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Mobil 1


blackhawkxx

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In some years past I have used Mobil 1 15W-50 Gold cap in my bikes and it worked well.  Then I started using regular oil but lately I have been having a hard time finding it in 10W-40 I'm guessing because most cars use the watery stuff now.   So they had Mobil 1 but it had a silver cap instead of the gold.  Can anyone tell me if it is the same thing?  Is anyone here using it in their bike and no clutch issues?

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AFAIKBZITE the gold cap just denotes "extended performance" which means it's designed to run longer service intervals.  I'd have no hesitation to run 15-50 silver if that's what you're finding.

 

Another option is 15-40 diesel oils like Rotella.  If you have an early Bird with the 9 plate clutch it might have a little bit of sticky clutch syndrome, but the later bikes with the smaller clutch pack seem to not care.  Other than the '97 Bird, no other bike I've used 15-40 in seemed to have any problems.  Car spec 10-40 should be fine as long as it doesn't have the "energy conserving" label which I don't think any do.

 

Or just pay the premium for good motorcycle spec 10-40.

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4 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

AFAIKBZITE the gold cap just denotes "extended performance" which means it's designed to run longer service intervals.  I'd have no hesitation to run 15-50 silver if that's what you're finding.

 

Another option is 15-40 diesel oils like Rotella.  If you have an early Bird with the 9 plate clutch it might have a little bit of sticky clutch syndrome, but the later bikes with the smaller clutch pack seem to not care.  Other than the '97 Bird, no other bike I've used 15-40 in seemed to have any problems.  Car spec 10-40 should be fine as long as it doesn't have the "energy conserving" label which I don't think any do.

 

Or just pay the premium for good motorcycle spec 10-40.

Good post. My 97 bird loves the Rotella, my now sold 95 FZR1000 loved the Rotella too. In fact, immediately switching to another Dino oil in the FZR gave shifting problems. Swapped back to Rotella at the next oil change and it was smooth as butter again. My VMAXs love the Rotella as well.

The newer CBR1000RR gets Honda 10-30, only for warrantee compliance. I'm guessing the Rotella would be fine there too.

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I have never used motorcycle oil in any bike ever and have used Mobil 1 years ago.  I was just checking that they didn't change anything that would mess with the clutch with the cap color change.  Is the Rotella a lot cheaper than the Mobil?  Yesterday I paid $22 for the 5 qt. jug my old dino oil was $17. 

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Once a year or 4500 miles on average. Normally around same time I replace tires. Do everything at one time to not worry about it for rest of year. I will write mileage down on masking tape and stick to one of my tool boxes when doing tires and oil. When I went to bridgstone bto16s my mileage went up to 4500 miles. Will be going to bridgestones 21's next so will see how that goes for mileage comparison.

 

Run it in track bike as well. Two track days on last change. Oil still golden in color just slight odor of fuel in it. 

 

Also prefer wix filters, napa gold are same filter.  

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Yep, many people run it in their trucks as well. 

 

Good stuff, people have tested it at blackstone labs many times and it always tests great. 

 

I been using it for a decade I assume or longer. 

 

Also run it in sons old dirtbike, lawn tractor and sure something else. 

 

 

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T6 is the 'go to' oil for lots of people, and not just for diesels.  I've seen really good analysis from using it in the Jeep 4.0 as well as a few others.  It's fairly cheap for the quality.  Never tried it in a bike, but it shouldn't have any clutch issues.

 

Edit: the Rotella I've used in bikes is the older 15-40 (I think it's T4) and not synthetic.  Used it in: CB750, SuperHawk, Seca Turbo, XX, and several others.  It's also been my go-to for every inboard boat engine, motorhome, and other vehicles.  With the cars I've recently moved to Pensoil Platinum 0-40 because of some tests I saw on it combined with a write-up by a lubrication engineer.

Edited by superhawk996
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As for filters, Purolator Pure One/AKA Motorcraft are high quality/decent price.  I think there's one that fits the FI bird but not the carbie, or maybe vise-versa.  The threads & seal surface are the same for both, but header clearance I think precludes it on one of them.

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8 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

As for filters, Purolator Pure One/AKA Motorcraft are high quality/decent price.  I think there's one that fits the FI bird but not the carbie, or maybe vise-versa.  The threads & seal surface are the same for both, but header clearance I think precludes it on one of them.

I used a Pure One on my 97 before that someone gave me but stick to Honda filters.  My 97 Bird and 1500 Wing uses the same one and it fits many other Hondas.  Motorcraft for my Fords.  So you are saying the Pure One and Motorcraft is the same?  I didn't know but for my car applications, I think the MC one is cheaper. 

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2 hours ago, blackhawkxx said:

I used a Pure One on my 97 before that someone gave me but stick to Honda filters.  My 97 Bird and 1500 Wing uses the same one and it fits many other Hondas.  Motorcraft for my Fords.  So you are saying the Pure One and Motorcraft is the same?  I didn't know but for my car applications, I think the MC one is cheaper. 

