10 year old oil

[Canyon63]

I bought my 2001 ST1100 a few months ago. The gentleman I bought it off of was the original owner and took very good care of the bike. It had what looked like brand new tires on it when I bought it, but they were almost 10 years old, so I changed them out for new ones. He said he did an oil change recently, but I'm not so sure. Lastly, he gave me a box of 12 quarts of oil and a filter. The oil is Formula Shell oil, SAE10W-40. I rode the bike for about 1500 miles and decided to change the oil out. I was about to use the oil he gave me, and I looked at the bottom of one of the quarts to see how old the oil was, and its from 2009. I looked online and it indicated that most oils will have a shelf life of up to 5 years, and most say use within 2 years. So question is, would you use 10 year old oil in your bike? btw, the oil was in the original box it came in, and the box was in good condition, so it looks like it was stored in a clean dry place.

Just in case your wondering, I did not use it in my bike. I was just wondering what ya'll thought.

 

[SMSW]

This question came up recently. You could search the oil threads for it, but from what I recall, the consensus was that oil has no expiration date. However, the additive package that differentiates motorcycle oil (and diesel engine oil) from automotive oil might have a shelf life. Posters were split on whether to use the old oil or not, with at least one post pointing out that the oil has been in the ground for thousands of years and is no spring chicken. Better question is what labels are on the oil? It is my understanding that only Shell Rotella meets current standards for mc's and shell recently removed that certification. Does it have the JASO label? Ten years ago energy conserving oil was probably rare, but does the can say that (which makes it a no-no because the engine oil also bathes the clutch)?

 

[Igofar]

I'm guessing if you look at the back of the bottle it's probably SF SG or SJ oil still.

 

[bdalameda]

Here it comes! A new way to sneak in an oil thread - hang onto your hats!!

 

[st11ray]

No. And I wouldn't use Formula Shell 10w30 or 40 if it was brand new. FS is an energy conserving oil and may not do well with your wet clutch. Use Shell Rotella T6 5W40 and you will be good to go .

 

[bdalameda]

 

[Daboo]

Shell's web page for Rotella T6 lists one of the certifications as JASO MA.

As for the 10 year old oil, I'd probably use it. I once pulled out some snack bars that I'd purchased at Costco and found they were 10 years past the pull date. Tasted good. Kept everything inside flowing well. But I would stay away from it if it has anything indicating Energy Conserving on the can.

Chances are you can offer it on Freecycle or Craigslist for free and someone will use it. If nothing more, it'd work great to lube a chain saw blade.

Chris

 

[beemerphile]

10 year old oil? I've seen oil threads that were older than that. We'll see how well this one ages. I predict that no minds will be changed by the regurgitation of the same old talking points, making it the definition of pointless

This thread needs puppy pictures.

 

[TourNut]

I would only use the best , reasonable -priced oil in my motorcycles & cars , that being Rotella T6 for me , that old stuff would be used in a dying old lawnmower or the chain saw blade .

 

[Daboo]

10 year old oil? I've seen oil threads that were older than that. We'll see how well this one ages. I predict that no minds will be changed by the regurgitation of the same old talking points, making it the definition of pointless This thread needs puppy pictures.

My daughter's Norwegian Forest cat. It's over 20 lbs. Yuge.

Chris

 

[Canyon63]

My daughter's Norwegian Forest cat. It's over 20 lbs. Yuge.

Chris

We used to have a main coon cat that was almost 20 pounds. People would see him sitting in the driveway and mistake him for a racoon!

 

[beemerphile]

Face Palm Kitty is appropriate for an oil hread...

 

[Bush]

We used to have a main coon cat that was almost 20 pounds. People would see him sitting in the driveway and mistake him for a racoon!

Got an older car, or truck? Use the Shell in that and buy something new for the bike.

The reason I say "older" is because most new engines now want 0W-20.

 

[Larry Fine]

So, use 1 qt of the old with 2 qt of new for each change.

 

[CYYJ]

Well, since it's an older motorcycle, wouldn't it make sense to use an older oil in it?

Michael

 

[dwalby]

We used to have a main coon cat that was almost 20 pounds. People would see him sitting in the driveway and mistake him for a racoon!

I had a maine coon as well, weighed 21 lbs at its peak. I think the cat Daboo showed could in fact be a maine coon, it looks a lot like mine in the face and ears, but just a lot whiter. Not sure how much the fur color can vary, but Maine coons are typically large/heavy cats that prefer their owners use Rotella.

 

[Igofar]

See this Bella? This is a very small dinosaur, when it dies it will turn into oil
See what I did there....kept the oil thread going & a dog picture

 

[STumped]

I once pulled out some snack bars that I'd purchased at Costco and found they were 10 years past the pull date. Tasted good. Kept everything inside flowing well. But I would stay away from it if it has anything indicating Energy Conserving on the can.

I don't know about you, but if I ate something that was 10 years old and kept everything inside me flowing well.... I think I would like to conserve as much energy as I could on the can!

 

[sirbike]

@beemerphile
Here you go

 

[lomita]

Got yerself a couple of keepers there....

Would love to have a sidecar!