I've gona and bought the wrong oil, haven't I?

[OctoberNotice]

So I kind of mindlessly went out and got 15w-40 Rotella T heavy Duty oil.

Here's a link to it.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/ac...motor-oil/_/N-26qq?itemIdentifier=690222_0_0_

I can't use this is the bike can I?

 

[Classic]

20W50 is what you need. Rotella T is JASO certified so it will work but i'd recommend returning it and getting Valvoline Motorcycle oil.

 

[KeithB]

I have used the 15-40 on my old bikes with no issues that I can see so far.
I do ride in a bit cooler climate at the start and end of the riding season.

 

[Tomterrific]

Allot of folks use Rottella T as it had a good reputation as a superior oil for cheap. The formula has changed but the reputation lives on. I think the Rotella is fine but I use MC labled oil. A safe oil to use would be MC labled oil in 20w-50.

Tom

 

[gggGary]

Rotella 15-40 is my usual fill. I stay with a diesel or off road oil because they have more ZDDP than is allowed in oils designed for catalytic equipped automobiles. Now that MCs are coming equipped with cats I assume MC oils will no longer have much ZDDP either???

Blurb from mobil 1

Question: Has Zinc Been Removed from Motor Oils?I am having thrust bearing failure in a 4.6 modified performance engine. This is a street/strip engine. Many of my friends are having the same problem. I think it is the result of the removal of zinc from the oil. I was told by two separate racing engine builders that the EPA ordered the removal of the zinc from over-the-counter motor oil. I use Mobil 1 5W-20. Is this true and do you think a zinc additive might help?-- Randy Lovejoy, Americas, GA
Answer: The active ingredient that you are talking about is phosphorus which is added thru a component called ZDDP. For products that meet the new ILSAC GF-4 specification the phosphorus levels for the oil must be less than 800 ppm phosphorus. The ILSAC level for phosphorus has been reduced to protect the catalytic converter and other emission protection equipment. The engine manufacturers are confident that this level of phosphorus will protect both new and older engines. However, there are Mobil 1 products which have a higher level of phosphorus (phos) and can be used in engines in racing or high performance applications; see the attached table.

Caveat; My typical fill is changing the oil on barn finds after long disuse. I expect the next owner will change oil again fairly soon. As a rule I don't put many miles on any one motorcycle.

A little more looking showed that 40 weights are allowed more ZDDP (1100) than 30 weights (800) whether for auto use or not.... Specifying oil is always a deep subject with little clear light since few will go through several full engine life cycles on one oil and do a tear down analysis of wear patterns (or failure mode). Without that it's mostly conjecture.

 

[CDNTX650]

i usually run diesel 15-40 in mine, but i had to use up some amsoil 10-40 so thats whats in there right now.