Rotella

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I have a Honda Shadow 750 motorcycle (V twin) that I am considering putting Shell Rotella in. Rotella is a group III oil right? Also, I heard something about it being paraffin based and can gum up things sometimes. Sounds like [censored] to me but I was wondering if there is any truth to that.

If not Rotella, I plan on going with Mobil 1 Racing 4T in 10w40.
 
Rotella "T" Synthetic 5-40 is Grp. III hydrocracked; 15-40 is standard dino. Either one will work superbly in your bike.
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Originally Posted By: dsmith41
Also, I heard something about it being paraffin based and can gum up things sometimes. Sounds like [censored] to me but I was wondering if there is any truth to that.

You guessed it. Total Bee-Es. Rotella T 5w-40 is a good oil.
 
It is wax based in a sense (The 5W-40 synthetic that is). It is made from wax that has been stripped out of petroleum crude, and run through a catalytic conversion to turn it into a pure lubricating oil. It is considered to be Group III+.
 
I am a huge Rotella fan. Bikes and diesels actually share some of the same issues, like temerature extremes and localized hot spots. Mixed fleet oils like Rotella are tried and proved over millions of miles to be stout oils in both diesels and bikes. Rotella also meets JASO specs. Shell chooses not to advertise this for a variety of reasons, one of the main reasons is that their primary market for Rotella is the truckers market. Meeting JASO spec and getting certified is not that difficult, but is costly, so not a lot of companies care to do it since the bike oil market is not that big compared to the truckers market and is dominated by specialty oil marketers. As a side note, as of a couple years ago, the official Honda 4 stroke oil was not even JASO certified (but was indicated to meet the spec).
 
What sort of additive package does Rotella have? I have used Mobil 1 product for a few years now and I am told they have a lot of detergents in them to keep the engine very clean. Rotella is the same I assume.

Also, does anyone know if the Mobile 1 Racing 4T 10w40 is a group III or group IV basestock?
 
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This thread should probably be moved to Motorcycles. Anyway, I know a lot of guys that run Rotella Synthetic 5w40 in their bikes and are very, very happy. On the other hand, since enduros and dirt bikes have OCI's of 500 to 2,000 miles, most of those guys choose the Rotella dino 15w40, as it is cheaper and still protects awesome for shorter OCI's.

It is noteworthy to mention that the 15w40 will shear less in a bike with a shared tranny sump than the 5w40....but both oils are amazing.

For your Honda Shadow 750.....you would honestly be very happy with the less expensive solution....Rotella Dino 15w40. Look at the Motorcycle Thread...there is a guy who has done several UOA's on 15w40 out of his Gold Wing and it performed wonderfully.
 
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I just had someone (an Amsoil dealer, actually) tell me on a Honda Shadow board that the new Rotella T in 5w40 carries the API's CJ rating instead of the old CI rating. He said it could damage the bike but I'm not really buying at this point. I need to do more research on it but its too late now. I just put Rotella T in my bike tonight.
 
It is a CJ-4 now. Less phosphorous and zinc (20% or so) and calcium has been reduced to about 40% of what it used to be, and magnesium levels have increased (majorly) to compensate. Moly is up a bit as well.
 
The convetional Rotella (white jug) is JASO rated.
The synthetic (blue jug) came close, it was just over the line on soot or soot control, what ever. That's more a issue with diesel engines.
Rotella works great in cycles, period.

If you buy Rotella, you won't be buying Amsoil from him.
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LOL! Yeah...buy the Rotella and let that guy who spun you the tail about ruining your motorcycle because of the CJ rating succumb to Darwinism (i.e. starts to lose money to the point he won't renew as an Amsoil dealer anymore). Those types of oil peddlers (Of any crude or synthetic company) that spin the tails of whoa and misinformation are really annoying.
 
Actually the synthetic meets the JASO spec...It was the CI-4 that didn't meet it in one area and that was the amount of ash..It was .1 or .2 percent over the JASO limit...The CI-4 did meet the wet clutch specs though...The CJ-4 synthetic now meets the ash requirements of JASO.
 
The 15W-40 Rotella-T did not hold up well at all in my 02 Shadow 750 I had last year. I changed the oil every 1000-1200 miles.

I also ran the [censored] out of it, but it started consuming oil and smoking on start up.

Would stay away from an oil that is not synthetic for these bikes. Take it from my experience.

BTW, I like HDEO's and use Rotella-T Synthetic 5W-40 in my truck, lawnmower, 4-stroke weed-eater... but the conventional did poorly in my bike. Engine started ticking, just everything went downhill for that engine. Go the synthetic route.
 
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Moly is up a bit as well.


The Honda manual states you should not use oil that contains molybdenum. Hmmmm.
 
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
It is wax based in a sense (The 5W-40 synthetic that is). It is made from wax that has been stripped out of petroleum crude, and run through a catalytic conversion to turn it into a pure lubricating oil. It is considered to be Group III+.


What is the difference (sorry about the dumb question) between III and III+?
What about Delo 5W40? Is that Group III or III+?
 
Originally Posted By: dsmith41
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Moly is up a bit as well.


The Honda manual states you should not use oil that contains molybdenum. Hmmmm.


Are you sure moly is up?
 
Originally Posted By: D-Roc
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
It is wax based in a sense (The 5W-40 synthetic that is). It is made from wax that has been stripped out of petroleum crude, and run through a catalytic conversion to turn it into a pure lubricating oil. It is considered to be Group III+.


What is the difference (sorry about the dumb question) between III and III+?
What about Delo 5W40? Is that Group III or III+?


III+'s are either made from slack wax that has been converted, or are GTL (gas to liquid) oils. It is more pure than a Group III that has been hydrocracked. Because of its complete chemical transformation, it can be considered a true synthetic.

I don't know about Delo 5W-40.
 
Originally Posted By: JDD
Originally Posted By: dsmith41
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Moly is up a bit as well.


The Honda manual states you should not use oil that contains molybdenum. Hmmmm.


Are you sure moly is up?


From UOA's and VOA's I've seen, it's showing about 100-150ppm more than it used to.
 
Originally Posted By: dsmith41
Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
Moly is up a bit as well.


The Honda manual states you should not use oil that contains molybdenum. Hmmmm.


Which type of moly?
 
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