Can you help me chose a good oil for my sport bike?

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May 3, 2020
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Scranton, PA
Hi, I was wondering if you guys can give me some advice on choosing a good oil for my sportbike. I have a 2013 Yamaha R6. Right now I mainly ride street, but I'd like to start doing Trackdays this year as well. The two main oils I've been considering are the Motul 300V and Maxima Extra. My concerns with the Motul are the lack of any API and Jaso ratings and the supposed lack of detergent in the oil. I usually change my oil between 2-3K, so extended oil change intervals are not important to be. Should I be concerned about these things? As for the Maxima Extra, are there any disadvantages to such high zddp levels this oil supposedly has? My bike has a full aftermarket exhaust, so no cats or O2 sensor to worry about. I've also considered Amsoil's Metric M/C oil, just not sure whether or not Amsoil lives up to all the hype, and finally Mobil 1 4T. Do any of these oils consistently show better UOA reports? So, out of the oils I've listed, which one would you guys recommend for my R6? I really appreciate any advice you guys can give me!
 
When I had my SV650s I ran Rotella T4 15w40.
JasoMA rated (so it's good for the clutch) and a decent detergent pack meant it was great for my bike.
Since it's cheaper than "motorcycle oil's" out there, meant it's easy to source.
 
I'm running Motul 300V 4T in our four sportbikes. I've tried most of the oils out there, and the bikes just seem to run and shift best on the Motul 300V 4T.
 
Wal-Mart, yes Wal-Mart has Mobil 1 Motorcycle oil for a $10 a QT
They also carry Valvoline Syn Motorcycle oil for $7.xx a QT The more you buy the cheaper it is . Order $35 worth and it ships free with 2 day delivery.
 
Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Theres a guy on here that runs Mobil 1 5w30... im in it for his post.



As well...

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In the meantime...

I have stuck with Mobil 1 10w40 4T or 20w50 V-Twin for the past three years in my ZRX 1200. Shift quality doesn't fall off at a 5,000 mile oil change interval with either one and analysis shows the oil could go much longer. I'm going to see if my conscience (analysis says it will) will let me go at least 6,000 miles with 10w40 4T on the current oil change as long as shift quality stays consistent.

You say you're going to change oil at 2,000-3,000 miles. Rotella T4 15w40 is a good one simply because the synthetic oil advantage is in the longer oil change intervals without shift quality falling off in my opinion. Why pay more when you don't need to with a frequent oil change interval.

Since you asked for opinions, Mobil 1 10w40 4T gets my vote for $10 a quart. Amsoil would work great as well, I see it for around $14 a quart. Motul 300V is going to be considerably more expensive however the shorter oil change interval they recommend does fall in line with what you want to do, but has you spending a lot more money for not necessarily any additional protection benefit.

Analysis with any oil really doesn't show an advantage one way or the other. Conventional or synthetic they all come out about the same at the end of the day.

My main consideration is shift quality over the life of the oil and Mobil 1 does it with either one, 10w40 4T or 20W50 V-Twin.
 
M1 10W-40 Racing 4t motorcycle oil is a fantastic and very robust oil, available at WalMart for a good price and may in fact be the exact same product as a particular Motul...

Both the M1 and the Motul have high levels of components that act as detergents, calcium for example.

Use it with confidence. Change your oil regularly.
 
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Yamaha recommendations are limited to their brand of oil and to only a 40 or 50 grade... technically speaking either grade will meet or exceed your mileage expectations...

[Linked Image]
 
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OP, I've always had good service from the Maxima products I've used. I currently run Red Line in my m/c, and it maintains shift quality and general good fluid condition and performance for 10,000-mile drains. To be fair, that's with me putting that many or more miles on the bike each year.

In your situation, especially with so few miles on a drain, I'd be tempted to try a 15w40 all-fleet or diesel oil such as Rotella. I have generally thought Rotella's shift performance degrades too quickly, but again that's with me putting lots more miles on than the average rider.
 
