Which Rotella?

[BSnyder]

I've read 50+ posts that refer to using Shell Rotella oil but I don't know which specific Rotella product I should be looking for.

Rotella T Triple Protection 15w-40?
Rotella T Multigrade with Advanced Soot Control 15w-40?
Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40?

http://www.shell.com/home/Framework?siteId=rotella-en&FC2=/rotella-en/html/iwgen/leftnavs/zzz_lhn1_0_0.html&FC3=/rotella-en/html/iwgen/welcome.html



Castrol GTX 20w-50 is also readily available. Would this oil be suitable for the R1100S?

[markjenn]

Personally, if you're using car oil, I'd use synthetic. So if you're going Rotella, I'd go the 3rd one. But for the air-cooled S, I think 5W-40 is just a little too thin unless you're gonig to be riding in a pretty cold climate. So I'd give the nod to Mobil 1 15W-50 synthetic instead.

Subtle tradeoffs with all oils, so it's not like there's likely to be a "wrong" oil.

- Mark

[Moybin]

I've been running Rotella T Synthetic 5W-40 in my S for over a year, and in both my cages.

The S runs slightly quieter. It may burn a bit more oil, though it is difficulet to tell. Gas mileage is up slightly also. The 5W-40 Synthetic is formulated for the high heat of diesel engines, therefore I presume it to be better for an air/oil cooled gas engine, too.

[pwillikers]

And no evidence of elephantiasis?

Elephantiasis cylinder head cover

[wswartzwel]

Makes great cheese dip too!

[Moybin]

Originally posted by pwillikers
And no evidence of elephantiasis?

Elephantiasis cylinder head cover

No evidence. I'm not baseline, though. I dilligently removed the OEM coating (never do that again) and had JonyRR apply black powder coat. Jony's paint job is holding up nicely!

[wswartzwel]

Originally posted by pwillikers
And no evidence of elephantiasis?

Elephantiasis cylinder head cover

I think your Clutch master cyl. dripped a little fluid, and caused that... But I am not Monk or anything...

[pwillikers]

Only $100 and shiny black valve covers could be yours too. I bet they'd look good on a silver s ... real good.

[Moybin]

I'd be surprised that brake fluid could do that. After my fight with 2 cylinder heads and every solvent known... But that was one I did NOT try, so maybe, just maybe.

If I had to do it again I would just apply another coat over the OEM layers.

[BSnyder]

Anyone care to post on the topic of Rotella oil?

[pwillikers]

Rotella, what a silly name. Sounds like a cheese food.

[wswartzwel]

Originally posted by BSnyder
Anyone care to post on the topic of Rotella oil?

I use in my KTM and it shifts nicely..And is still honey colored when I drain it out after 15 hours of use. I also like the design of the gallon jug. Makes it easy to pour.

In my S however I use Mobil1


Use a good oil of your preference, and change it often and you will not have an oil related failure.

[BSnyder]

Pwillikers - Sounds more like an italian pasta to me.

wswartzwel- Thanks for the info. Is "Rotella T Triple Protection 15w-40" a "good oil?"

[wswartzwel]

Depends on the application and your climate... I prefer a 5w-40 Synthetic for close tolerance engines.
It is generally better to wait till you have about 10K on R259 BMW engines before switching to synthetic.
Shell Rotella is very good oil..

here is all the info and opinions you could ask for.

http://www.shellusserver.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=3452&page=1

[BSnyder]

Thanks again. I have a 2000 R1100S that I bought last year. It only has 5,100 miles on it. Its in NJ where I will ride it in temps between 50 and 100 degrees. Unfortunately, I don't know the oil history on this bike.

[bigscience]

the point in using oil for a diesel in the bike is that it has no additives like detergents or friction modifiers. there is less reason to use Rotella in our bikes since we have a dry clutch, but it's cheaper and just as good. if we had wet clutches the oil additives, which are there to cling to moving parts and lubricate them, would also be lubricating your clutch surface, which you would not want. Use the 5w-40. it has the lowest initial viscosity (the 5w bit) so you get quicker oil flow on start-up and lower overall 'drag' from teh oil, but it also can withstand high heat (the 40) so the engine wont suffer from oil breakdown if youre stuck in traffic.

if you want to really go silk purse then the 0W-40 synthetic from Mobil is the shizzle (it has additives though). it's what comes in Porches for just those reasons. downside is 7 bucks a quart.

google oil and morotcycle and spend your life sifting through the tons of hits.

[geothepencil]

I used to think Rotella was a Japanese monster from the great science fiction epics, but after we got our Bobcat and I had to find diesel rated oil, I discovered the farm store was big on the stuff. I liked it better as a mythical monster.

geo