Oil rec please - '00 Aprilia RSV, track only

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Eskimo

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My track bike is my '00 Aprilia RSV1000 Mille (Rotax engine). Internally it's stock, with just a full exhaust and chip in the ECU. It's got approx. 15,000 miles on it, maybe 14,000 of them were street miles.

If you're not familiar with the engine (most people aren't, it's OK) - It's a shared sump, dry-sump, water cooled, 60° V-twin built by Rotax for Aprilia. Makes in the neighborhood of ~120hp at the wheel, redline is at 10,800. Oh, and these bikes are known to be picky about oils making the clutches slip - i think the size and number of frictions is marginal for the torque and power delivery of the twin.

The track days usually consist of 20 minute sessions with 20-40 minutes in between.

Lastly, I live in a small town in central PA, so oils that are not carried at the major chains are less appealing, but if necessary, I'll mail order it.

The manual calls for 15-50 conventional or synthetic.

Thanks!
 
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Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
I'd use M1 15w50 then..


Thanks.. I assume you mean the moto-specific M1? I have some car M1 15w-50 here, and I don't see the JASO-MA certification on it.
 
Maxima makes a very good 15w50 oil. You could also try Castrol RS 10w50. It is often used in the place of 15w50 oils, in fact Triumph uses it as a factory fill after switching away from a 15w50 spec.
 
Originally Posted By: Eskimo
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
I'd use M1 15w50 then..


Thanks.. I assume you mean the moto-specific M1? I have some car M1 15w-50 here, and I don't see the JASO-MA certification on it.

M1 doesn't make a motorcycle-specific 15w-50. However, I've seen people run the regular M1 15w-50 in bikes with good results.
 
I had the first customer delivered RSV in this country back in -99. It was tricolore and one impressive bike. Just like this one:

normal_Aprilia-RSV-Mille-1999.jpg


Had an Arrow carbon slip-on and factory chip. The sound of the bike on full song was quite impressive.
smile.gif


Anyway, I used Agip Tec 15W-50 semisynthetic as long as I had the bike. I would think that any 15W-50 would do just fine.
 
Originally Posted By: Eskimo
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
I'd use M1 15w50 then..


Thanks.. I assume you mean the moto-specific M1? I have some car M1 15w-50 here, and I don't see the JASO-MA certification on it.


That's because it doesn't qualify for the JASO spec because it contains friction modifiers including moly. No way would I use anything with moly in a bike known for clutch slip using proper fluids.
K. Since its water cooled I would give conventional rotella a shot,and change it after every race.
Rotella meets JASO however its 15w40 so its going to be a bit thin at operating temp however the add pack is very stout and that slight decrease in viscosity may help that engine spin up quicker.
There are some great bike oils by motul and motorex and I think they you can find the factory specified grade with those brands as well.
Motul and motorex are top quality products and they cost alot as well. I can't find either brand for less that 25 a litre.
Cool bike. A v-twin spinning that high must be something to hear.
Ride safe.
 
Nice Bike. I love Aprilia, and own 2 of their scooters, a Scarabeo, and a Sport City. Funny how the same engine in your bike with smaller jugs (a 996) is in the Can Am Spyder, and they insist on a 5w40, SL or SJ, and specifically call out NO SM. I think you'll be fine with M1 15w50, but it will shear to a 40 weight pretty quickly. I'd personally be looking for a 20w50, and would most likely lean toward Brad Penn V2, Valvoline MC, or if you are hooked on synthetics, and money is no object, Redline.
 
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I've used Mobil 1 15/50 in my Triumph for over 20,000 miles with not a hint of clutch slippage. I used to pay 50 bucks for the Triumph badged 15/50, and got sick of wasting my money. The auto 15/50 will work fine, if you use 3-4,000 mile changes.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: Eskimo
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
I'd use M1 15w50 then..


Thanks.. I assume you mean the moto-specific M1? I have some car M1 15w-50 here, and I don't see the JASO-MA certification on it.


That's because it doesn't qualify for the JASO spec because it contains friction modifiers including moly. No way would I use anything with moly in a bike known for clutch slip using proper fluids.

For the record, M1 15w-50 contains as much moly as Rotella T6 5w-40, and Rotella does claim to meet JASO MA. Hence, just because an oil contains some moly does not mean it can't pass JASO MA test.

There may be other business reasons why XOM chooses not to certify/acknowledge that M1 15w-50 would work in motorcycle application. Since they already market motorcycle-specific oils and charge an arm and a leg for them, why would they shoot themselves in the foot by telling the customers that a more reasonably priced product in their portfolio would also do the job?
 
