Rotella T6 or T4

WJBertrand

Ventura Highway
Joined
Jun 20, 2015
Messages
4,516
Location
Ventura, CA
I look at the extreme protection as a backstop when something goes wrong. i.e. radiator blows a hose, fan fails, bike overheats etc. A little extra extreme protection is some piece of mind. I do (or was doing before covid) about 10 -12,000 miles/year and change oil and filter every 5K. $10/qt. for MC specific full synthetic oil (Castrol Power 10w-50 Full Synthetic 6-pack - Amazon) and $10 for a filter, 2X/year only comes to $100/year.
 
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ballisticexchris

Guest
I will always error on the side of caution regardless of miles ridden in a season. I look at oil, tires, brakes, chassis/suspension as a consumable expense. Whether I'm riding or driving 5,000 miles per year or 50,000 miles per year the type of product I use or service interval remains the same.

There is no way in hell I'm going to purchase an oil or tire just based on how long it lasts. I can easily change my oil, brakes, or replace a worn tire during my travels (and I have). It's all about pride of ownership and maintaining my equipment to the highest level of performance and reliability.
 

RCinNC

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2014
Messages
2,816
Location
North Carolina
I’ll present the counterpoint to the “only oils made from the golden tears of Zeus will go in my bike” argument.

I keep pretty good maintenance records. I’ve averaged 11,850 miles per year since 2014 when I bought my bike. I ride year round, in all weather, and quite a few of those miles I’ve logged have been in extreme environments, like crossing the Plains multiple times in summer and riding in the desert in places like Arizona and Utah. I’m no iron butt, and I have no doubt lots of guys ride more than I do, but I’d say that the miles I do ride might put me in the top 20 percent of guys on here.

I used T4 for about a two year period between 2018 and 2020, for a total of 22,862 miles. Zero issues with shifting, overheating, etc. I change the oil every 4000 miles, like clockwork. It was T4 in the bike when I was out riding around Canyonlands and the Shafer Trail a couple years ago.

Now here’s the kicker: from June 2015 until April 2018, I used….wait for it….O’Reilly 10W-40 oil. The same stuff bike snobs derisively call “car oil”. I logged 36,506 miles using this oil, and once again, that oil was in the bike when did things like ride two up and loaded from North Carolina to Maine. Again, no issues with shifting, clutch slipping, overheating, or any other calamities. My bike runs as good now as it did the day I rode it out of Romney Cycles’ parking lot. It doesn’t burn a bit of oil, as it approaches 80,000 miles on the odometer.

Do my experiences “prove” anything? Nope. And some motorcycle oils may well be objectively better than the oils I’ve used, and may very well provide an added level of protection and performance that’s probably way in excess of what most riders require. The fact that Motul might objectively be “better” doesn’t equate to “if you don’t use what I use for oil, you’re courting disaster”.

I quit using T4 for a concrete reason: that it doesn’t carry the API certification for gas engines any more. If they still met that standard I’d still be using it, probably till I racked up another 80,000 miles.
 
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