Rotella T4

[gsrick]

I got my last T6 at Walmart for $19 and change. Compare that to 11.99 to 14.99 for Mobil 1 full synthetic and it's a no brainer for me.

[gsrick]

Ditto, only for 5 years.

Technically I guess it's been 5 years. Eric turned me onto it in 2013.

[leftlostcommonsense]

I've looked at the clutch plates and adjusted the free play so I don't think that's my problem. The gear box is just clunky with straight T4. The bike pulls fine, never slips, bike rolls freely when the clutch handle is pressed in. It's just clunky when changing gears. Anyone have an extra set of plates or a whole clutch pack with good plates they'd be willing to part with? I've been thinking about changing the friction plates anyhow. I know ebay carries them but would much rather buy from someone on here if possible. I think a different brand oil is in my future.

[Downs]

I used to do the Rotella thing for a long time. A few years ago I said screw it and went to JASO MA/MA2 rated oils and have been happy. They cost a bit more but I also do occasional oil analysis and do extended drain intervals on all my bikes/cars.

[leftlostcommonsense]

I used to do the Rotella thing for a long time. A few years ago I said screw it and went to JASO MA/MA2 rated oils and have been happy. They cost a bit more but I also do occasional oil analysis and do extended drain intervals on all my bikes/cars.

Rotella T4 is JASO MA/MA2 rated along with a huge paragraph of other ratings. At my local ABC I compared it to the motorcycle oils and Rotella has alot more ratings than any of them which would make one think it's the better oil. I just think my bike is finicky and I need to move on to something else. I think I'll either go with t6 or a whole other brand altogether. Anyone ever use Delo 400? I can get it within 2 miles of me just not sure if it's jaso ma rated.

BTW how often should one be changing the oil when running T4? I'm seeing people say 3000 miles but after 500 miles I'm to the point I can no longer stand the shift feel.

[Nessism]

I'm confused too. The first post states that the addition of a shot of STP fixed up the shifting. What happened?

3000 miles on T4 is fine.

BTW...one of my Suzuki's had a hard time finding neutral despite normal running otherwise. No amount of clutch adjustment helped. I had a brand new clutch pack, both steel and fiber plates, and threw that in and from that point on the shifting improved and finding neutral was easy.

[derwood]

[QUOTE= I refuse to pay $15 a quart for the motorcycle oil so if that's your suggestion mosey on...
If there's another diesel oil suitable and within the same price range please let me know.

The stop leak oil treatment I'm speaking of. It's thick and sticky like honey but has quieted down valve train noise quite a bit since using it and also stopped gasket weeping too.[/QUOTE]
I refuse to pay $15 a quart , but I still find lots of motor cycle oils for less.... 10w40 is much nicer than 15w40 or 20w50 as far as shifting and clutch drag is concerned, suzuki branded oil is around 7 bucks a litre, Castrol motorcycle oil is cheaper yet.....

i wouldnt put STP stuff in my bikes....

[leftlostcommonsense]

Left

I'm missing something in this long discussion. Have you used T4 for a long time and only recently developed the shifting difficulty, or did you just recently decide to try T4.

If you just changed brands then go back to what was working before T4 before looking for another solution. If you've always used T4 and it's started to fail you after the last change then I can better understand your grasping for an alternative. I think Nessism is on the right track and oil is not your problem.

I've only had the bike going on 6 months now and T4 is all I've used and it's always been that way. It's rideable and not too much of an issue I just know it's not supposed to be that way. The zddp addition smoothed it out so I don't think it's something wrong with the gears. The bike had 2 previous owners before me, one was a police officer that did 14k miles on it and the owner I got it from only did 5-600 miles before parking it due to carb issues he said he never even did an oil change. When I changed the oil the first time after getting the bike the oil looked new like it would straight from the bottle. I highly doubt it's been abused. I spoke with the guy I bought the bike from today and he said the original owner said he used nothing but suzuki oil in it and nothing else. My bike has the 5 speed, maybe being ran on nothing but suzuki oil it's entire life has caused it to be a bit picky idk. I'll figure it out though.\

[leftlostcommonsense]

I refuse to pay $15 a quart , but I still find lots of motor cycle oils for less.... 10w40 is much nicer than 15w40 or 20w50 as far as shifting and clutch drag is concerned, suzuki branded oil is around 7 bucks a litre, Castrol motorcycle oil is cheaper yet.....

i wouldnt put STP stuff in my bikes....

