Oil Change

[Quinton]

Is there an oil brand that is best for Katanas/Suzuki/Street bikes/or just motorcycles in general? Or is all 10w-30 the same? The guy at the Suzuki shop said that Suzuki oil is the best but I felt dumb after asking that question.
And is there any recommended oil/fuel additives. My bike is a '95 600 and has over 11,000 miles on it.
Wile I'm at it, is any brand of oil filter good enough?

-Thanks

[HungLow]

i like syn oild and a bit thicker 2 10-40 is what i use, castrol syn is my choice but just about everyone here uses something different.

[Cheriff]

Mobil 1 4t is about the "best". I switched from that to rotella t synth at walmart - bout a third of the cost and now Jaso rated.

[DClark]

There a lot of oil threads floating around, they tend to be pi$$ing matches.
Best oil filter- SUzuki brand.
Best oil- that is a broad question! Most people use Rotella synthetic as it is cheap, works with the clutch and keeps the bike from wearing out.There are lot of oils out there much better than Rotella, like Maxima and Motul oils whih are PAO based, not this hydrocracked Group III stuff. However, will you or your bike notice it? That's the question. Four quarts of the fancy oil stuff can cost almost $50, or you can get a big 'ole jug of Rotella for around $20 at Walmart that has more than enough for a change. It's your call. Me, I have Rotella, next change, might throw a liter of Maxima in with the Rotella. If it helps, I think if you were to do an oil poll, the most popular oil used is Rotella.
Fuel additives? I don't really use those in my bike.
Oh, as for weight, I have heard of a few B12 owners using Mobil 1 10-30w, the Rotella stuff is 5-40. For most people, that or 10-40 is fine, some prefer a thicker oil like 20-50, especially in the summer.

[loudnlow7484]

Is there an oil brand that is best for Katanas/Suzuki/Street bikes/or just motorcycles in general? Or is all 10w-30 the same? The guy at the Suzuki shop said that Suzuki oil is the best but I felt dumb after asking that question.
And is there any recommended oil/fuel additives. My bike is a '95 600 and has over 11,000 miles on it.
Wile I'm at it, is any brand of oil filter good enough?

-Thanks

Suzuki oil is the best oil for Suzuki's corporate profits (and likely the dealership's profits).

I've run Rotella in everything, and I have no intention of changing to anything else unless they screw up the formula in the future. For the price difference, you could change your oil twice as often and still end up ahead, though I don't recommend it. In the big trucks Rotella is made for, people regularly run it out to 50k miles on an oil change (but change filters more often... ). 3k miles in a Katana should pose no threat at all.

Leave the oil additives alone.... there are plenty of things added to it as it comes! I don't add anything to the fuel unless it's needed. I've been skeptical of fuel system cleaners (mostly because they've never worked for me) but I ran some Chemtool with the last couple tanks of gas in the XJ650, and the funky idle it had has really and truly cleared up. I don't know if it was the chemtool, or just putting 300 miles on a bike that hadn't moved in quite a while, but it's worth a shot for something little like that. If it runs fine now, though, just let it be.

[DClark]

My local multi line dealer said that suzuki fluids are all crap. They don't even display them for sale. Service manager told me they only use them for warranty work. Like, if some has their fork seals go under warranty, they use suzuki fork oil. Otherwise, they don't use it.

[katman05]

Rotella synthetic 5W40, use it and save your money.

[lucky69]

Mobil 1 4t is about the "best". I switched from that to rotella t synth at walmart - bout a third of the cost and now Jaso rated.

+1 on mobil 1 4t

[SweetLou]

Rotella has no detergents or additives to gunk crap up, because you have to remember that your tranny is using the same same oil as the engine.

At one time, Suzuki oil MAY have been the best for the oil/air cooled bikes, but not any more. I actually just had a discussion about this with the parts guy lat week at the stealership. He seen I was getting an oil filter, and tried to sell me the oil. I stated "No, I am using Rotella". He was kind of a smart *** about it, and said something along the lines of "That's not a proper motorcycle oil, good luck with the clutch slipping". My reply to him was the fact that maybe he should do some research and find out what IS the proper oil for this old oil/air cooled bikes, and he'll see that the additives in the Suzuki Oil are actually not so good, and that the Rotella doesn't have thos addatives or detergents. He didn't have much to say to me after that except for "Do you want a crush washer with your oil filter"

[DClark]

Rotella has a lot of detergent in it- it is a diesel oil. I don't see why that would hurt things in the bike.
I just got a Suzuki brand filter and was disturbed to see that it said "Made in China". I hope they haven't dumbed down the quality.

[bambambam]

Are you using Rotella in a pre? Is anybody using synthetic in a pre? Thanks for any answers.