The best oil for my bike?

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I just bought a nice 2003 honda shadow ace VT750CDB from my step dad and it has 10,859 miles on it. I was wondering what would you guys suggest on which oil would be best for the bike. The owners manual says to use Honda GN4 10w-40 without moly. I went to the honda shop and got a Honda filter and 3 quarts of the GN4 10w-40 oil. This is what they suggested. I was going to get the Honda HP4 Synthetic blend without moly and they suggested just the GN4 because something about the clutch. I been doing alot of reading on the used oil testing section but its all chinese to me I dont know anything about it. I already done the oil change but I would like to here some input from all of you for the next time because the GN4 was kinda steep on price. Thanks!
 
If it was my bike I would run 15w40 Rotella T or you can use 5w40 Rotella. Either of these oils are WAY more robust than Honda GN4 at a fraction of the cost.
 
Any HDEO (heavy duty engine oil) such as the already mentioned Rotella. I use 15w40 Supertech, just as good IMO since I change it every 800 miles in my Honda XR650L.

Change it often to counter the viscosity shear that occurs rapidly in a shared engine/tranny set-up like your bike has. All oils/brands will shear quickly in that environment.
 
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The problem with Moly there telling you is for clutch slippage to much could cause the cluch to slip,you don't need that high priced MC oil and yes you can use a synthetic oil,any HDEO 15w40 or 5w40 will work great in that bike.
 
Well looks like I may try the Rotella 15w-40 HD. Looks like alot of people run it to with good results. Will this be good in the winter also? I probably wont ride much in winter time like below 40 degrees or so. So how often should I change my oil I dont ride hard I just cruise around on it. I see people changing it at all different mileages. Just out of curiosity isn't this Rotella oil for desiel engine? I know in all my vehicles I run Valvoline MaxLife 10w-30 in the red jug and I think its synthetic blend now also. Thanks for all the replies!
 
You would be fine down to 40 deg with 15w40 i'd say if you have electic start and let it warm up before leaving,could change over to RTS 5w40 too when it gets cooler.

with out a UOA you really wont know but i'd say 2-4,000 on any HDEO should be good if your just "just cruise around on it".
 
Originally Posted By: daman
You would be fine down to 40 deg with 15w40 i'd say if you have electic start and let it warm up before leaving,could change over to RTS 5w40 too when it gets cooler.


That is way conservative. By those standards a 10W-40 would only be good down to about 30-35F.
shocked2.gif


When MC mfrs spec a 15W-40 they usually say it's good down to about 15F. The best way to warm an engine up is to drive it gently as soon as it will run properly.
 
Originally Posted By: XS650
Originally Posted By: daman
You would be fine down to 40 deg with 15w40 i'd say if you have electic start and let it warm up before leaving,could change over to RTS 5w40 too when it gets cooler.


That is way conservative. By those standards a 10W-40 would only be good down to about 30-35F.
shocked2.gif


When MC mfrs spec a 15W-40 they usually say it's good down to about 15F. The best way to warm an engine up is to drive it gently as soon as it will run properly.

I run my ATV's right up thru Dec, and i can usally tell it starts cranking harder with the 15-40 in, nothing wrong with beeing "conservative" on cold slow flow start ups where most wear is.
 
You can run 15w40 in winter, but how good is your motorcycle starter? On my old 70s Kawasakis the 15w40 is way too thick to crank and start in cold weather. When it starts dipping below 40 regularly better off with 10w40.
 
The best oil for your bike is not HDEO or diesel oil, it should be motorcycle specific oil for your wet clutch. The most economical oil for your bike might be HDEO or diesel oil.
 
Originally Posted By: azsynthetic
The best oil for your bike is not HDEO or diesel oil, it should be motorcycle specific oil for your wet clutch. The most economical oil for your bike might be HDEO or diesel oil.


Yep--you must pay $12/qt to keep bike happy. The countless trouble free miles run with Rotella or Delvac don't mean anything.
 
Honda2003,

Simply put there "may" be some superior synthetic motorcycle oils out there. How ever there have been many, many, many test on this forum and other forums and websites that show that HDEO oils such as Rotella, Delo, Delvac and even SuperTech literally BLOW away conventional motorcycle oils that cost 3-5x a much money.

Dollar for dollar nothing seems to perform better. I would like to also add that it is not just a money comparison, HDEO simply just perform well.

As mentioned above HDEO's do not cause wet clutch slips because they do not contain the friction modifiers that API wants to see in standard car oil.

If i had any doubts in HDEO oil I would not be running it in my $25,000 bike.
 
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Originally Posted By: JDD

Yep--you must pay $12/qt to keep bike happy. The countless trouble free miles run with Rotella or Delvac don't mean anything.


You need to shop somewhere else if you are paying $12/qt for motorcycle oil. The countless trouble free miles with Rotella and Delvac don't mean any thing to Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, BMW, Ducatti, etc. That is why you don't see them as the recommended oils in the user manual. I am not saying that Rotella and Delvac won't work but it is not the best oil for the OP bike according to the bike manufacturers. Even the maker of Rotella and Delvac do not advertise them as motorcycle oil.
 
Originally Posted By: heavyhitter
If it was my bike I would run 15w40 Rotella T or you can use 5w40 Rotella. Either of these oils are WAY more robust than Honda GN4 at a fraction of the cost.


Totally agreed. The UOA's on this site for those oils in Motorcycles has been indisputably outstanding.

The OP's Shadow will get along quite nicely on them.
 
I have a $20,000 Goldwing in the garage loaded with Rotella T 15W-40 and I sleep well at night.

I have UOAs on this site to prove its effectiveness.

I ride in Tucson summer heat ... no worries.
 
The hdeo's will work fine.

Some people just have to have oil with a picture of a motorcycle on it to sleep better at night. Do what makes YOU feel better. If you run amsoil or any other motorcyce specific oil, get your moneys worth. Dont change it out at 2000 miles, especially if you do long highway miles like I like to do.

Is the oil that much better with the picture of a motorcycle on it? I personally dont think so. Is it way more expensive?? Yes.

I used to run the older Mobil 1 mx4t 10W40, heard about running rotella 15W40, it was cheaper, it is still a 40 weight when it thins out at operating temperature, so I am not concerened.
 
Originally Posted By: azsynthetic
JDD said:
Yep--you must pay $12/qt to keep bike happy. The countless trouble free miles run with Rotella or Delvac don't mean anything.


You need to shop somewhere else if you are paying $12/qt for motorcycle oil. The countless trouble free miles with Rotella and Delvac don't mean any thing to Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, BMW, Ducatti, etc. That is why you don't see them as the recommended oils in the user manual. I am not saying that Rotella and Delvac won't work but it is not the best oil for the OP bike according to the bike manufacturers. Even the maker of Rotella and Delvac do not advertise them as motorcycle oil.



this is going to be my last response to azsynth-----

OK--so it's not $12/qt. It's $12.65/liter (list price for Motul 7100). My Yamaha's owners manual recommends Yamalube ($8/qt at my dealer), and VOAs show it to be nothing special. BTW, one of the reasons HDEOs work so well in motorcycles is that they share many of the same issues of diesel engines i.e. higher temps temps and localized hot spots. Plus no/low moly in HDEOs for wet clutches.
 
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