Good substitues for Shell Advance Ultra 4/Ducati

[metroplex]

I bought a Ducati Data Analyzer for my 696 and have been monitoring engine temperature. I noticed that the highest it goes is about 300-350F. "Normal" operating conditions will put the engine at just over 300F on a hot summer day.

Should I use:
Shell Rotella T 5W-40 synth
Shell Rotella 15W-40 / Mobil Delvac 15W-40 non-synth
Mobil 1 10W-40 synth
Or something else

Keeping in mind the manual/OEM calls for synthetic 10W-40 that meets JASO MA.

The coldest temperature I'll ride it at is about 40F, and I don't ride enough to change it more than once a year.

 

[car54]

That's pretty hot. My choice would probably still be the RTS 5w-40. It's a good oil and you'll be fine with once a year changes.

 

[boraticus]

I doubt that there are many, if any motorcyclists participating on this forum that can ride a motorcycle hard enough on the street to compromise a good quality HDEO such as Rotella 15W40 that's being changed every 3000 miles.

Anyone who would try to run a street bike that hard on public roads will have other issues to worry about other than oil. Primarily, fines, legal costs and possibly psychiatrist bills.

Buy any of the leading HDEO 15W40 brands for the best price and use it with confidence. Change it every 3K and your engine will be just fine.

 

[vo_marz]

U4 is only 20% esters, the rest is GTL

RL 5W40 (the WHITE bottle) or AMS MCF 10W40 is a good bet imho, both perform very well on wet clutch bikes in my area.

 

[ddtmoto]

I did not like 15/40 in any of my bikes. Serious clutch drag, shifted like they had 90wt in there. Any of the HM 10/40 car oils with a splash of zddplus and I am back to shifting like before the EPA took our zinc and phos out a few years ago..

 

[metroplex]

It looks like Ducati specified 10W-40 for the air cooled engines up until 2008. From 2008-up, all the Ducati owner manuals specified 15W-50 or to follow the viscosity chart. I'm not sure why they changed the manuals.

 

[elgallo]

I own a 2011 Ducati Monster 696 and debated this a great deal. Once again, it seems that oil change interval is much more important than whatever brand you are using in addition to dino versus synthetic. Concurring with what other folks are posting here, shear is the greatest issue with ANY oil, dino OR synthetic in your bike.

I have been using Rotella T 15w-40 every 2,000 miles in my bike along with a filter change at the same interval.

My motor has not blown up, valve adjustments reveal an EXTREMELY clean head area with negligible if any shim wear. Oil screen and drain plug magnet do not show any significant shavings. Granted, I have not performed a UAO yet, but many others here have, and the results speak for themselves. The Rotella held up well during the heat wave last summer where I was seeing 5 bars on occasion...

In my humble opinion, ANY of the HDEO's are EXCELLENT choices for your bike, dino OR synthetic. Delo, Rotella, etc. should all serve you well. I have even found UAO's on the Walmart brand "Universal Oil, 15w-40" (was contracted with Pennzoil, according to the rep) which speak very well and compare similarly with the name brand products.

As for the JASO MA deal, I'm still not sold on the idea of a clutch being damaged by an automotive oil, particularly in the 10w-40 range. Any motocross rider will tell you that his/her clutch sees much more abuse than the typical street bike. I've used automotive oils in this application (10w-30, etc.) without clutch issues. If someone here has PERSONALLY experienced this, I would LOVE to hear about it as at this point it appears to be more of an "old wive's tale"...

The bottom line is that many of the "Synthetic" oils currently on the market do not NECESSARILY compare much more favorably than many of the dino oils. I have used Mobil 1 15w-50, which from the UAO's here and in other forums appears to be an excellent oil. Being cheap (I'm married...), I'll use what fits the bill, Rotella works for myself and many others...

As for those who state that you "must" use synthetic oil in your bike, I'd like to see some serious empirical evidence as to WHY this is so. From an engineering stand point, I'm not getting it...

Your mileage may vary...

 

[elgallo]

Almost forgot,

Quote:
I doubt that there are many, if any motorcyclists participating on this forum that can ride a motorcycle hard enough on the street to compromise a good quality HDEO such as Rotella 15W40 that's being changed every 3000 miles.

Anyone who would try to run a street bike that hard on public roads will have other issues to worry about other than oil. Primarily, fines, legal costs and possibly psychiatrist bills.

Buy any of the leading HDEO 15W40 brands for the best price and use it with confidence. Change it every 3K and your engine will be just fine.


+1!!!!!

 

[metroplex]

I think the Rotella T6 is causing my clutch to slip during upshifts. I thought it was my technique, but I looked at my datalogs from last summer and I usually dropped the throttle to about 11% or less after I clicked the upshift and the RPMs wouldn't spike.

I looked closely at yesterday's datalog and it shows the RPMs spiking as I dropped the throttle. This is something new, and the difference is I'm using Rotella T6 instead of whatever the dealer/factory used.

I've attached snapshots of 3 areas where the RPM spikes occured. I had to zoom in otherwise it looks like I'm pegging the throttle open during the upshifts. If it is indeed my technique, it feels like the previous oil would allow the clutch to grip better after an upshift.

I'm not sure why this is happening. Is it the thinner oil? It's JASO MA, so it should be fine for the wet clutch. Do I want to run Rotella T 15W-40, Mobil 1 15W-50, Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W-40, or Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50? It's horrible that the OEM recommended oil isn't even available in the US.

 

[vo_marz]

Originally Posted By: metroplex
I think the Rotella T6 is causing my clutch to slip during upshifts. I thought it was my technique, but I looked at my datalogs from last summer and I usually dropped the throttle to about 11% or less after I clicked the upshift and the RPMs wouldn't spike.

I looked closely at yesterday's datalog and it shows the RPMs spiking as I dropped the throttle. This is something new, and the difference is I'm using Rotella T6 instead of whatever the dealer/factory used.

I've attached snapshots of 3 areas where the RPM spikes occured. I had to zoom in otherwise it looks like I'm pegging the throttle open during the upshifts. If it is indeed my technique, it feels like the previous oil would allow the clutch to grip better after an upshift.

I'm not sure why this is happening. Is it the thinner oil? It's JASO MA, so it should be fine for the wet clutch. Do I want to run Rotella T 15W-40, Mobil 1 15W-50, Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W-40, or Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50? It's horrible that the OEM recommended oil isn't even available in the US.


I'd stick to the mobil oils (MX4T 10W40 or 15W50 in hotter weather)

The ultra 4 is just a XVHI oil with around 20% ester eslling at redline prices which imho is a ripoff if you ride hard.

 

[metroplex]

I went with Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50 and it solved the clutch issue. I have no idea about the ester content of V-Twin 20W-50. I'm not sure about running Mobil 1 15W-50 car oil in the Ducati.