Decided to go with Rotella in my new 883

Gary7 · #1 20th December 2006

Changed the oil at 500 miles and decided to go with Rotella T 15w40. Because of my "adventure" trying to get the oil filter off (see other post), I in effect changed the oil twice, which was a good thing, more or less, because it enabled me to get all of the factory fill oil out, so now I'm running nothing but pure Rotella.

First impressions: Oil temp seems to be about the same. But the really noticeable difference is how much quieter the valve train is. You still get valve train noise from the top end, but it's much less intense now, and has a more "refined" sound at all rpms.

Three cheers for Rotella.

SamC · #2 20th December 2006

I've used it, too; and used in in my Wing. It's a bargain. Of course, it's slightly lighter than the MoCo's recommended weight, but I doubt that makes much difference.

sportysrock · #3 20th December 2006

The ratings for it say,
" Shell ROTELLA® T I5W-40 with Triple ProtectionTM meets the requirements of: API CJ-4, CI-4 PLUS, CH-4, CG-4, CF-4, SM, SL; ACEA E7; Caterpillar ECF-3, ECF-1; Cummins CES 20081; Detroit Diesel*; Mack EO-O Premium Plus 07*; Volvo VDS-4*

*draft specification, subject to final OEM confirmation"

The MCV 20W-50 I run is rated API SG, SL/CF; JASO MA/MA2; SAE 90; API GL-1
I see the SL and CF is common and Harley says to use a diesel oil if you get in a pickle. Good luck with it.

We ran Rotella T in our SULLAIR Diesel air compressors where I used to work.

mglowe · #4 22nd June 2009

I too would love to run Rotella T 15w40 in my 883 but I'm concerned the summer temps 90+ would exceed the limits of the 40 weight oil. What distracts to my concern is that in my Yamaha FZ6 which was water cooled, the engine temps went lower when I switched to Rotella T.

Personally, I could give a crap less what min. (10W vs 20W) I need to run for the lowest outside start temp as H-D gives us -- I would rather know what the max outside temp should be for a particular weight (40, 50 or 60). Here we have temps usually less than 100 deg.s for summer riding (mostly highway). Can the 15W40 Rotella T hold up to those temps? I suppose I could buy the oil temp dipstick and compare.

xHDrider · #5 23rd June 2009

Rotella T used to be my preference of oil, till I started running Mobil 1 extend synthetic oil.

Rotella T is designed to stand up to turbo diesel requirements.

cantolina · #6 23rd June 2009

We sell this at Tractor Supply, so I get a discount...

I think my next oil change will be with Rotella...

Coolride · #7 28th September 2009

Mines at 8K, and still doesn't look broke in, but I use CI-4 Walmart Supertech diesel oil. I use that in my 05 Cummins too, and my oil samples are great even at 8500mile intervals with my truck, could actually go further in my truck the lab said.

benton · #8 29th September 2009

Isn't 20-50W still the recommendation? Proper weight is going to be a whole lot more important than the brand. I do know that the weight system is not linear, so you can't assume 40W is just 80% the viscosity of 50W. Be sure to keep an eye on your running temperature!

tele' player · #9 29th September 2009

jumping in here i am curious too on the recommende wt. i don't any work on mine since my wreck my mechanic does it all. explains everything well and is super cool also loves sporsters. i use amsoil but never got the wt. i assumed its 20/50.

mglowe · #10 19th October 2009

benton your correct, 20-50W is still the recommended but I'm not convinced it's the best weight for the outside temps we're having. 20W-50 in the morning at 40° F cannot be good - 15W-40 is better in my mind.

I think with my OAT reaching no higher than 70° F, 15W-40 will do just fine. In fact I've change to it [Rotella] and so far see no problems. In the summer I'll certainly switch back.