Delo 400 Test

Robenstein · May 25, 2016

Originally Posted By: sm00thpapa
I contacted Shell and they do offer a 10 year / 100,000 mile warranty on motorcycles. I doubt the other diesel oil companies do. But I could be wrong.

And like most oil companies that give warranties on engines, there are about a dozen ways they can deny any claim you submit in the event something goes wrong. It is a great marketing tool to sell more oil, but it is mostly just that as the great number of claims will be denied. I know that in the fine print they often use ridiculously short OCIs as a condition for the warranty, much shorter than the vehicle manufacturer. For instance when Valvoline rolled out their 300,000 mile warranty for SynPower, they wanted something like 3k mile OCI's while Toyota tells me to go 5k.

sm00thpapa · May 27, 2016

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: sm00thpapa
I contacted Shell and they do offer a 10 year / 100,000 mile warranty on motorcycles. I doubt the other diesel oil companies do. But I could be wrong.

And like most oil companies that give warranties on engines, there are about a dozen ways they can deny any claim you submit in the event something goes wrong. It is a great marketing tool to sell more oil, but it is mostly just that as the great number of claims will be denied. I know that in the fine print they often use ridiculously short OCIs as a condition for the warranty, much shorter than the vehicle manufacturer. For instance when Valvoline rolled out their 300,000 mile warranty for SynPower, they wanted something like 3k mile OCI's while Toyota tells me to go 5k.

True statement. I did ask about OCI and they told me every 4K keeps the warranty intact. I guess the hardest thing is keeping a record and receipts of the oil changes.

Smoky14 · May 30, 2016

At 1200 miles and still shifting great. Clutch drag when cold seems to be a little more than Rotella, but that is subjective.

Gas mileage continues to amaze me, has been consistently above 55MPG.

Smoky

Robenstein · May 30, 2016

Originally Posted By: Smoky14
At 1200 miles and still shifting great. Clutch drag when cold seems to be a little more than Rotella, but that is subjective.

Gas mileage continues to amaze me, has been consistently above 55MPG.

Smoky

That is pretty rare MPG's for that engine. Usually the old GS based mill gets around 40-45.

dirtydannyd · May 30, 2016

Delo 400 15w40 has worked well for me in various bikes over the years.

Currently still using it in R6 trackbike and wr450f dirt bike.

Very cost effective and seems to be a very good oil.

CCI · May 30, 2016

Delo 400 is also available in SAE 50 if you want to buy a 5 gallon bucket. Worked real well in my old Shovelhead in moderate weather. Good ring seal, held up well to highway service, didn't feel like it deteriorated much in 2,000 miles.

gman2304 · May 31, 2016

Sunruh loves the Supertech 15w40. IIRC his tests put it at the top of the HDEO's for motorcycles.

sunruh · Jun 1, 2016

Originally Posted By: gman2304
Sunruh loves the Supertech 15w40. IIRC his tests put it at the top of the HDEO's for motorcycles.

all of the "older" versions were better at staying in grade than the newer ones are.

in the "bang for buck" i dont see how you beat supertech
srt is a soild 2nd and the best "name" brand
the rest are all decent but just a few ticks below
now a sale could lift them up

and just to be perfectly clear the blue jug srt 5w40 is NOT in the same category
it is a very nice winter oil, but it shears darn fast and not worthy of any long hauls in a shared sump

AMC · Jun 1, 2016

Here are VOA's of most of the oils we are discussing here. Take a look at the numbers and you can begin to see why so many of us like delo and rotella. Supertech is pretty good too but delo pretty much kills them all in additives. Delo does have a slightly lower TBN but I prefer shorter oil change intervals in shared sump bikes anyways:

http://www.pqiamerica.com/March2013PCMO/HDEO SUMMARYrev2.html

Here is a VOA from Blackstone on Delo 5w-40 that I am currently using:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2392830

Robenstein · Jun 1, 2016

Of course it must be noted that a VOA is only part of judging the quality of an oil. You should pair it with a UOA. Sometimes you would be surprised how apparently mediocre looking oils perform better than more "loaded" oils when you submit them to a UOA.

I am thinking how Valvoline oils usually look middle of the road in VOA's but return very very good UOA's. They seem to punch above their weight, likely because there is something in the additive pack that does not show up in a standard VOA.

AMC · Jun 1, 2016

"Of course it must be noted that a VOA is only part of judging the quality of an oil. You should pair it with a UOA. Sometimes you would be surprised how apparently mediocre looking oils perform better than more "loaded" oils when you submit them to a UOA"

Indeed. There are several UOA's with HDEO's in trucks but not necessarily in motorcycles. With enough searching, you can find some.

AMC · Jun 11, 2016

Originally Posted By: AMC
Here are VOA's of most of the oils we are discussing here. Take a look at the numbers and you can begin to see why so many of us like delo and rotella. Supertech is pretty good too but delo pretty much kills them all in additives. Delo does have a slightly lower TBN but I prefer shorter oil change intervals in shared sump bikes anyways:

http://www.pqiamerica.com/March2013PCMO/HDEO SUMMARYrev2.html

Here is an updated HDEO VOA test batch from PQIA. Sorry about posting a link to the older test results:

http://www.pqiamerica.com/June 2014/consolidated HDEO 2015.html

Delo or Delvac would be my pick of the litter out of this bunch....

Robenstein · Jun 11, 2016

Looks like Delvac would be a little better for cleaning or longer intervals, while Delo might have a slight edge in protection as far as the conventional ones go.

AMC · Jun 11, 2016

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Looks like Delvac would be a little better for cleaning or longer intervals, while Delo might have a slight edge in protection as far as the conventional ones go.

Really?

I was thinking the exact opposite. Delo has that huge dose of boron for cleaning while Delvac has a better TBN and volatility for better long term protection. Am I missing something here?

Either way, both seem like great oils, pretty much at the top of the list for anything you can buy at wal-mart. Also, delo is usually the cheapest non supertech option but it appears delvac is on rollback at (my local) wal-mart and is cheaper than all the others (besides supertech) right now. I may pick up a gallon and give that a try next time my yami needs an oil change.

Robenstein · Jun 11, 2016

Delvac has a higher dose of Magnesium which is also a detergent. Maybe it all sort of equals out between the two.

Smoky14 · Jun 13, 2016

At 1220 miles it is still shifting well, far better than the Rotella did. I'm about to start a trip, bucket list, I'll report when I get back.

Smoky

AMC · Jun 13, 2016

Originally Posted By: Smoky14
At 1220 miles it is still shifting well, far better than the Rotella did. I'm about to start a trip, bucket list, I'll report when I get back.

Smoky

Thanks for the update, I think you will really like Delo!

tmus2122 · Aug 3, 2016

But its approved if it has a picture of a motorcycle on it and a $10 price tag and no jaso rating, right

quote=Robenstein]
Originally Posted By: WANG
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
Does the Delo have the JASO wet clutch rating? I assume you mean the regular 15W-40 Delo?

No, Chevron did not apply for a JASO motorcycle rating like Shell did with Rotella. If you are ever concerned about whether an oil is wet clutch friendly, just email the company and ask if the oil would be okay for an a machine calling for an Allison C4 approved lubricant. That is a now obsolete wet clutch rating used for mostly off road machinery.

Not to be pedantic about it, but Shell self-certified Rotella as JASO MA. It is not found on The Big List of JASO certified oils.

Well lots of JASO MA oils also say they meet various API grades such as SJ, SG, SL, etc. They don't carry the API seal on them. However, if a company made false claims about it meeting a certification, they would be in for quite a can of worms legally I would think. But you are right, I guess Shell self tested. [/quote]

Smoky14 · Aug 4, 2016

Bad trip, got stuck having to ride for 400 miles in 105+ temps. The bandit runs hot anyway but my old body had a hard time coping with the heat.
The oil seemed to hold up fairly well but you could tell it was thinning out more than I'd like. Shifting was not as good after the 8 hours at temp but still better than others I've used. Changed oil and going back with Delo.
Smoky

AMC · Aug 5, 2016

Originally Posted By: Smoky14
Bad trip, got stuck having to ride for 400 miles in 105+ temps. The bandit runs hot anyway but my old body had a hard time coping with the heat.
The oil seemed to hold up fairly well but you could tell it was thinning out more than I'd like. Shifting was not as good after the 8 hours at temp but still better than others I've used. Changed oil and going back with Delo.
Smoky

That does not sound out of the ordinary at all. Pretty much any bike and oil (shared sump) combination is going to feel that way in those conditions. In the extreme high heat (100F plus), 20w-50 may be a better choice but so few of us ride at those temps all the time.

You may want to give Delvac a try next time, like I am. It has a higher TBN, lower volatility rate and the add pack is nearly as strong as Delo. Mobil Delvac is usually right around the same price as Delo also.

Delo 400 Test

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