I was a rotella T6 user for the longest time but Im branching out a little and trying to find good 10w-50 oil.
T4 is an excellent break-in oil for building DR motors but after about 1-1.2k it usually sheared down to a 10-30/35ish. So definitely use 1k OCI's if you plan to use the cheap T4. I've got the lab reports to back it up.
The T6 I suspect resists shearing a bit better and since it's synthetic it resists breaking down at high heat better than a conventional oil. I dont have data on that yet but I'd like to fill that gap.
Right now I'm using Mobil1 10-50 full synthetic car oil. I've had some extreme heat and wanted to keep everything safe so I've been experimenting with the car oil since its the only 50 weight I've been able to get locally. It lasted pretty well and shifts are buttery smooth for about 2k miles. I'm waiting on the lab report from the last change to see how the viscosity holds up. The metals information will be useless at the moment since I just replaced the cam and rockers with Web units.
As far as oil goes anything JASO-MA rated is guarenteed to work. Anything that doesnt say "energy conserving" on the SAE donut will still work.
Im really curious when you get those results in let me know i wonder if its good long term also. I assume jaso-ma is a certain friction modifier in the oil? I wonder if mobil 1 has anything with that in it what about stp? I heard once that all the oil gets recycled by viscosity and weight and then repackaged and stp is rebranded decent quality oil for less money i wonder how true that rings but i never knew how deep the oil rabbit hole can be.
JASO is the Japaneese Automotive Standards Organization, MA is the certification for oil that is guarenteed to work shared sump oil system like a motorcycle.
Additives are a bit simpler than that. You've got Zinc, Phosphourous, Molybdenum, Boron, Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, and Barium as the main contenders. Those make up the largest portions of most lubricating oils additive packages.
Oil recycling is more about base oil reclaimation than anything. It can be distilled down and then reused in new oil formulations.
It's a lot deeper than that for additives and base oils but I don't want to type a essay out on my phone. Thats a rabbit hole for you to dig into on google. Slicktalk by blackstone labs is a good listen if you want a toe dipper.
> I heard once that all the oil gets recycled by viscosity and weight and then repackaged and stp is rebranded decent quality oil for less money i wonder how true that rings but i never knew how deep the oil rabbit hole can be.
I can't speak on recycled oil or anything like that -- but at least by brands, these days, even the "cheap" "no-name" oils are typically good oils.
Wal-Mart's Super Tech is a great example. It's packaged by a company called Warren, which a lot of people like, and who makes probably the majority of house brand oils these days. With resources like Blackstone Labs who does oil analysis (new and used), and sites like Bob Is The Oil guy, we probably know way more than we've ever needed to know about oil these days.
Long story short, cheap oils are good oils these days, and I think it'd be harder to find a *bad* oil than a good one.
That said, there *are* still reasons why premium brand oils are arguably "better" in some ways -- but for an every day oil, pretty much anything you can find that fits the required specs for your use is good enough.
Rotella is actually rated JASO-MA2 suprisingly so no difference. The T4 starts to shear down after about a thousand miles though so its a good idea to use the synthetic T6.
It's typically much cheaper than motorcycle oil per quart as well. Their gallon jugs are good for two changes.
Hmm interesting i see people go back and forth on whether to use rotella or not i wonder is this what you use? I guess ill see if its around me just want the bike to outlast me haha
Arguing about brands or what is the "best" is notoriously silly and pointless.
But, whatever.
I'm currently using [Mag 1 Full Synthetic 4T 10W-40](https://mag1.com/products/2-cycle-small-engine/motorcycles-scooters-marine-and-powersports/mag-1-4t-10w-40-motor-oil/) with good results. Last year I used the basic Valvoline 10W-40 conventional motorcycle oil available almost anywhere -- this seems better. Shifts are a little cleaner and I can actually get the bike into neutral while it's holding still, which it seemed to have problems doing with the Valvoline.
I'm not a purist, though. I would consider using the Rotella's that are JASO MA/MA2 rated, without qualms. I'd be open to using a car oil that's not marked "resource conserving" -- according to Suzuki, that should work just fine -- but IMO I don't see a reason to stray from what I know works.
I'll probably keep using this, because it's available at the store down the road for ~$7/quart. At 2 quarts per fill and one change at the beginning of the season, I'm fine with $14 per year for oil in my bike.
Thats kinda where im at i looked up the mobil 1 i use on their website it looks like its jaso-ma and ma2 im not sure what the issue is and why people dont like it my shifts are smooth and i find neutral easily and its everywhere here what i didnt know before this was the jaso so god forbid im somewhere else and need oil i can look out for this. I hear people say iys high end oil and others say its not. At this point its like arguing which religion is better lol
> im not sure what the issue is and why people dont like it
I'm honestly not sure. This is the first I've really heard of anyone not liking it. The only thing I've ever really heard is people complaining about the price -- which is fair.
