Changing Oil - choosing the right oil

[Modified96]

You can buy Retella at Walmart and at any Auto parts store.

[fropleyquark]

You can buy Retella at Walmart and at any Auto parts store.

[dans96fzr600]

good thread, I changed my oil a few weeks back and ended up going to a suzuki shop (only one around). I bought suzuki oil but I'm thinking the suzukis might be slightly different because now my clutch slips. Might be a dumb Q but where can I get that Rotella oil?

Walmart, Advance Auto, Auto Zone etc Walmart here even sells it by the quart unlike the autoparts stores they seem to only have gallon jugs.

[orlandoFZR]

Use whatever your bike likes the most. My bike did not like Shell Rotella T at all. The first oil change I used the 5w-40 synthetic and a shift fork guide rod bent really bad after some hard riding and left the bike incapacitated. After I replaced the transmission(already had a bad 2nd gear before shell) and guide rod, I started using regular triple protection 15w-40. My bike than started burning oil which it never had before(smoky start up and on a 400mile trip I used almost a quart) and the transmission started getting louder(whiny) and louder as time went on.

My last oil change I switched to Valvoline 4 stroke motorcycle oil 10w-40 and it's a major difference. The tranny shifts a lot smoother, but is still louder than normal(I think whatever harm that may have been done is done) and my bike oil consumption has dropped considerably(only added a few oz on a 300mile trip I just did and smokes very little if at all on startup).

Maybe it's all just coincidental events that happened when I used shell, but I'm never using it again. My bike has @35k on it. Just my experience.

[AraiPnai]

I was told that once you go synthetic, it's not a good idea to go backwards. So I don't want to use it if it's not a good idea in the first place anyway. Plus it's kinda pricey going full-synth. But brand names I think make no difference?

Hi,
Well a friend who is literally " a rocket scientist" (fuels / oils is his specialist subject ) once told me that wet clutches must not have additives for anti-friction whether they be synth or dino oil.

As to what was better dino or synth he said full synth as the shear level (ie the oil protection from metal on metal was far higher ) as to how to do a swap on a bike was just replace dino with synth & run as normal no break in required as synth tends to run thinner but with better protection at engine temps.

However going back to dino after synth would take longer for the synth to be "moved out" by dino so for awhile you will be running both BUT what ever you do NEVER flush an engine with solvent to remove an oil.

If the clutch plates get loaded with anti-stick addatives take them out & replace. IF you are lucky soaking the plates MAY remove the additive but without ultra-sonics as well he considered them disposable

DISCLAIMER he now works for BEL_RAY so......................... Nerd

that's what i was told more or less, but less technical.. thanks! ^.^

now, the ratings on the oil... any difference with them? is one number better to use during certain weather? (i always get them confused) cuz i know it has something to do with how well it can stand up in hotter or colder weather?

mucho thank you all! ^.^

[smoktt2020]

I have almost 1,500 miles on some Mobil 1 full syn 15w-50w.... the bike has 21000 mileage ....I made me a dip-stick to take a good look at my oil , I un-screw the filler plug and insert the stick ..... Wow @! the Mobil 1 looked like i had just put it in there ... I just don't see changing engine oil when it still looks new ..... gold in color and smells like new oil .... that Mobil 1 oil is killer stuff ... as far as my wet-clutch , maybe it did slip a little from 1st --- 2nd , then again i might not had fully released the clutch lever all the way out at the time during the shifts .... it was night time , i had almost slammed into a deer , then 15 minutes after that , i barely just missed a couple of huge raccoons ..... then i did hit a plastic bottle or baseball with my front tire ... holy smoke ! almost went down on that one .... i think i'll wait for some better lights and some day-times before i check out the wet-clutch VS full syn.... oil deal ....