Give it a try with Rotella T415w40 and if shift quality starts to fall off before 2,000-3,000 miles look for another oil. If it doesn't, you may have found your oil.
 
Originally Posted by Jgelack
My concerns with the Motul are the lack of any API and Jaso ratings and the supposed lack of detergent in the oil. I usually change my oil between 2-3K, so extended oil change intervals are not important to be. Should I be concerned about these things?


JASO has approved 1,537 oils as of Dec 2019 which covers virtually
everything on the market... From 0w to mono grades... from 30 to 60
multi grades... from Auto to Cycle oils and yet no oil has ever been listed
by JASO for defeating a wet clutch... fact is high mileage not our oil is
the observed cause of a clutch loosing its grip...

Originally Posted by Jgelack

As for the Maxima Extra, are there any disadvantages to such high zddp levels this oil supposedly has?


Higher zddp levels does not provide any more wear protection than normal levels... rather the higher zddp levels the more miles the protection will last...
but thats a moot point given your plans to shorten the oil change interval of 2 to 3K

Originally Posted by Jgelack

My bike has a full aftermarket exhaust, so no cats or O2 sensor to worry about. I've also considered Amsoil's Metric M/C oil, just not sure whether or not Amsoil lives up to all the hype


Amsoil lives up to the hype but 80% of Amsoil is Mobil 1 because in their view Mobil 1 is the premium
POA... so its up to you whether you want to spend $12.95 qt for Amsoil or $5.40 qt Mobil 1...
 
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Originally Posted by BusyLittleShop
Originally Posted by Jgelack
My concerns with the Motul are the lack of any API and Jaso ratings and the supposed lack of detergent in the oil. I usually change my oil between 2-3K, so extended oil change intervals are not important to be. Should I be concerned about these things?

JASO has approved 1,537 oils as of Dec 2019 which covers virtually
everything on the market... From 0w to mono grades ... from 30 to 60
multi grades... from Auto to Cycle oils and yet no oil has ever been listed
by JASO for defeating a wet clutch... fact is high mileage not our oil is
the observed cause of a clutch loosing its grip...


May 1, 2020 JASO 4-Cycle Oil List. There is maybe one 0W, and not many xW-30.

http://www.jalos.or.jp/onfile/pdf/4T_EV_LIST.pdf
 
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix


May 1, 2020 JASO 4-Cycle Oil List. There is maybe one 0W, and not many xW-30.

http://www.jalos.or.jp/onfile/pdf/4T_EV_LIST.pdf


Negative... the list has 10 0W and 332 xW-30... so thats a total of 342 JASO approve oils good for wet clutches that could also qualify as Energy Conserving...
more evidence that high mileage not our oil is the observed cause of a clutch loosing its grip...
 
Originally Posted by BusyLittleShop
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix


May 1, 2020 JASO 4-Cycle Oil List. There is maybe one 0W, and not many xW-30.

http://www.jalos.or.jp/onfile/pdf/4T_EV_LIST.pdf

Negative... the list has 10 0W and 332 xW-30... so thats a total of 342 JASO approve oils good for wet clutches that could also qualify as Energy Conserving...
more evidence that high mileage not our oil is the observed cause of a clutch loosing its grip...


Look at what brand they are ... how many 0W are sold at the local brick store in the USA? Maybe just the "Pro Honda" only. Honda is big into 10W-30 I see ... lots to choose from for that RC45.
grin2.gif
 
In response to 02SE's post, out of curiosity, have you had any UOA's done on the 300V? If so, how were the results? How often are you changing it?
 
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Sorry for all the questions, I'm still learning this stuff. So, all of the oils that I'm considering are basically going to give me the same protection, the only real difference will be how long the shift quality lasts for? I figured the Motul or Maxima would have provided better protection, especially for a bike that will see a lot of track time/high rpm's, due to the Class 5 ester base.
Whereas the Amsoil and Mobil 1 are class 3, I believe. How important is the base stock in providing better protection for the engine?
 
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