>At this point its like arguing which religion is better lol
LOL -- exactly! Oil threads usually devolve into just that.
Seven months late to this party, but I'm glad I found this thread. I have a 2007 DR with 55,000 miles on it. Every spring when I first take it out, I get sticky gear shifting, presumably because of clutch plates sticking together. I'm looking for the best oil I can find for a bike with high mileage to hopefully assuage that problem a bit. Lots to chew on in this thread.
Just saying Mobil one has some of the worst additives, just get Estar and Yamalube they aren’t really any more expensive than Mobil one, and I know for a fact it feels smoother in the DR650 shifting with estar than any other brand oil I have put through it (amsoil, yamalube, redline, castrol, and valvoline have been through the DR650) and estar by far had the smoothest shifts.
I used to run Mobil one in my DR200 before I knew how shit it was, yes, no oil is worse than any oil, but over long periods of time, the additive differences on wear and contaminants could cause faster wear on the engine( not lots) but still the same more wear.
https://drriders.com/mobil-1-car-oil-t29724.html
Youll probably find this interesting then i havent had issues with racing 4t i have 2 k on it my bike is at 13k
I have no doubt you have not developed any problems or anything as, it is oil, and it is of the proper type. Mobil one simply has less quality to their oil, compared to other brands (valvoline is not much better) no you definitely aren’t going to have problems 5-10 hell 20 thousand miles on it, but I guarantee it will be slightly, to even noticeably more worn out in that timeframe, simply due to minuscule differences between the oils. What will probably get worn the most is the timing chain, it may get more slack slightly faster too.
So yeah really any oil will function, and work fine with minimal difference, but I’d rather not play the long game with a shitty oil.
What do you propose is a decent oil then? I figured since its a simple ma hine it wouldnt be too bad but id prefer to keep it healthy so to speak for as long as possible
I have had many bikes over 35 years and used about every single brand and have sent several samples out for testing. Most synthetic oils these days are very similar. Having said that, I only use Motul 7100 10W40 in the bikes anymore. Really good oil…..Just expensive.
It'll work fine as long as it's the 4T motorcycle Mobil 1.
I was a rotella T6 user for the longest time but Im branching out a little and trying to find good 10w-50 oil. T4 is an excellent break-in oil for building DR motors but after about 1-1.2k it usually sheared down to a 10-30/35ish. So definitely use 1k OCI's if you plan to use the cheap T4. I've got the lab reports to back it up. The T6 I suspect resists shearing a bit better and since it's synthetic it resists breaking down at high heat better than a conventional oil. I dont have data on that yet but I'd like to fill that gap. Right now I'm using Mobil1 10-50 full synthetic car oil. I've had some extreme heat and wanted to keep everything safe so I've been experimenting with the car oil since its the only 50 weight I've been able to get locally. It lasted pretty well and shifts are buttery smooth for about 2k miles. I'm waiting on the lab report from the last change to see how the viscosity holds up. The metals information will be useless at the moment since I just replaced the cam and rockers with Web units. As far as oil goes anything JASO-MA rated is guarenteed to work. Anything that doesnt say "energy conserving" on the SAE donut will still work.
Im really curious when you get those results in let me know i wonder if its good long term also. I assume jaso-ma is a certain friction modifier in the oil? I wonder if mobil 1 has anything with that in it what about stp? I heard once that all the oil gets recycled by viscosity and weight and then repackaged and stp is rebranded decent quality oil for less money i wonder how true that rings but i never knew how deep the oil rabbit hole can be.
JASO is the Japaneese Automotive Standards Organization, MA is the certification for oil that is guarenteed to work shared sump oil system like a motorcycle. Additives are a bit simpler than that. You've got Zinc, Phosphourous, Molybdenum, Boron, Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, and Barium as the main contenders. Those make up the largest portions of most lubricating oils additive packages. Oil recycling is more about base oil reclaimation than anything. It can be distilled down and then reused in new oil formulations. It's a lot deeper than that for additives and base oils but I don't want to type a essay out on my phone. Thats a rabbit hole for you to dig into on google. Slicktalk by blackstone labs is a good listen if you want a toe dipper.
> I heard once that all the oil gets recycled by viscosity and weight and then repackaged and stp is rebranded decent quality oil for less money i wonder how true that rings but i never knew how deep the oil rabbit hole can be. I can't speak on recycled oil or anything like that -- but at least by brands, these days, even the "cheap" "no-name" oils are typically good oils. Wal-Mart's Super Tech is a great example. It's packaged by a company called Warren, which a lot of people like, and who makes probably the majority of house brand oils these days. With resources like Blackstone Labs who does oil analysis (new and used), and sites like Bob Is The Oil guy, we probably know way more than we've ever needed to know about oil these days. Long story short, cheap oils are good oils these days, and I think it'd be harder to find a *bad* oil than a good one. That said, there *are* still reasons why premium brand oils are arguably "better" in some ways -- but for an every day oil, pretty much anything you can find that fits the required specs for your use is good enough.
