runs so the 0W30 is a good match for what the bike is being used for. I think I'll do the Blackstone thing in the spring to see what is actually going on.

[dude]

Ok Folks Well i can't find my trusty ol 15 50 mobil 1 here in the great white north in 4.4 or 5 litre jugs( been using it for 8 years) so i'm switching ( i think) to 5 w 40 Rotella T6. However having read this entire thread a few folks said it T6 was terrible in the tranny dept. The one thing i always noticed was the smoother shifting with the mobil 1 and am concerend the T6 is not that great in this regard so looking for more feed back on how the T6 is in the shifting dept , is it really that bad or not a concern and go for the switch????

Thanks in advance

[Cogswell]

I use T-6 in my 5th and 6th gens and they both shift like butter . . .

[2thdr]

I use T-6 in my 5th and 6th gens and they both shift like butter . . .

Same here in my 6th gen...Keith Code says smooth shifts are more in technique than what type of oil you are running anyway...I think he knows more than me

[spud786]

Ok Folks Well i can't find my trusty ol 15 50 mobil 1 here in the great white north in 4.4 or 5 litre jugs( been using it for 8 years) so i'm switching ( i think) to 5 w 40 Rotella T6. However having read this entire thread a few folks said it T6 was terrible in the tranny dept. The one thing i always noticed was the smoother shifting with the mobil 1 and am concerend the T6 is not that great in this regard so looking for more feed back on how the T6 is in the shifting dept , is it really that bad or not a concern and go for the switch????

Thanks in advance

The reason mobil1 shifts better, is because rotella has a fimer clutch grip and mobil1 has less grip, so it shifts smoother , rotella 15w40 is the worst shifting oil Ive ever ran, notchy as all get out, the T6 is okay atleast better then the rotella 15w40.

There's only about a 5% to 10% gain between the worst shift oil and the best, but it can be a GATE or NO GATE transition, or pass or fail if you will.

If you really want to try very smooth shifting oils, try Maxima 4 extra, or motul 15w50 , they have moly in them which benifits transmission smoothness, but they arent cheap.

Edited March 8, 2012 by spud786

[BusyLittleShop]

I use T-6 in my 5th and 6th gens and they both shift like butter . . .

When my customers complain about shifting my experience it

can be traced to clutch drag and not the oil... I doubt a

rider can tell the difference in a BLIND shift test...

usually a rider develops a feeling about an oil based on how

enjoyable they are traveling down the perverted highway...

like toilet paper you can roll freely or wipe sh*t off

someone's A hole...

So here's my method to check your clutch for drag... your

gears can't shift smoothly if your clutch is part way engaged...

1 Place your bike on the center stand...

2 Start engine and establish a steady idle...

3 Squeeze in the clutch and hold... shift into first gear...

4 Now look at the rear wheel... if it's spinning step on the rear brake...

does this action drag down the engine rpms???

If you bike is equipped with an cable then adjust the clutch lever

knob clock wise (out) 1/4 turn and check again check for clutch

drag... if you bike is equipped with hydraulics bleed system and check

for bubbles...

Ultimately you want the rear wheel to stop when the engine is idling

and first gear selected with the clutch lever is squeezed in...

In conclusion

After 25 years dealing with customers I think its not a question of

oil so much as a question of technique and clutch...

My RC30 and RC45 customers will ask for the same slick shifting oil that

made their friend's RC30 and RC45 shift so smoothly after it left the

Busy Little Shop... I hate to break it to them but it wasn't the oil

that made the difference it was rider technique and the elimination of

clutch drag... so before I will dump one slick shifting oil for the

next slick shifting oil I work with them on their technique and their

clutch... then and only then will they understand that they were

fooled into thinking it was the oil when in fact it was technique and

clutch...

I think we are after the same thing... smooth shift without upsetting

the suspension... the secret is moving the foot quicker than clutch or

throttle... go easy with the clutch and throttle but move your foot

quicker... but worry there is no such thing as too quick... its early

form of seem-less shifting...

[zRoYz]

I tend to agree about shifting technique is the main factor, but from day one I have used Motul 5100 10w40 which is a semi synthetic, I never bothered with a full synthetic mainly due to frequent oil changes at about 5000km intervals & the oil was doing it's job because it would come out fairly dirty at change time. I haven't really changed my clutch/shift technique at all because after riding for over 35 years I probably set in my ways by now. When riding the VFR hard high rpm & allot of gear changes I would tend to get a false neutral every now & then, yes some operator error was probably the cause.

Due to also owning a CBR1000RR which I run Castrol Power 1 Racing 5W40 which is a full synthetic I decided to only keep one oil for both bikes (I can buy the Castrol for about same price as the Motul I was using) & have started using it in the VFR. I have noticed my VFR will operate at a slightly lower temperature & haven't had a false neutral since changing. Now I'm not a chemical engineer & I don't agonize over what oil to use it just has to do the job so I don't see any metal partials at oil change time & I want it to come out dirty at 5000kms which tells me it is doing it's job. Like I said my technique wouldn't have changed so there must be some part of the equation which is oil related.

[Guest JeffLaurence]

I can't find Rotella synthetic T6 5W40 at the Walmart north of Toronto, Anyone know of a source?

