Originally Posted By: heypete
Now, if only they made 5-quart jugs of it: I do the work on my friend's 1992 Kawasaki Ninja (mostly just oil/filter changes, as the bike is in remarkably good working order), but the bike takes 4.2 quarts of oil. Although 0.2 quarts isn't a huge amount, we'd really not like to have the oil be too low, particularly in an older bike.
It doesn't make sense to buy a gallon of oil at a cheap price, then buy a quart at full price just to make up a 0.2 quart difference.
We ended up using Mobil1 High Mileage 10W-40 for the last change, as it was cheaper than the gallon of Rotella + 1 quart, and it came in a 5 quart jug.
*grumbles quietly to himself*
That said, how do conventional oils hold up in motorcycles? His owner's manual says to change the oil every 3,000 miles, so I'd hope even cheap oil wouldn't shear down too much in that time. With the conventional Rotella being considerably cheaper than the synthetic, would it be a better choice?
He doesn't want to fork over big bucks for the Mobil motorcycle oil, so the Rotella seems to be a great deal...if they sold it in 5 quart jugs. Of course, motorcycles aren't the target market for Rotella, so it doesn't surprise me that they'd sell it in anything other than gallon jugs.
I need to check if they make it in xW-50 -- we're using the 40-weight M1 HM right now, but are a bit worried about when things heat up in the Arizona summers. The bike calls for a range of oils, including xW-50, so we'd prefer to go for the heavier oil for better protection.
Ah, decisions, decisions...
Easy, hold back the OCD in you and just don't do a complete drain. After the steady stream is done draining, pop the plug back in. My dirtbike takes 1.05, so I either run low or don't get every last drop out.
I doubt even a UOA could tell.