Rotella vs Castrol

Anyone ever have any Rotella problems?

Someone in another forum stated that after switching from Castrol to Rotella In his cop-bike he had a clutch plate freeze up and also messed up the clutch cam part.
He blames all this on Rotella.
I recently switched myself, and have not had any problems with my clutch at all, in fact the action seems smoother if anything.
I also have an oil pressure gauge that seems to be running a lil higher. I attribute this to better flow from the Rotella.

Post edited by: ~DW~, at: 2005/10/25 16:03

~DW~ wrote:

Anyone ever have any Rotilla problems?

I use it! No problems in three bikes in 3 years.



Post edited by: biquetoast, at: 2005/10/25 12:19

The following info is from Shell.

Ron

Can heavy-duty diesel oil be used in motorcycles?


Motorcycle gasoline engines may not seem in the same league as the big displacement diesel engine under your hood, but they share some of the same lubrication requirements. So yes, in many cases, a premium heavy-duty universal oil capable of serving both diesel and gasoline engines is the best choice for your bike.

The high power-to-displacement ratio of a motorcycle engine means rod and main bearings are subjected to loads that are not normally found in passenger car engines. The valve train is also highly loaded, and requires extreme pressure boundary lubrication. The same can be said about gears in the transmission, which are normally lubricated by engine oil. Oil additives containing phosphorus protect these highly loaded extreme pressure areas (in both gasoline and diesel engines). Because diesel engines have higher loading of components, more of the phosphorus-containing additive is present than in typical passenger car oils. And with advanced catalyst systems for gasoline engines, the phosphorus content has been declining in passenger car oils.

Since many bike engines are air-cooled, and tend to be operated at high power outputs and speeds, their lubricating oil needs to be more resistant to high temperature oxidation. That’s another advantage of a premium universal oil. Another thing you want in your motorcycle is oil that has excellent viscosity control, so that with use it retains high temperature viscosity. Some multiviscosity grade passenger car oils, subjected to extreme loads, can quickly thin out. Their viscosity can drop to the next lower grade.

One last thing to consider is whether oil contains friction modifier additives. For improved fuel economy, most passenger car oils have such an additive. But the wet clutch in your bike doesn’t perform right with friction modifiers. Universal engine oils don’t have friction modifiers.

Be careful choosing diesel oils. Not all of them are universal. In addition to the API Service Category CI-4 PLUS for diesels, look for API Service Category SL.

Premium universal oils like Shell ROTELLA® T Multigrade are formulated for heavy-duty performance, and your bike engine has some heavy-duty challenges for oil. For optimum performance, be sure your oil is up to the challenge.

Do you recommend using ROTELLA in wet clutch applications?


ROTELLA T does not contain friction modifiers that are added to many passenger-car-only-oils, and it does not comply with all requirements of ILSAC GF-1, GF-2 and GF-3 (the ILSAC oil specifications are often recommended by many gasoline passenger car engine manufacturers). That can be good for motorcycle/ATV use. Friction modifiers can upset wet clutch operation. And the ILSAC requirements limit phosphorus content.

Diesel engines and other engines with highly loaded valve trains, as well as transmissions, need extra (compared to passenger car engines) extreme pressure wear protection, which is provided by an additive that contains phosphorus.

One negative might be where the engine manufacturer recommends oil meeting JASO requirements. Part of the JASO requirement limits ash content to 1.2%. Ash content of ROTELLA T exceeds this limit. Oil ash contributes to combustion chamber and spark plug deposits.

The ash content of ROTELLA T Synthetic SAE 5W-40 is 1.47%.

No problem here either. Of course it's designed for diesels which have much greater cylinder pressures and more blowby then a gas engine. This should be a good thing for motorcycle engines. Also Rotella is low foaming vs other gas engine design oils. Low foaming in the transmission would be a good thing too, I would think. No expert by any means here but it's worked for me. I mentioned in another thread recently that my oil completely turned to sludge within 2000 miles running Castrol GTX in a very worn engine. I'd never use Castol again after that. Just my own thoughts here, used it in diesel trucks for 20 yrs also. Also, has anyone ever considered getting thier oil analized by Blackstone Labrotories? I get my diesel analized every oil change, tells a lot about how your air, oil filtration ect. is working, how much blowby, gas in the oil, sludge, lubrication ability of the oil, how much viscosity lost between changes ect. May be a little overboard in a motorcycle though.
www.blackstone-labs.com/

If you include my Venture (sold 2001), Nomad just sold as well as the Vulcan 1500A, two KZ900s and my Voyager, I have approximately 180K miles (past 5 years or so)using Rotella T 15W40 HD oil with no problems. I change oil every 3K miles on my bikes. I don't really see how any motorcycle oil could make clutch plates freeze up. I think the lack of oil could do it but certainly not ANY motor oil... This claim sounds suspicious.

wiredgeorge wrote:

I don't really see how any motorcycle oil could make clutch plates freeze up. I think the lack of oil could do it but certainly not ANY motor oil... This claim sounds suspicious.

Agree, and thanks guys for all the (true) "facts" I like this oil, will continue to use it and ?.........@ Wal-mart it's a lil cheaper than Castrol !

Dad had a million miles on his rig when he traded it in. He changed oil every 10000. The mechanic took apart the engine to rebuild. Dad hapened to be in the shop. He asked him what he did to the motor. He showed dad the cylinders. The factory cross hatch was was still on the liners.

Post edited by: nads.com, at: 2005/10/26 01:30

Another aggreement on Rotella. My dad also used Rotella in his semis. In fact, it meets specs called for by Mack trucks. We also run it in our fire trucks, 3 Macks as well as all of our gas engines, portable pumps, etc. My dad also ran it in his cars, motorhome, and 1975 Gold Wing. Never an oil related failure. When I get the 750 together, unless someone comes up with something better, its getting Rotella!!!

I know a LOT of Harley riders who swear by Rotella.
They say it even makes clutch operation smoother. My parents have been running a 87 ford diesel van, that has had Rotella in it for most of it's existance, and it still runs like a top and smokes less than most it's age...

I was taught, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all. That being said, I LOVE shell rotella, in a diesel, beyond that, not happening. Before you gouge me, understand, I have been slightly educated in the field of lubricants and their purposes. Some only lubricate the bearings in a machine. Some are designed to encapsulate non wanted particals. Some are designed to take extream pressures. All lubricants are designed to serve a purpose. Understand those purposes and you will know if it will serve your purpose. Shell rotella is designed to carry LOTS of contamanits, high cylinder pressures with amounts of blow by, sulfer in the fuel, ect., ect.. I have seen the effects of shell rotella in a gas engine that was pampered, frequent oil changes, driven on the very easy side, NOT GOOD, don't totally understand why?, and gas engines that were flogged, better than other oils would have performed. I'm not beating on rotella, I run it in my diesel truck, just understand, it is made for primarily diesels for a reason!
Les Holt

There is a mantra that should be remembered:

Oil is cheap, engine rebuilds are very expensive.

Use the best oil you can get for the engine you have.

With the spare part prices and oil prices over here in Norway, using the best oil available for motorcycle engines will set me back approx $50 a year compared to an oil produced for a car engine.

An engine rebuild will set me back $2500~3000.

I don't think you will go wrong with Castrol oil made for motorcycle engines.

Has anyone used or seen the valvoline line of diesel oil. Its a blue color and is recamended for the cummins engine(s). I'v seen it in stores and read the back lable its been a while so I dont know exacly what it says but I do remember it having more ratings and soot control than the rottella. :huh: