ST1300 Oil Viscosity and brands recommended

Reginald said:
How many miles will you ride with a Synblend oil? Been following this thread for a while now and paying attention to people's experiences with the oils.

I have no problems exceeding 8,000 miles with a pure synthetic oil. Once did slightly over 9,000. Since I plan on a Long tour this summer I need the distance. A dino only oil won't do it (for me at least). What is the Synblend oil range?

Also, what Mobile 1 oil version would work in the ST?
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I've chosen either Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10w40 or Mobil 1 5w40 Turbo Truck oil for use in my ST. Personally I avoid synthetic blends labeled or sold as synblends. I see them as a way for companies to raise the price without the entire benefits of a synthetic product. I could be wrong, just my opinion.

"Synthetic" is really a marketing term not a description of the oil's origins. So-called full synthetics are often a highly refined dino base oil with 30% or more pure synthetic in the additive package. In this case many "synthetics" are actually blends anyway. Most of the 5w40s are made like this and are still considered synthetics so if these are considered refined enough to be labeled as synthetic I can't be sure what really constitutes a synblend.
 
That's been my experience too. The T6 gets a little notchy after 3-4K. Nothing major, it's kinda subtle but it's there. I've got 2 more jugs of T6, and I just changed oil recently, so I'll run the T6 for another 15K mi., 5K per change. I've been running Rotella 15w-40 in our air-cooled bikes, our two CB 750 Nighthawks and all of our Kawasaki Z-1's for the past few years, and I'd run it in our ST1300 in the recent past, so I had a baseline feel for it in the ST prior to switching to T6. The Rotella 15w-40 works fine in the air cooled bikes, good clutch feel and shifting. As far as filters, I'm still working my way through a stock of WalMart Super Tech filters I laid in just before they were discontinued. They fit both the ST and Nighthawks :). I'll run the Purolator filters when the SuperTechs are gone.

Good Ridin'
slmjim
 
Reginald said:
Also, what Mobile 1 oil version would work in the ST?
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I use the Mobil 1 car oil full synthetic in 15-50 when I can find it (not often) or 10-40 now that it's not energy conserving. Count me in the camp that finds the Rotella T-6 feels a little notchy when shifting. It would be interesting at a STOC event to have a couple or few ST's with recently changed oil and have people ride all the bikes without knowing which oil is in which bike, and rate the shifting. I always wonder if the T-6 feels notchy because I expect it to or because it really is.
 
A couple years ago three riders gathered at my place we did three oil changes on their st1300's, they each brought their favorite oil. They were told to return when the shifting started to get notchy etc.
We picked a weekend and all three returned with between 4-5k miles on their bikes. I told them I would change their oil with a secret brand, and if they liked it they all agreed to use it.
An hour or so later (after lunch) they picked up their bikes.
Everyone of them were amazed at how smooth and quiet their bikes now shifted, and agreed that they would use this new secret oil!
Truth is, I didn't change their oil at all....I used dot 4 brake fluid and simply flushed and bled their (EDIT) clutch system..... I just have brake bleeding on the brain I guess.
And yes they still speak to me.
Sometimes people tend to over think oil threads.
 
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dduelin said:
Jim, a low pitched rumble from the engine when in neutral and idling is normal and nothing to worry about. It's not related to the oil in use. On the thread topic..... I'm like some others here. In my use conditions, Rotella or Mobil 5w-40 synthetic results in shifting getting a little notchy by 3 or 4,000 miles and I'd feel like changing it long before it actually needed it. And I used it a lot, not just an oil change or three. At some point I added all the oils and miles in use and I think I recall using Rotella 5w-40 for about 70,000 miles. So anyway I'd be paying 50% more for it compared to RotellaT 15w40 which seems to give the same feel until I change it at 5 or 6,000 miles. I just never have been able to go 8,000 miles. I know Honda says I can and plenty of us do it but I prefer not to. The 15w40 oils by Shell and Chevron (Rotella and Delo 400) just feel better to me in my bike and at 160,000 miles I'm settled in to what works well for me. When I took the cross country trip I went back to Mobile 1 MC oil because I thought I might go to 10,000 miles w/o a change and a full synthetic would worry me less. Otherwise it's a 15w40 for me, generally RotellaT, with a change at 5,000 miles or so.
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My exact experience! If I were going on a long trip over a short duration I still might choose the 15W-40 over the T6.
 
