| Author | Message | ||
     Az_rider |
I am running Chevron Delo 15W/40 dino oil in my Uly, and plan on changing it every 2500 miles. I had the oil analyzed at 1250 miles to see how it was holding up in the Arizona summer. Most of these miles were in temps above 100 degrees. The bike is stock.  The oil did not shear and stayed in grade, and the anti-wear additives still look good. Note: I had 2500 miles on the bike using HD 20W/50 before switching to the Delo. I noticed the sump oil temps dropped about 10-15 degrees on average. (Message edited by az_rider on August 11, 2006) | ||
| Whodom |
Cool post. This kind of thing is worth more than all the oil "opinions" ever posted. Nice report they gave you; interesting to read their comments. It will be interesting to see what the next UOA looks like. Oh yea, this will also be some very good info for Dr_greg's "how long will it last?" thread. | ||
| Teeps |
That appears to be pretty good oil, judging from the product data sheet. Has a good amount of zinc and decent flash point. What do you pay per Qt for the stuff? SAE Grade 15W-40 CPS Number 235101 MSDS Number 6711 API Gravity 28.6 Viscosity, Kinematic cSt at 40°C cSt at 100°C 125 15.1 Viscosity, Cold Crank, C/Poise -20/65 Viscosity Index 125 Flash Point, °C(°F) 238(460) Pour Point, °C(°F) -31(-23) Sulfated Ash, wt % 1.41 Base Number, ASTM D 2896 12.2 Phosphorus, wt % 0.136 Zinc, wt % 0.148 | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
I agree. Great stuff (the report that is). How much did the analysis cost?? Did you have to ship the sample to them or do they have someplace in Arizona? I'd be willing to do this and post if the cost isn't out of wack. I'm all for finding the least expensive oil available that still does the job. If a bunch of us did this with various oils I think we could put an end to all the gut feelings and manufacturer's marketing hype BS. Personally I'm sick to death of reading how great this or that oil is by all us seat of the pants oil gurus (myself included). I for one can't see paying 5 or 6 bucks a quart if a buck a quart is just as good or maybe better. | ||
| Az_rider |
Teeps- It was just over $2.00 a quart. You can also buy it by the gallon from Walmart, Autozone, and truck stops. Electraglider- the analysis costs $20. The kit is free: http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free_test_kit.html I mailed the sample and had the results in one week. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I have heard that Dino 15W40 Shell/Delvac... have the proper film strength for our roller bearings, but that the synthetics such as Rotella T 5W40 should not be used. Source: http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oils1.html Quote: "I'm also sometimes asked if it's ok to run non-Harley oils in Harley-Davidsons. In my opinion, yes. If you change your engine oil every 3,000 miles or so, you can run pretty much any decent oil. I ran Valvoline in my Harleys for 120,000 miles. For extended oil life or superior protection, I recommend AMSOil, Golden Spectro, Motul 5100 or Mobil-1. Harley recommends a 20w-50 oil, so Rotella or other synthetic diesel oils will not do. However, the 15w-40 diesel oils meet the same film strength standard as 20w-50 oil, and are just fine to run in your Harley. I'm told that the standard Harley oils are made by Sunoco, and the Syn-3 is made by Castrol. The Syn-3 Harley synthetic is primarily a Group III oil, and contains very little PAO or Diester stock. I don't consider the Syn-3 Harley oil either a particularly excellent oil, nor a competitively priced oil." Thanks for the report | ||
| Whodom |
Electraglider, There are lots of these analyses already posted in the forums at http://www.bobistheoilguy.com. Motorcycle UOA's are at http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=forum;f=52 In fact, here's one post comparing UOA's for Mobil-1 V-twin 20W-50 and Shell Rotella T 5W-40 from a Harley big twin: http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=52;t=000081 (Looks like the Rotella did well BTW.) If you dig through the postings on that board enough, you can probably find a UOA for just about any oil you can imagine in just about any engine you can imagine. I haven't seen a lot for Buells, but there are quite a few for Harleys which should give us a good starting point. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Whodom, thanks for those links. I always thought that a diesel oil like Rotella T 5W40 might be fine, but now I have at least a shred of empirical evidence. | ||
