Recommended Oil?
- Thread starter mkphillips
- Start date
There are quite a few cheap motorcycle specific oils out there. No reason to use a none motorcycle specific oil at those prices. But I have used Mobil 1 Advanced Full Synthetic Motor Oil 15W-50, 5 Quart for $24 with good results and may use it again.
It is almost a 40 weight oil.
It is almost a 40 weight oil.
Last edited:
| PHYSICAL TESTS (click for test details) - a | Standard | Rotella T4 |
| TBN, mg KOH/g (ASTM D2896) | 10.04 | |
| Viscosity @ 100ºC, cSt (ASTM D445) | 12.5 to <16.3 | 15.0 |
| Viscosity @40ºC, cSt (ASTM D445) | 112 | |
| Viscosity Index (ASTM D2270) | 139 | |
| Viscosity @-20ºC mPa s (cP) (ASTM D5293) | 7,000 Max | 6,160 |
| ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS (click for test details) - a, b | ||
| Additives | ||
| Calcium, ppm | 2,045 | |
| Magnesium, ppm | 18 | |
| Phosphorus, ppm | 1,200 Max-c | 969 |
| Zinc, ppm | 1,070 | |
| Molybdenum, ppm | 3 | |
| Barium, ppm | <1 | |
| Boron, ppm | 179 | |
| Silicon, ppm | 4 | |
| Potassium, ppm | 8 | |
| Manganese, ppm | <1 | |
| Titanium, ppm | <1 | |
| Copper, ppm | <1 | |
| Sodium, ppm | 1 | |
| Vanadium, ppm | <1 | |
| Contaminants | ||
| Silver, ppm | <1 | |
| Aluminum, ppm | <1 | |
| Chromium, ppm | <1 | |
| Iron, ppm | <1 | |
| Nickel, ppm | <1 | |
| Lead, ppm | <1 | |
| Antimony, ppm | <1 | |
| Tin, p |
And for those who may not know, moly does not cause clutch problems and it is used in many well known motorcycle oils. If your clutch slips when you use high moly oils you need a new clutch not cheaper oil. Resource conserving and high moly are not the same thing.
Look at the levels of Zinc and Phosphorus in the motorcycle oils compared to none Motorcycle specific engine oils. Redline recommends this specific oil for the ST1300.
Look at the levels of Zinc and Phosphorus in the motorcycle oils compared to none Motorcycle specific engine oils. Redline recommends this specific oil for the ST1300.
Last edited:
Hang on, I'm confused, it's not winter, and we don't have coronavirus restrictions preventing travel...
What's the best oil? Blended dino, ideally fresh out of the blender, but equally good if it's sat on a shelf for the last 3 million years. (Sorry OP if this sounds harsh, but unknowingly to you, this thread will still be going next year!)
What's the best oil? Blended dino, ideally fresh out of the blender, but equally good if it's sat on a shelf for the last 3 million years. (Sorry OP if this sounds harsh, but unknowingly to you, this thread will still be going next year!)
So Red line is not JASO certified ? It states it's suitable for JASO applications............Funny Rotella says the same thing. The wheel goes round and round
Interesting isn’t it?
Moly and clutch problems. The moly used back in the day which did cause clutch problems when used in high quantities was molybdenum disulfide. Because of this it has not been used in that form in motorcycle oil since the 90s.
It could simply be that resource/energy conserving oils use molybdenum disulfide, which does indeed cause wet clutches to slip. Though on a VOA it looks the same because it just says Molybdenum, not what type of moly it is. So everyone freaks out about high moly.
And Molybdenum Disulfide can be used in any none motorcycle specific oil, which is a very good reason not to use it, unless it has very low molybdenum to begin with. I know they don’t use it in Mobil 1 15w50. I don’t know if it’s in the other grades but I do know a guys who I talked to who used Mobil 1 10w30 in his bike with no problems at all. It performed very well. I don’t know if it is still ok to use Mobil 1 10w30 with a wet clutch today because that conversation was many years ago.
Suitable for JASO applications just means they don’t use Molybdenum Disulfide in high quantities, if at all.
It could simply be that resource/energy conserving oils use molybdenum disulfide, which does indeed cause wet clutches to slip. Though on a VOA it looks the same because it just says Molybdenum, not what type of moly it is. So everyone freaks out about high moly.
And Molybdenum Disulfide can be used in any none motorcycle specific oil, which is a very good reason not to use it, unless it has very low molybdenum to begin with. I know they don’t use it in Mobil 1 15w50. I don’t know if it’s in the other grades but I do know a guys who I talked to who used Mobil 1 10w30 in his bike with no problems at all. It performed very well. I don’t know if it is still ok to use Mobil 1 10w30 with a wet clutch today because that conversation was many years ago.
Suitable for JASO applications just means they don’t use Molybdenum Disulfide in high quantities, if at all.
Last edited:
This one will not be going on forever. Someone will start a new one, the 765th oil thread . We already have 200 on final drive fluid, 48 on coolant and 66 on brake fluid with a total of 1,864 different opinions, give or take 50.
- Joined
- May 27, 2021
- Messages
- 1,032
- Age
- 63
- Location
- Coquitlam British Columbia Canada
- Bike
- 2009 ST1300
i guess along with whether an oil performs well engaging and disengaging, its also worth considering how it reacts chemically over time with the cluth lining materials; wonder if composition of that varies much between manufacturers.
“was it an african stinging oil or was it ahhh… don’t let the thread die…
“was it an african stinging oil or was it ahhh… don’t let the thread die…
yeah, I imagine there's probably a hammer forum somewhere where they debate metallurgy ad-infinitum to make sure they have the optimum steel for driving nails. The Internet has a way of turning the simplest stuff into a PhD thesis level debate. The thing I like about these threads though is I can chuckle to myself regarding how I've ignored or even done the opposite of the conventional forum wisdom for 25 years and 120k miles on my ST, and the thing still runs like it did the day I bought it.This one will not be going on forever. Someone will start a new one, the 765th oil thread . We already have 200 on final drive fluid, 48 on coolant and 66 on brake fluid with a total of 1,864 different opinions, give or take 50.
Thank the Lord you don't use 77.....