Thanks,

Jeff

[Switchblade]

+1 T6 works great on my bike, never had problem with shifting.

[Baileyrock]

I use T-6 in my 5th and 6th gens and they both shift like butter . . .

When my customers complain about shifting my experience it

can be traced to clutch drag and not the oil... I doubt a

rider can tell the difference in a BLIND shift test...

usually a rider develops a feeling about an oil based on how

enjoyable they are traveling down the perverted highway...

like toilet paper you can roll freely or wipe sh*t off

someone's A hole...

So here's my method to check your clutch for drag... your

gears can't shift smoothly if your clutch is part way engaged...

1 Place your bike on the center stand...

2 Start engine and establish a steady idle...

3 Squeeze in the clutch and hold... shift into first gear...

4 Now look at the rear wheel... if it's spinning step on the rear brake...

does this action drag down the engine rpms???

If you bike is equipped with an cable then adjust the clutch lever

knob clock wise (out) 1/4 turn and check again check for clutch

drag... if you bike is equipped with hydraulics bleed system and check

for bubbles...

Ultimately you want the rear wheel to stop when the engine is idling

and first gear selected with the clutch lever is squeezed in...

In conclusion

After 25 years dealing with customers I think its not a question of

oil so much as a question of technique and clutch...

My RC30 and RC45 customers will ask for the same slick shifting oil that

made their friend's RC30 and RC45 shift so smoothly after it left the

Busy Little Shop... I hate to break it to them but it wasn't the oil

that made the difference it was rider technique and the elimination of

clutch drag... so before I will dump one slick shifting oil for the

next slick shifting oil I work with them on their technique and their

clutch... then and only then will they understand that they were

fooled into thinking it was the oil when in fact it was technique and

clutch...

I think we are after the same thing... smooth shift without upsetting

the suspension... the secret is moving the foot quicker than clutch or

throttle... go easy with the clutch and throttle but move your foot

quicker... but worry there is no such thing as too quick... its early

form of seem-less shifting...

So what the Hell oil are you using Larry???

[Switchblade]

I use T-6 in my 5th and 6th gens and they both shift like butter . . .

When my customers complain about shifting my experience it

can be traced to clutch drag and not the oil... I doubt a

rider can tell the difference in a BLIND shift test...

usually a rider develops a feeling about an oil based on how

enjoyable they are traveling down the perverted highway...

like toilet paper you can roll freely or wipe sh*t off

someone's A hole...

So here's my method to check your clutch for drag... your

gears can't shift smoothly if your clutch is part way engaged...

1 Place your bike on the center stand...

2 Start engine and establish a steady idle...

3 Squeeze in the clutch and hold... shift into first gear...

4 Now look at the rear wheel... if it's spinning step on the rear brake...

does this action drag down the engine rpms???

If you bike is equipped with an cable then adjust the clutch lever

knob clock wise (out) 1/4 turn and check again check for clutch

drag... if you bike is equipped with hydraulics bleed system and check

for bubbles...

Ultimately you want the rear wheel to stop when the engine is idling

and first gear selected with the clutch lever is squeezed in...

In conclusion

After 25 years dealing with customers I think its not a question of

oil so much as a question of technique and clutch...

My RC30 and RC45 customers will ask for the same slick shifting oil that

made their friend's RC30 and RC45 shift so smoothly after it left the

Busy Little Shop... I hate to break it to them but it wasn't the oil

that made the difference it was rider technique and the elimination of

clutch drag... so before I will dump one slick shifting oil for the

next slick shifting oil I work with them on their technique and their

clutch... then and only then will they understand that they were

fooled into thinking it was the oil when in fact it was technique and

clutch...

I think we are after the same thing... smooth shift without upsetting

the suspension... the secret is moving the foot quicker than clutch or

throttle... go easy with the clutch and throttle but move your foot

quicker... but worry there is no such thing as too quick... its early

form of seem-less shifting...

So what the Hell oil are you using Larry???

DUDE YOUR LATE AGAIN Just kiddin.

[NorthernVFRDave]

My god, this tread is still alive?

I've got 86,000km on my 07... I've used everything from Mobile 1 to Castrol and now using Motul because I found a place and it's cheaper than everything else.

We ride VFRs, I bet you could put used frier grease from McDonalds in them and they would still go forever :)

[luvtoleanit]

I use Amsoil once the motor is broken in. R1 is at 2000 miles and have switched over fully to Amsoil 10w40 full synth.

VFR1200, since I bought it with 1600 miles, is going to get some Castrol Semi-Synth 10w40 car oil for about 1k miles then I'll switch her to Amsoil.

I'll be sending in samples to Blackstone for both bikes until they have figured out optimum intervals. I'll post the data sheets here when it's time. Lab results are concrete and anything else is fodder IMO.

If many would send in samples, it would benefit the community.

[firebladestan]

developed for rolls-Royce jet engines decades ago. Rolls-Royce have never had an engine failure!.........silkolene recommend 5/40w fully synthetic pro-4plus for hard use in a vtech engine........http://www.silkolene.com/

Edited April 5, 2013 by firebladestan