Since they already market motorcycle-specific oils and charge an arm and a leg for them, why would they shoot themselves in the foot by telling the customers that a more reasonably priced product in their portfolio would also do the job?

That's it in a nutshell.
 
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Nice Bike. I love Aprilia, and own 2 of their scooters, a Scarabeo, and a Sport City. Funny how the same engine in your bike with smaller jugs (a 996) is in the Can Am Spyder, and they insist on a 5w40, SL or SJ, and specifically call out NO SM. I think you'll be fine with M1 15w50, but it will shear to a 40 weight pretty quickly. I'd personally be looking for a 20w50, and would most likely lean toward Brad Penn V2, Valvoline MC, or if you are hooked on synthetics, and money is no object, Redline.


Redline is rated JASO MB, which means it causes slippage. I would not run it in a wet clutch, shared sump engine that calles for JASO MA
 
I have an '07 Aprilia Tuono (same basic engine, clutch & gearbox as your bike, just different heads) w/ 14k miles, including a pair of track days. I've used only Mobil 1 15w50 car oil and (now discontinued) Pennzoil Platinum 15w50 car oil since new. No problems with either one.

I've run Mobil 1 15w50 car oil in a succession of bikes (Tuono, ST1100, a pair of FJR1300s, XR650L, V65 Sabre) for nearly 20 years now. Never a problem with clutch slip. Not even close.

Save your money and pass on the bike oil. Just use the Mobil 1. Watch for sales at Napa. I caught some sales at KMart and Napa and now I'm sitting on a 5 year supply of the stuff. Loooove it.

If you're really cheap, take Clevy's advice and run Rotella 15w40 & dump it after each track day. I've used the Rotella in two FJR1300s, including for track days, without a hint of trouble. I'm even running it in an old Gold Wing w/ 80k miles on its original clutch. No problemo.
 
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Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: Eskimo
Originally Posted By: DrDusty86
I'd use M1 15w50 then..


Thanks.. I assume you mean the moto-specific M1? I have some car M1 15w-50 here, and I don't see the JASO-MA certification on it.


That's because it doesn't qualify for the JASO spec because it contains friction modifiers including moly. No way would I use anything with moly in a bike known for clutch slip using proper fluids.

For the record, M1 15w-50 contains as much moly as Rotella T6 5w-40, and Rotella does claim to meet JASO MA. Hence, just because an oil contains some moly does not mean it can't pass JASO MA test.

There may be other business reasons why XOM chooses not to certify/acknowledge that M1 15w-50 would work in motorcycle application. Since they already market motorcycle-specific oils and charge an arm and a leg for them, why would they shoot themselves in the foot by telling the customers that a more reasonably priced product in their portfolio would also do the job?


So can you say for certain that is the only friction modifier in the M1 15w-50?
When I got my Harley back after going bigger,cams,heads and port work I read much about the 15w-50 working just fine in shared sump bikes so I figured I'd give it a shot,and I could feel the clutch slip in 2nd and 3rd and 5th while passing,so sure it may have a low amount of moly but something in it made my clutch slip. And it doesn't on rotella.
Just my own personal experience. The 15w-50 also has a significant amount less of zddp as compared to the m1 v-twin stuff,for the record.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Nice Bike. I love Aprilia, and own 2 of their scooters, a Scarabeo, and a Sport City. Funny how the same engine in your bike with smaller jugs (a 996) is in the Can Am Spyder, and they insist on a 5w40, SL or SJ, and specifically call out NO SM. I think you'll be fine with M1 15w50, but it will shear to a 40 weight pretty quickly. I'd personally be looking for a 20w50, and would most likely lean toward Brad Penn V2, Valvoline MC, or if you are hooked on synthetics, and money is no object, Redline.


Redline is rated JASO MB, which means it causes slippage. I would not run it in a wet clutch, shared sump engine that calles for JASO MA


Just looked up Redline and I was wrong, some are MA certified indeed.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
A v-twin spinning that high must be something to hear.


My Shovelhead riding neighbor says it sounds like a Harley with a muffler at low rpm's coming up the road..nice and deep.. At higher RPM's, it barks. Unmuffled (Just for kicks in the driveway), it was louder than my LS1 V8 with open headers.

Not the best video, but a friend took this while we were doing some troubleshooting.
 
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The engine seems a little louder (more mechanical noise) with the M1 over the T6 at idle, but it didn't blow up..
smile.gif


I may have noticed the clutch not clamping down as fast as I'd expect on a few quick gear changes, but it may just be time for the annual "cleaning of the steels" in the clutch pack, so I won't blame the oil.
 
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