So I have read through a plethera of posts about oil types and think I want to go with Shell Rotella 10W-40.  I know I can get this oil at walmart or an auto parts store.  Should this oil be ok for the "winter" in North Texas? Upper 30's - 40's F.

The question I have is should I be able to get an oil filter at a place like Autozone/O'Rielys?  I HATE the local motorcycle dealer and would like to avoid going there.

Oldfeller--FSO wrote on 10/29/11 at 13:04:02:


Ok, Thanks.  That's what I'll get.

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 10/29/11 at 15:52:37:


You send your wife out to get your bike oil?

OF, thanks to your rec. I'm trying to find EMCO oil filters. Not much luck, but I am finding EMGO (with a "G") oil filters. Typo, or am I looking in all the wrong places?

I know our bikes turn high RPM.s being a single, but isn't a lot being made over nothing when it comes to the oil. I have used only 10-40 or 20-50 weight oil in the summer. I prefer using Castrol but many times I buy the $2 a qt stuff from Wal-Mart. Always auto oil.  Most of my riding is at freeway speeds and at 48,000 miles I have had no engine or clutch  problems or leaks and after a long ride the auto oil seems to hold up just fine. Some in here pay more for one qt of oil than I do in 3 oil changes.  Clue me in please in why auto oil is not recommended.

Stinger, auto oil is fine if it contains no friction modifiers that will kill the Savage clutch.   And if it does have the large levels of ZDDP our old style tappet valve system needs (which none of them car oils do any more).

Too many newbies who try to use car oils get some "energy star" enhancer compounds in their clutch plates and get slippage problems accordingly.

Trying to get newbies to read their car oil cans in detail looking for starburst symbols and additive names and stuff like that got too complicated, so folks found that the diesel oils as a group were 1) cheap and 2) did have the large amounts of stuff we needed as far as ZDDP and detergents and surfactants went and 3) did not have any of the bad friction modifier stuff that would kill our clutches.

Rotella then went the extra mile and got their oils JASO motorcycle tested and approved (sez so right on the label, JASO MA) and Walmart carries it and if the newbies use that they dodge all the bullets that we know about and they get all the goodies to make their engines last a long time.

White jug Rotella costs around $3 a quart when you punch it in your calculator.





Why in the world are you still opening all them little bitty quart bottles again?   Buy the good stuff cheap in the big white jug and jest smile, you know you got some for next time you need it.

In the Suzuki manual it doesn't say anything about zzdp but it does say use motorcycle oil,Klotz went the extra mile 50 years ago.Really it started on that extra mile.

JOG tell me one thing how do you know the engine likes it.