Mobil 1 15W50, 7970 miles, Honda ST1100

[Rick_A]

1999 Honda ST1100
Water-cooled V4
Shared engine/trans. oil, wet clutch

Comments:
Mobil 1 15W50 EP Gold Cap oil, the SM version
Bosch automotive oil filter
2 stroke oil or MMO as a UCL.

I'm not too worried about the Silicon, I used silicon sealer on the
valve cover gaskets and it may be leaching out a bit?

Wear metals are up a little. It looks like it kept the bearings wet, other than that
nothing too exciting. I put in Redline 15W50 this time. I need to clear out some of the left-over
oils that I have laying around.



Blackstone Labs Test results:

Oil...............Max Life 10W40....Delvac 15W40....Rotella 5W40......Mobil 1 15W50
Filter............PL14612 Purolator....PL14612......Bosch 3423?..........Bosch 3423
Total Miles....110,996................119,028................127,052................135,020
Miles on oil....8,016...................8,062...................8,024..................7,970
Time on Oil.....2 1/2 Mo............3 1/2 Mo................6 Mo...................6 Mo
Make up oil......0..........................0........................0.......................0
.
Aluminum.........8........................10.........................7.....................9
Chromium.........1.......................1.........................1.......................1
Iron................14....................14.....................16.........................21
Copper............3.....................3......................5...........................5
Lead...............3......................3......................4.........................7
Tin.................1......................0......................0.........................1
Moly...............82....................51....................9..........................80
Nickel.............0.....................0.....................0...........................1
Manganese......0......................0......................0..........................0
Silver..............0.....................0.....................0..........................0
Titanium..........0......................0......................0........................0
Potassium........2.......................2.......................3........................1
Boron.............37.....................27......................7.........................53
Silicon.............12....................11....................11.........................24
Sodium.............332....................343....................262....................109
Calcium............1719.................1169.................2722......................2284
Magnesium.........827...................735....................92......................26
Phosphorus......963...................806...................1051.......................994
Zinc.................1300...................1018...................1276..................1186
Barium.............0........................0........................1......................0
Flashpoint F......410.......................385......................390..................400
Fuel................ Antifreeze........66........................ ??........................ ??................... ??
Water.............0...........................0...........................0....................0
Insoluables......0.3........................0.3........................0.2....................0.2
SUS Visc@210f..68.4......................66.0......................66.1....................73.3
cST Visc@100c..12.54.......................11.89.......................11.91..............13.81
TBN.................3.1........................4.2........................6.1..................5.7

 

[CATERHAM]

Looks good but I don't see why you feel the need to run a 50wt.

 

[StromRider]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
Looks good but I don't see why you feel the need to run a 50wt.


The M1 is a low 40 weight at this point. Of the 40 weights only the first one didn't drop to a high 30 weight and that one was close.

 

[CATERHAM]

Looks good but I don't see why you feel the need to run a 50wt.

 

[CATERHAM]

Dropping a grade is pretty much universal with a commom engine, gearbox and clutch assembly.
Dropping into the 30wt ranged isn't typically a problem.

 

[Ausfahrt]

You are putting serious miles on a quality bike. No worries and Mobil 1 15w-50 is the right oil.

 

[Rick_A]

Caterham,

No reason for the 15W50. I had it lying around gathering dust and wanted to get rid of it. I put the Redline 15W50 in it for the same reason. Once these are gone I’ll probably go back to a 15W40.

Rick

 

[Mackelroy]

Has your bike begun using any oil yet, I noticed its well over 100,000 mile.

I've seen where some 500cc aircooled bikes on the same oil doing 3000 mile oil changes, bein using oil around 70,000 mile.

I would expect water cooled to do better.

My VFR is pushing 70,000 tight as a drum thus far, depending on the oil a run up to 4,000 mile, but mostly 1500 to 3000 mile.

What do ya think about the antifreeze, some get in doing the valve covers or maybe a head gasket leak or water pump.

I guess see if it goes away.

 

[Rick_A]

No real oil usage. I do see a slight drop on the oil level but I do 8,000 OCIs and have never added a drop of oil between changes.
Not worried about antifreeze. Blackstone was concerned a while back but I used a lead substitute that was sodium based so I ignored their concern.
I change the coolant every couple of years (30,000-40,000 miles?) and have never added coolant.

Have fun on your VFR,
Rick

 

[VMAXER]

Rick hi from downunder in OZ, I am really interested to know if you have noticed any change in performance from the clutch in changing across these 4 oils ? Correct me if I am wrong (our oils here use different names just to confuse us) but you have used both HDEO and Auto oil, or is the 15w-50 MC specific ? I am comparing your results against virgin Yamalube 10w-40 and looking particularly at the Boron & Moly content which is supposed to ruin our clutch ?
Cheers from Marty

 

[BigJohn]

Rick, your data is what completely convinced me to go to a 15w40 in both my bikes. I took advantage of the Checkers $5 a gallon sale 5 months ago.....bought 8 gallons of Delvac. Love the stuff in the bikes.


Originally Posted By: Rick_A
Caterham,

No reason for the 15W50. I had it lying around gathering dust and wanted to get rid of it. I put the Redline 15W50 in it for the same reason. Once these are gone I’ll probably go back to a 15W40.

Rick

 

[Rick_A]

Hi Marty,

I have only used “real” motorcycle oil once; it was the Honda GN4 10W40 (ok but nothing very impressive).
The 15W50s (Redline and Mobil one) and 0W30 (Castrol GC) were automotive oils.
I have never noticed any difference at all with the different oils or with the long oil change period.
My ST has always had a bit of clutch chatter if I accelerate hard when the bike is very cold. None of the oils have changed that behavior.
I have not noticed any difference in clutch or shifting feel with the oils that have lots of moly.

Rick

 

[Rick_A]

Yeah, the Delvac worked well for me and the prices when it was on sale were great.
I didn’t buy any during the “Checker” sale though, I’m trying to reduce my 200 qt inventory

Rick

 

[twigdog]

This bike has a long history on here. Look at his older posts and you will see that this bike really likes the 15w-40's.

 

[Steve S]

The Max life has a surprizing add package!!!

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: Steve S
The Max life has a surprizing add package!!!



That it does. It looks more like an HDEO than a PCMO.