| Superglide |
FYI: my 1999 harley manual states ok to use diesel oil if harley oil is not available. On my buell I changed the oil at 50 miles to chevron delo and following engine break-in switched to shell rotella syn. | ||
| Brucelee |
The problem I see with running this oil is the viscosity at 100C. You list it above as 15.1. According to Buell, the engine requires 20W-50 in hot conditions like yours. Using that grade oil, the viscosity at 100C should be around 18-20. If I read this correctly, you are using an oil that is too light for your Buell. Of course, if the bike was a Honda you would be good to go. Thoughts? | ||
| Whodom |
I've been leary of running Rotella T 5W-40 in my Buell too. I've run it in my 1983 Honda Ascot (500cc water cooled V-twin w/shared tranny) for a couple of years with good results. It's stocked at most WalMarts for ~$13/gallon. Regardless of actual vs. recommended viscosity, the UOA will show whether the oil is protecting the engine like it should. I.E.- if the viscosity is insufficient, the wear products (metals) will show up in the oil. I think I'd want to see several consecutive good UOA's before I switched to it. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
I would also be concerned with the viscosity at high temps. I guess you would hear the lifters rattling more than they should if there was an issue though, right? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Oh one more thing: I am going to send in a sample of my own oil there just to see what castrol 20-50 does after 5000 miles in an X1 with 60,000 miles. Should be scary  | ||
| Brucelee |
"I guess you would hear the lifters rattling more than they should if there was an issue though, right" Kind of a subjective test, given all the noise our engines make. I am not sure why one would risk running a lighter oil than recommended. | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Brucelee- better cooling maybe. | ||
| Whodom |
I think the thought is that Rotella T is very good oil, it's much less expensive than most other synthetics (~$3.25/quart vs. $5 to $8/quart), and it's easy to find (virtual all Walmarts stock it). If it protects as well as a synthetic 20W-50, it would be pretty attractive. From reading bobistheoilguy, you'll see that the main thing that worries most of the real oil nurds is that the upper viscosity of an oil with a wide viscosity range like this (5W-40) may deteriorate more rapidly than an oil with a narrower viscosity range (e.g.- 20W-50). From what I've seen on many UOA's for Rotella T, it holds up very well and maintains its rated viscosity. The real question is, "is the rated viscosity sufficient for a Buell engine?" (Message edited by whodom on August 12, 2006) | ||
| Brucelee |
"The real question is, "is the rated viscosity sufficient for a Buell engine?" I think the owner manual is clear that they recommend 20W-50 for warm weather. I am not sure why one risk an engine to save a couple of bucks per qt. Moreover, while the Rotella T is a fine oil (I use it in my BMW) it is not a full Group 4 synthetic oil. To me, it is worth the money to put in the real deal (Amsoil, Mobil 1 or Red Line). | ||
| Superglide |
I have been using shell rotella syn in my diesel truck and both harley engineered engines (1450/1203)with a combined 35000 miles. The real question for me is how often do you change your oil? I typically target 2500 miles for an oil change with an absolute of 3000 miles. | ||
| Teeps |
An observation: Since there have been more than a couple of reports of the Ulysses using oil. I check the oil on mine at the conclusion of every ride. The oil level changes, up and down from about 1/2 to 3/4ths low. The bike is cooking hot at arrival, oil bag temp, though, is only in the 190~195F. range. I park the bike in the same place give or take a few inches, so that aspect is consistent. Anyway, the level has not slipped below 3/4ths low, so far. And will go back up to 1/2 at the next check. Using Mobil 1 V-Twin oil currently, next change it's getting Valvoline VR1 straight 50wt. I can't get past $10 for a quart of oil... http://www.valvoline.com/products/VR-1%20Racing%20Motor%20Oil.pdf |
