I was reading the Harley manual and it said to use diesel oil if I did not have any HD oil to put in my bike if it was low on oil. But, to get to the stealer ASP to put the HD oil back in the bike That got me thinking about my truck a Duramax diesel and I use the ROTELLA oil at every oil change. Would I be able to stick with one oil for the truck and the bike? I always have oil sitting around for the truck and just run to Wal-Mart if I need more. So I got this off the ROTELLA web site. Diesel run hotter so do bikes. You need an oil that want brake down from the heat. Is anyone use ROTELLA in their bike?

Can heavy-duty diesel oil be used in motorcycles? [align=center] Motorcycle gasoline engines may not seem in the same league as the big displacement diesel engine under your hood, but they share some of the same lubrication requirements. So yes, in many cases, a premium heavy-duty universal oil capable of serving both diesel and gasoline engines is the best choice for your bike.

The high power-to-displacement ratio of a motorcycle engine means rod and main bearings are subjected to loads that are not normally found in passenger car engines. The valve train is also highly loaded, and requires extreme pressure boundary lubrication. The same can be said about gears in the transmission, which are normally lubricated by engine oil. Oil additives containing phosphorus protect these highly loaded extreme pressure areas (in both gasoline and diesel engines). Because diesel engines have higher loading of components, more of the phosphorus-containing additive is present than in typical passenger car oils. And with advanced catalyst systems for gasoline engines, the phosphorus content has been declining in passenger car oils.

Since many bike engines are air-cooled, and tend to be operated at high power outputs and speeds, their lubricating oil needs to be more resistant to high temperature oxidation. That?s another advantage of a premium universal oil. Another thing you want in your motorcycle is oil that has excellent viscosity control, so that with use it retains high temperature viscosity. Some multiviscosity grade passenger car oils, subjected to extreme loads, can quickly thin out. Their viscosity can drop to the next lower grade.

One last thing to consider is whether oil contains friction modifier additives. For improved fuel economy, most passenger car oils have such an additive. But the wet clutch in your bike doesn?t perform right with friction modifiers. Universal engine oils don?t have friction modifiers.

Be careful choosing diesel oils. Not all of them are universal. In addition to the API Service Category CI-4 PLUS for diesels, look for API Service Category SL.

Premium universal oils like Shell ROTELLA? T Multigrade are formulated for heavy-duty performance, and your bike engine has some heavy-duty challenges for oil. For optimum performance, be sure your oil is up to the challenge. [/align] http://www.shell.com/home/PlainPageS...ourexpert.html

 

One minor problem - the viscosity. Your HD wants 15 or 20w-50 during the summer most of us get. All the Rotella I've seen is either 15w-40 or 5w-40, neither of which I'd use for more than a short time until I could get some -50 back in it.

 

I guess that would be a problem. I should have compared the two a little closer.

 

When you are at Walmart get some Mobil1 15w50 and your problem will be solved.

 

Sure, you can use Rotella 15w40 in the bike....however, only use it when the temperature is no more than 40 degrees though. I have personally used several brands of 15w40 in my bikes for the past 10-15 years now.

If a person really wants to use synthetic, the Mobile 1 15w50 is reasonable priced. Not a bad oil at all. Just still too pricey for me.

I started using Mystic 15w50 for a few years now. I have been purchasing this oil at a pretty good price and it works well. Mystik JT-8 15W-50; Phosphorus 1050 ppm Zinc 1280 ppm Magnesium 1060 ppm Calcium 1220 ppm.

 

i think pococj hit the nail right on the head

 

Its Delo 400 15 / 40 fulltime&nbsp\\;for my 88 twin engine . no problems so far .

 

With all of the great synthetic&nbsp\\;oils out there for HD's why would you even want to try diesel oil?
Stick with the tried and true.

 

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/mcv.aspx

 

I was thinking of giving it a try also. Some of the UOAs' show the M1 15-50 shearing to a 40 weight oil, and the Rotella, seems to stay in grade viscosity wise, which got me thinking that there may not be that great a diffrence between them. I am no expert, just did some reading over here. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php