The only reason I added to STP was for the zddp plus it's getting time to change oil again anyways so figured it wouldn't hurt. I can't find anything around here that isn't energy conserving or has the jaso ma rating so I'm stuck with t4 or gambling on another diesel oil that doesn't have the JASO MA rating. Guess I'll be ordering online if I want suzi oil. Living in rural texas it's not like I can ask people at the auto store about any specs as they're lost and have no idea whatsoever what I mean by wet clutch. T4 is the only oil I know for a fact is ok to use that I can actually find, I can't even find t6. Any decent popular oils that will work and are fairly common to find at just about any parts store? Nearest dealership or walmart is a good hours drive from me or more.

[Nessism]

Rotella is the only diesel oil that I know of that's MA certified. Motorcycles are an infinitesimal part of the market and most diesel oil manufacturers don't bother to test for the MA spec. Regardless, I think diesel oil is fine for motorcycles and I've yet to have any issues. I recently bought some Mystic semi-synthetic for my bike and it's good stuff. More ZDDP than most other diesel oils. I believe Tractor Supply sells Mystic so it's common stuff. Another popular oil for motorcycle guys that's not MA certified is Mobil 1 15W-50. This stuff has a bunch of ZDDP and I've never heard of anyone having clutch issues after using it. At the end of the day though each person needs to use a product that makes them feel comfortable. If that means MA certified oil than you best stay to motorcycle oil or that Rotella. Those are the only game in town as far as I know.

[bonanzadave]

I recently bought some Mystic semi-synthetic for my bike and it's good stuff.

Really ? Im not the only one ? Ive been using it in my Boat (3.0L) and Bike for several years and with a $25 rebate on a 5 gallon pail you can get it for a buck and a 1/2 a qt. Like with any 4 stroke motor (the 3.0L Mercruiser included) I couldn't justify (im cheap) 40 bucks a gallon for oil.

I'm not the best sounding board for Mystik cause I just don't put that many hours on but after several years of using it both machines still run (and shift) fine.

[tkent02]

Been using Rotella T4 and T6 for a decade or more in all of my bikes and cars, have recently noticed the DR350 and the GS 550 getting a little bit harder to shift. Not a clutch thing, it does it when shifting with or without the clutch. Makes sense that it's because they changed their formulation. Think I might try that ZDDP additive, thanks for the heads up. Also the tip about lubing the shift shaft where it goes through the cover, good idea.

[GS1150Pilot]

I stopped using Rotella and went back to using Spectro on the 1150 before I sold it. I'll probably use Spectro in the 900.

[wymple]

I put STP in my 82 GS1100, and the clutch slipped horribly. Several oil changes and it still slipped some. I had to disassemble the clutch and wash the fiber plates down with gasoline to get it all out. STP is too slippery for a wet clutch, or at least one trying to handle 100 HP.

[leftlostcommonsense]

I put STP in my 82 GS1100, and the clutch slipped horribly. Several oil changes and it still slipped some. I had to disassemble the clutch and wash the fiber plates down with gasoline to get it all out. STP is too slippery for a wet clutch, or at least one trying to handle 100 HP.

Further up the thread I put a pic of the stuff I used. I only added it because it's loaded with zddp. I'm not sure the friction plates in my clutch has ever been changed. I only added a couple ounces but haven't had the least bit of problem with slippage. Your bad experience may be from a different stp product or you added too much. Anyhow the stuff I used worked but once I find an oil (next few days) that doesn't cause clunky shifting I'll no longer be adding anything. I'm with you when it comes to additives I don't like em. When I first got my bike I bought some regular car oil, made sure it wasn't energy conserving, started slipping immediately. I changed the oil to T4 and rode it a couple hundred miles and still had slip. I ended up pouring couple ounces of seafoam in the crankcase, ran 20 miles, changed the oil/filter and havent had slippage since. Maybe I was lucky idk but a few ounces of seafoam sure beats several oil changes lol. Additives are ok as long as you plan to get them out rather quickly, other than that additives are a big no no in my book.

Anyone run berrymans fuel additive? Does the stuff work to keep things clean or is it a waste of money to use it? My dad swears by it and claims you'll never have to pull your carbs to clean them as long as you have an inline filter and run berrymans every other tank or so. I looked at one of his cans and the ingredients are just about the only thing that is capable of eating a redkote liner so I've stayed away from it.