RPS Hawk 250CC Oil Change

[davidjv]

My Hawk Owners Manual recommends SAE 15W-40 Engine Oil. When I shop for this oil it is generally labeled "Heavy Duty Diesel" engine oil. This kind of freaks me out, is this what you guys are using? What brand(s)?

[Azhule]

Don't worry about the "HDD" label...

I use Rotella T6 5w40 "HDD" oil and have no issues running that oil in engines that are not "diesel engines" :) most applications have even gone longer between oil changes with the T6 oil too (after sending samples off to a lab to verify longer oil changes is OK)

Our Bashan 200 China Bike being one of them ;) , all of the Rotella "HDD" oils have the "Wet Clutch" approval, you can use their inexpensive "Diesel" oils and sleep like a baby at night :hehe:

Rotella T6 goes in all of our motorcycles (Kawasaki KLR 650, Bashan 200, Yamaha 100cc 2 stroke), all but one of our cars uses the T6 (a Honda Civic that specs 0 or 5w-20 be used), several yard equipment, the list goes on for ever :hehe: and not one of them on that list has a "Diesel" engine :lmao:

[pistolclass]

I use Rotella in my diesel dump truck and in my diesel backhoe but for my Hawk I use Valvoline 4 stroke motorcycle oil. I'm sure the Rotella would be fine but I just figure why not use the oil that is specifically designed for 4 storke motorcycles with wet clutches as opposed to an oil that can be also used for..... fill in the blank.... Just my opinion.

It is more important that you change the oil regularly than which one of these two oils you use.

My mustang and Dodge ram get Mobil 1 (the dodge has some screwball 0w-40 oil)
My Husky lawn tractor and air compressor get straight 30 (as per the manuals)
I get a single press extra virgin olive oil, preferably from Italy, with a nice Chianti.

[pcspecialist]

I thought Rotella T 15-40 was the only one with a JASO DH-2, MA rating, but, I see the T6 has it too. I may have to go with the T6 when I do my next oil change.

http://rotella.shell.com/rotella-products/t6-full-synthetic/_jcr_content/par/textimage_1335213348.stream/1388525673850/2c4570ceb0dcc96c0e045d7d6f3c7796f77a84ed6a3d6752bb 50d245468c48b2/rotella-t6-brochure.pdf

[Azhule]

I'm sure the Rotella would be fine but I just figure why not use the oil that is specifically designed for 4 storke motorcycles with wet clutches as opposed to an oil that can be also used for..... fill in the blank.... Just my opinion.

Just like every other oil company... Rotella had to spend the $ to have their oils tested for all those "Fill in the Blank" applications... You are probably spending 2.5x the price for some kind of "Valvoline Diesel" oil with a fancy "4 Stroke Motorcycle Oil" label slapped on the bottle for marketing :hehe:

Just read the label on any bottle of oil you want to buy... then follow any manufactures recommendations... my motorcycles need the Jaso MA label of approval... and Rotella T6 5w40 fits that bill for under $17 a gallon :tup:

[BlackBike]

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/541/000/6ed.gif

[SeerAtlas]

I use Rotella in my diesel dump truck and in my diesel backhoe but for my Hawk I use Valvoline 4 stroke motorcycle oil. I'm sure the Rotella would be fine but I just figure why not use the oil that is specifically designed for 4 storke motorcycles with wet clutches as opposed to an oil that can be also used for..... fill in the blank.... Just my opinion.

It is more important that you change the oil regularly than which one of these two oils you use.

My mustang and Dodge ram get Mobil 1 (the dodge has some screwball 0w-40 oil)
My Husky lawn tractor and air compressor get straight 30 (as per the manuals)
I get a single press extra virgin olive oil, preferably from Italy, with a nice Chianti.

What? no fatha beans?

[chuck]

Been having serious clutch chutter with Rotella t6 5w-40 full synthetic replaced it with Valvoline 10w-40 full synthetic motorcycle oil and could not believe the difference,now the clutch engages with minimal noise if any.