1 Does anyone use of Rotella diesel oil in a K100 Sun Aug 21, 2011 11:28 pm
robmack
Life time member
Hi,
I've been using Mobil 1 V-twin 20W50 synthetic motorcycle oil in my K100 for several years now. I've read about Shell Rotella diesel oil on other motorcycle sites and am interested in finding out if other BMW owners are using this brand. Diesel oil comes in both conventional and synthetic formulations. Rotella is sold as "T" for conventional formulation and "T6" for full synthetic. Both products have high detergent content (needed to clean diesel engines which have more tendancy to form burning byproducts). I thought this extra detergent content will help keep the sprag clutch functioning long term.
The K100 has a separate oil sump and gear case, and a dry clutch. Many motorcycle owners choose Rotella because it supports JASO MA spec for use on wet clutches and shared oil sump/gear box. This requirement is not an issue for K-bikes.
Rotella is sold as 5W40 which is optimum for the K-bike engine with ambient summer temperatures in southern Ontario.
Synthetic oil is best for long oil change intervals, at least in cars and trucks. Normally, one changes a conventional oil every 5000 km. Synthetic oils can last twice that long. Motorcycles are winterized here in Ontario so my oil gets changed annually, irrespective of the driven kilometers. For the moment, I'm logging less than 5000 km per year on my K-bike.
So, I guess I'm looking for opinions on two subjects:
1) Is anyone else using Rotella or another diesel oil in their bikes? What have been your experience regarding engine wear, oil consumption, long term benefits, etc.
2) Should I use synthetic or conventional considering that oil change intervals is generally annual?
I've been using Mobil 1 V-twin 20W50 synthetic motorcycle oil in my K100 for several years now. I've read about Shell Rotella diesel oil on other motorcycle sites and am interested in finding out if other BMW owners are using this brand. Diesel oil comes in both conventional and synthetic formulations. Rotella is sold as "T" for conventional formulation and "T6" for full synthetic. Both products have high detergent content (needed to clean diesel engines which have more tendancy to form burning byproducts). I thought this extra detergent content will help keep the sprag clutch functioning long term.
The K100 has a separate oil sump and gear case, and a dry clutch. Many motorcycle owners choose Rotella because it supports JASO MA spec for use on wet clutches and shared oil sump/gear box. This requirement is not an issue for K-bikes.
Rotella is sold as 5W40 which is optimum for the K-bike engine with ambient summer temperatures in southern Ontario.
Synthetic oil is best for long oil change intervals, at least in cars and trucks. Normally, one changes a conventional oil every 5000 km. Synthetic oils can last twice that long. Motorcycles are winterized here in Ontario so my oil gets changed annually, irrespective of the driven kilometers. For the moment, I'm logging less than 5000 km per year on my K-bike.
So, I guess I'm looking for opinions on two subjects:
1) Is anyone else using Rotella or another diesel oil in their bikes? What have been your experience regarding engine wear, oil consumption, long term benefits, etc.
2) Should I use synthetic or conventional considering that oil change intervals is generally annual?
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Robert
1987 K75 @k75retro.blogspot.ca