2014 V Strom 1000 Rotella T6 5W-40

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Well, this might not be good. To answer the question in the comments, the oil pressure is normal in that the oil light goes out immediately after starting, and I have not noticed any knocking. Any ideas?


 
That's a LOT of copper.
I'm not crazy about 5w40 in the Strom.
I rode an SV for a couple seasons, and found it liked and had better UOA on 20w50's than xw40's.
What is total mileage on the bike?
Try a 20w50, run another UOA and see if you trend down.
Nothing special in the Suzy,you do not need synthetic. Havoline 20w50, Pennzoil 20 or even 25w50 is just fine (unless you have heated gear and ride all winter) and clutch friendly. Don't lug the engine, keep that twin moving.
Get a Bales filter stub, switch to more common 6607 or 7317 filter also. You'll save some cash and have a range of better filters.
http://balestech.com/filter.htm
 
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How did you pull the sample? After a long hot ride and directly from the drain?

Those numbers are not good.

Have you been doing a lot of extended wheelies?
 
Switched out to Rotella 15w-40 yesterday, has some on hand. I'll see if that makes any difference.
 
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Yep, hot oil after a ride, directly into sample bottle from drain hole. Don't wheelie, traction control keeps the front wheel down.
 
that may be the highest copper reading i have ever seen
congrats in a UH OH kinda way
you need to look at thrust bearings or bushings
tin and lead ... while typical of saddle bearings...how many does your motor really have?
i would bet close to zero
so....where is tin and lead coming from?
also is the titanium a ghost of the famous [censored] silver 1 or actually in it?
if so where is the Ti coming from as well? might be related.
any idea on valve guide material?

while i dont like 5w40 in shared sump bikes in the summer they do NOT cause this kind of wear.
your flash and susvis show it wasnt that thin (upper 30wt)
so...we need to figure out where these number a coming from
 
Originally Posted By: jdoucet
Switched out to Rotella 15w-40 yesterday, has some on hand. I'll see if that makes any difference.


Yes, I dont know how much of a difference it will make but until I saw your post I was going to suggest that you use the recommended weight oil as a starting point which you are now doing, Rotella T6 5w40 weight oil is not a recommended oil for your engine to the best of my knowledge.
Agree with sunrah, I doubt this issue is just the oil, just make sense to use the proper oil to begin with and T6 5/40 is not..
 
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Not for anything as I do not know much about your engine, but here are UOAs from older ones of the same bike.

This guy ran 4 UOAs short OCIs, looking at them, it seems like maybe the iron is normal in your UOA but your copper is whacked out for sure. Again, based on this ... and as you can see, oil type doesnt matter as much, in most aces we split hairs, not to say it doesnt matter but who knows what does matter... for a limited test on limited elements.

Click here, 4 UOAs on your bike engine (I think)
 
Never understood the T6 (put it in everything) obsessions here ... did they ever get NOACK down?
 
blue jug 5w40 is a great oil
its just not great for a shared sump motor/tranny
it can be a great winter oil with a short oci
it just doesnt have much shear resistance for the tranny gears from what i have tested

and once again, the oil is NOT the source of his copper issue...something else is clearly in play here
 
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jgturbo,

Thanks for the input. It's my daily ride, and I commute in Southern California. I have to lanesplit very often, which involves slipping the clutch. Some of the copper might be from that, but the lead and tin probably are not.
 
Thanks to everyone for responding. I am going to put some miles on the current oil and send it in for analysis. Hopefully the gods of friction bearing surfaces will smile on me and the first results will be a fluke, but I am mentally preparing myself for a teardown.
 
I don't know what the grade oil Suzuki recommend for the V-Strom but if it is 5W40 then going to 20W50 is an appreciable change (mindful that the actual cSt values of the particular oils may not be that dissimilar).
Possibly the UOA might look better with the thicker oil but does this necessarily mean the bike is better lubricated, especially for the long run?
OR does the UOA say it all?

I personally would try another oil in the correct weight and see what results that gets.
 
I run T6 in a Suzuki scooter that I rode in the winter. It didn't like it. Consumption was crazy. T5 15w40 did way better in that bike.
 
I would suggest using a synthetic motorcycle 10W-40 motorcycle specific oil and not a 5W-40 diesel oil like Rotella. You will get smoother shifting with a 10W-40 motorcycle oil. You don't run a motorcycle in winter time temperatures so the thinner 5W base oil has no advantages in a motorcycle but a few disadvantages - why motorcycle specified oils are never 5W.

I suspect the metals are from the oil immersed clutch plates.

Also change your oil as specified in the manual, usually every 12,000km or 7500miles and not more frequently, which is just a waste, especially with synthetic.

Heavier 50W oils in most water cooled Japanese bikes are just for Texas like summertime temperatures and never for close to freezing spring and fall temperatures, if you live in the northern US or Canada, 10W-40 works all season long.
 
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