This thread is perfect. It started out as a pure and innocent question that was given a good, accurate, flat out, non-biased answer.

then it was hi-jacked into an oil-war.

perhaps we could make this thread even more interesting? soda or pop? coke or pepsi? controversial choice #1 or controversial choice #2? to-MAY-to or to-MAH-to?

I'm beginning to wonder if Bill even rides anymore. how about photographic evidence of your odometer going up 4.3 miles each year? that "quieter and smoother" you feel, Bill, is probably you just going deaf and numb.

Oldfeller, I want you to know that you convinced me.  My local farm store had a Rotella sale this week and on Senior's Discount Thursday (10%) I bought one of those big white jugs and changed my oil.  I also went through all the quart bottles of auto oil in my garage and barn (don't know why I have so many) and noticed that about half of them had the energy saver designation in the circled section that displays the API rating.

Motor oil is changing at an accelerating pace and people who have motorcycles or run any vintage engines need to read those labels carefully and keep current.  To the guy who asked why the manual didn't say anything about the additives it's because the manuals don't keep pace with the changes in the oil.  It's nearly impossible for Suzuki to keep current with all the different oils that are marketed in the world and that is likely part of their logic in offering an oil themselves.