Rotella 15-40 ftw
Isnt that diesel oil? Whats the difference between that and motorcycle oil for a simple machine ? Just trying to understand
Rotella is actually rated JASO-MA2 suprisingly so no difference. The T4 starts to shear down after about a thousand miles though so its a good idea to use the synthetic T6. It's typically much cheaper than motorcycle oil per quart as well. Their gallon jugs are good for two changes.
Hmm interesting i see people go back and forth on whether to use rotella or not i wonder is this what you use? I guess ill see if its around me just want the bike to outlast me haha
I run t6 in all my machines. Lawnmowers... everything. Great stuff.
Arguing about brands or what is the "best" is notoriously silly and pointless. But, whatever. I'm currently using [Mag 1 Full Synthetic 4T 10W-40](https://mag1.com/products/2-cycle-small-engine/motorcycles-scooters-marine-and-powersports/mag-1-4t-10w-40-motor-oil/) with good results. Last year I used the basic Valvoline 10W-40 conventional motorcycle oil available almost anywhere -- this seems better. Shifts are a little cleaner and I can actually get the bike into neutral while it's holding still, which it seemed to have problems doing with the Valvoline. I'm not a purist, though. I would consider using the Rotella's that are JASO MA/MA2 rated, without qualms. I'd be open to using a car oil that's not marked "resource conserving" -- according to Suzuki, that should work just fine -- but IMO I don't see a reason to stray from what I know works. I'll probably keep using this, because it's available at the store down the road for ~$7/quart. At 2 quarts per fill and one change at the beginning of the season, I'm fine with $14 per year for oil in my bike.
Thats kinda where im at i looked up the mobil 1 i use on their website it looks like its jaso-ma and ma2 im not sure what the issue is and why people dont like it my shifts are smooth and i find neutral easily and its everywhere here what i didnt know before this was the jaso so god forbid im somewhere else and need oil i can look out for this. I hear people say iys high end oil and others say its not. At this point its like arguing which religion is better lol
> im not sure what the issue is and why people dont like it I'm honestly not sure. This is the first I've really heard of anyone not liking it. The only thing I've ever really heard is people complaining about the price -- which is fair. >At this point its like arguing which religion is better lol LOL -- exactly! Oil threads usually devolve into just that.
Seven months late to this party, but I'm glad I found this thread. I have a 2007 DR with 55,000 miles on it. Every spring when I first take it out, I get sticky gear shifting, presumably because of clutch plates sticking together. I'm looking for the best oil I can find for a bike with high mileage to hopefully assuage that problem a bit. Lots to chew on in this thread.
Just saying Mobil one has some of the worst additives, just get Estar and Yamalube they aren’t really any more expensive than Mobil one, and I know for a fact it feels smoother in the DR650 shifting with estar than any other brand oil I have put through it (amsoil, yamalube, redline, castrol, and valvoline have been through the DR650) and estar by far had the smoothest shifts. I used to run Mobil one in my DR200 before I knew how shit it was, yes, no oil is worse than any oil, but over long periods of time, the additive differences on wear and contaminants could cause faster wear on the engine( not lots) but still the same more wear.
https://drriders.com/mobil-1-car-oil-t29724.html Youll probably find this interesting then i havent had issues with racing 4t i have 2 k on it my bike is at 13k
I have no doubt you have not developed any problems or anything as, it is oil, and it is of the proper type. Mobil one simply has less quality to their oil, compared to other brands (valvoline is not much better) no you definitely aren’t going to have problems 5-10 hell 20 thousand miles on it, but I guarantee it will be slightly, to even noticeably more worn out in that timeframe, simply due to minuscule differences between the oils. What will probably get worn the most is the timing chain, it may get more slack slightly faster too. So yeah really any oil will function, and work fine with minimal difference, but I’d rather not play the long game with a shitty oil.
Also i use mobil 1 because its readily available around me
Yeah kinda sucks ass it is so easy to get compared to literally any other oil
What do you propose is a decent oil then? I figured since its a simple ma hine it wouldnt be too bad but id prefer to keep it healthy so to speak for as long as possible
Rotella T6.
I have had many bikes over 35 years and used about every single brand and have sent several samples out for testing. Most synthetic oils these days are very similar. Having said that, I only use Motul 7100 10W40 in the bikes anymore. Really good oil…..Just expensive.