Now I think I remember the carbie vs. FI difference; I think one of them has space for a slightly oversized Pure One, but I think the smaller one fits both...been a while.

 

Everything I've read says they're the same, but I think there are some sizes not available as Motorcraft.  Motorcraft are cheapest at Walmart, and probably cheaper than Pure One anywhere but the Ford dealer.  Walmart only carries the ones that sell best so the selection is somewhat limited.  You can do a cross reference and find that there are Motorcraft for many applications, I'm running one on the Jeep Liberty and have used them on bikes and lots of cars.

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On car filters, watch the depth of the threads.  I used a Pure One (yellow) on my Triumph which takes the same filter as the Bird.  Went to change the oil a couple weeks ago, and the new Pure One filter (now Blue) bottomed before compressing the seal.  I hate it when they change shit.  Good thing I didn't fire it up.  Would have had oil everywhere.  Had to use a Mobil 1 M108, which is slightly shorter over-all.  And much more expensive.

Edited by jon haney
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11 hours ago, jon haney said:

On car filters, watch the depth of the threads.  I used a Pure One (yellow) on my Triumph which takes the same filter as the Bird.  Went to change the oil a couple weeks ago, and the new Pure One filter (now Blue) bottomed before compressing the seal.  I hate it when they change shit.  Good thing I didn't fire it up.  Would have had oil everywhere.  Had to use a Mobil 1 M108, which is slightly shorter over-all.  And much more expensive.

The blue Purolator isn't new, if it's the same one I'm thinking of.  The blue in a hexagonal box is ONE, not PureONE and it's been around a couple years.  If it's not the ONE then it's something new I don't know about.  If they've stopped making the PureONE I also don't know about that.

 

What did the threads bottom out on?  I don't recall seeing any filter with anything inside it smaller than the diameter of the threads.

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Quote

What did the threads bottom out on?  I don't recall seeing any filter with anything inside it smaller than the diameter of the threads.

 

 

I was thinking the same thing.

Edited by blackhawkxx
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They had the blue filter in a hex box and the same part number in a square box.  The filters in each one looked identical.  The store didn't have any PureOne types available, so You might be right about them being discontinued.  The threads of the blue filter were not as recessed as the yellow filter (or the Mobil 1), so they bottomed on the engine case.  This may not be an issue with the Bird.  Will be awhile before the Drag-Bird needs a new filter.

Edited by jon haney
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  • 1 month later...

Fwiw, my first experiance with Mobil1 cemented my opinion of mobil1 forever.

In 1987, I bought an 86 1000 Ninja with 2300 miles on it. Read the reports and began using Mobil1. It was quiet and shifted smoother that before. I ran the shit out of that bike. Young and fearless doing block long burnouts and smoke the tire untill it blows.

Kept that soldier along side the 1998XX untill 2005. The bike was that good. The Ninja had reports of lube failure of the cam train.

I was aware of this and did regular (8-10K ) valve train adjustment and inspection. When I sold the bike to a freind, I did one last valve adjustment and inspection. Zero pitting and I felt confident of my use of Mobil1. All my vehichles get mobile1.

 

I bowled league with a Northwest Representitve of Moble. I told him that I changed my oil on my bikes @3k and 5k on cars.

He said that he had a Ford PU with a 360 and a camper that he monitored oil analysis. (Somewhere near 40K mile.)  Can't remember, Just thought it was incredible. He said I was changing my oil way too soon. Hmmmm. I am successful so far and will continue my regiment.

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Here's some stuff to ponder against doing frequent oil changes.  Every time you change the oil you have a long dry start.  A new filter passes more junk than one that's a little bit plugged up. According to 'experts' in the field when new oil is put in the cleaning/lubricating additives have a small battle 'till a balance is restored.  This may be more of an issue when switching oil types, dunno.

 

Also, every oil change opens the possibility of getting a bad filter, getting a bad batch of oil, making a mistake.  I know they're probably 1 in a million type things, but why remove something that's still good to replace it with a new one.  It would be like changing air filters every 5k, or replacing the battery every year just in case.  Excessive oil changes are one of those 'feel good' things many do that might actually be worse than waiting 'till it's actually time.  And it's obviously worse for the environment.

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Like my OP, I put Mobil 1 back in the bikes this year and they are shifting very slick.

 

9 hours ago, superhawk996 said:

Here's some stuff to ponder against doing frequent oil changes.

All my oil is changed on time, once a year because of low mileage usage.  Things around here can be very damp in the winter and spring and I think it is best to change it no matter the mileage.  My truck goes four miles to work and four back.  That isn't the best for oil either.

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2 hours ago, blackhawkxx said:

Like my OP, I put Mobil 1 back in the bikes this year and they are shifting very slick.

 

All my oil is changed on time, once a year because of low mileage usage.  Things around here can be very damp in the winter and spring and I think it is best to change it no matter the mileage.  My truck goes four miles to work and four back.  That isn't the best for oil either.

Assumed on time because the annual thing is commonly accepted.  You could do an oil analysis on them and see.  Some engines do better than others with short trips and humidity.

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