Igofar said:
A couple years ago three riders gathered at my place we did three oil changes on their st1300's, they each brought their favorite oil. They were told to return when the shifting started to get notchy etc.
We picked a weekend and all three returned with between 4-5k miles on their bikes. I told them I would change their oil with a secret brand, and if they liked it they all agreed to use it.
An hour or so later (after lunch) they picked up their bikes.
Everyone of them were amazed at how smooth and quiet their bikes now shifted, and agreed that they would use this new secret oil!
Truth is, I didn't change their oil at all....I used dot 4 brake fluid and simply flushed and bled their brakes.
And yes they still speak to me.
Sometimes people tend to over think oil threads.
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Ha ha ha :D
 
Igofar said:
A couple years ago three riders gathered at my place we did three oil changes on their st1300's, they each brought their favorite oil. They were told to return when the shifting started to get notchy etc.
We picked a weekend and all three returned with between 4-5k miles on their bikes. I told them I would change their oil with a secret brand, and if they liked it they all agreed to use it.
An hour or so later (after lunch) they picked up their bikes.
Everyone of them were amazed at how smooth and quiet their bikes now shifted, and agreed that they would use this new secret oil!
Truth is, I didn't change their oil at all....I used dot 4 brake fluid and simply flushed and bled their brakes.
And yes they still speak to me.
Sometimes people tend to over think oil threads.
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Kind of what I expected to happen.
 
Typo in my reply.....I flushed and bled their clutch systems, not the brakes....guess I just have braking bleeding on the brain. :rofl1:
 
Purolator PureONE filter PL14610 (not the basic one)
Shell Rotella T 15w-40 petroleum oil, available at about $15/gallon (white bottle)
Shell Rotella T 5w-40 synthetic oil, available at about $20-$30/gallon (blue bottle). I do this one. Once a year I almost never hit 8K miles before year is out.
 
When you read "diesel oil", think oil marketed for diesel vehicles , not oil exclusively designed for diesel vehicles.

Part of what makes Rotella T a desirable oil for motorcycles is that it has no molybdenum in it ("energy conserving" automotive oils have it, but it pays havoc with wet clutches on bikes), and that it has higher levels of anti-shear additives than a lot of other oils. Those additives are valuable in bikes because bikes share oil between the engine and the transmission.

I've used Rotella T4 (non-synthetic) in my last three bikes for over a decade. It's a good oil that's available damned near everywhere. If you're a synthetic oil fan, get the Rotella T6. You can't go wrong with either.
 
Igofar said:
Typo in my reply.....I flushed and bled their clutch systems, not the brakes....guess I just have braking bleeding on the brain. :rofl1:
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LOL...I was wondering how you flushed the brakes on three bikes in an hour! :think1:
 
Just to add to the confusion...

Rotella T6 is now available in 15w-40. This is a "full synthetic". It should hold up to the shear better than the 5w-40.
 
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Buckeye Rich said:
Just too add to the confusion...

Rotella T6 is now available in 15w-40. This is a "full synthetic". It should hold up to the shear better than the 5w-40.
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Only in very cold weather, and only for a few moments until the engine warms up. Once the engine is up to operating temperature, it's viscosity performance is the same (the "40" in 15W-40).
 
Shear is the break down of viscosity. The 5w oil breaks down quicker than the 15w. That's why the t4 15w-40 usually holds it's viscosity grade better than the synthetic t6 5w-40. One of the knocks on the t6 5w-40 is that the shifting gets notchy fairly quickly. The t6 15w-40 should help this.
 
Another option for oil filters is the OEM Honda Automobile filter. Its slightly larger then the Purolator filter for more surface area but fits the 1300 quite nicely. At the same time, while you are there you can purchase the oil drain plug crush washer and I think that's only .25 Cents.
 
What?? There' more than one brand/type/weight of oil other than T6 Rotella?? (Which by pure coincidence is what I use.) That's crazy talk.
 
Shear force causes actual physical damage to the oil's molecular chains. That's why engines that share oil with the transmission require more frequent changes; the oil get's squished between gear teeth in a way that engines don't duplicate
 
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