Kawasaki KZ1000 and T6 5W-40

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I have an 81 KZ1000 that's run nothing but Valvoline Motorcycle 10W-40 most of it's life. The Valvoline has been doing it's job for many years, this also seem to be a popular oil for this bike.

My question is because of the cost of Valvoline in my area is getting rather high, I can get Rotella T6 for less than the Valvoline. Anyone know about the T6 and shearing compared to the Valvoline ? I would think the T6 would be a better oil but not sure....

Thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: dcf
The T6 oil is wayyyy better .


If I can get an oil that's as good or better for less money that would be fine with me. This bike has 40,000 mi. with the Valvoline and other than valve adjustment I've never had to tear into the engine, the clutch is the original and works fine (knock on wood)....of coarse it could go out soon ??? Just wondering if someone has experience with the T6 and it's shearing rate.

Thanks.
 
Was the Valvoline synthetic or conventional?

I think the T6 5W40 has been known to shear down fairly quickly in shared sump motorcycles. What kind of oil change interval do you plan to run the oil for?

To save even more cash, you can run Rotella 15W40 which generally does not shear down as quickly as the synthetic T6.

A couple T6 UOAs:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2671754
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2984484
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2212753

As you can see, the TBN is still way up there indicating the life of the oil is ok, but the viscosity has dropped, so the benefits of the synthetic just aren't usable.
 
@EdwardC, thanks

It was Valvoline conventional, I change oil every 2000 mi.

Anyone know anything about HDEO's foaming in shared sumps because of high detergents and low anti foaming agents ? I'm hearing that motorcycle specific oils address that where as HDEO's don't ???
 
I'd stick with the 15W-40. I have never seen any evidence of Rotella 15W-40 foaming in any of my bikes. I did buy some of the new semi-synthetic Rotella 15W-40 to try.
 
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