Rotella T5 10w30 + CB1100 = HAPPY!!!

[Yata-Garasu_imp]

I wasn't impressed with the Honda GN4 10w40 that the dealership installed when i bought the bike with 8900 miles on it. It came out looking like coffee after only 3k miles. So I started looking for alternatives.

I know a lot of folks here like the Rotella T6 5w40 but I saw some used oil analysis at BITOG that showed it sheared easily and might not be the best choice for an oil cooled bike that is hard on oil like the CB1100.

I had used T4 15w40 in my Shadow 750s and my old Nighthawk 750, and the dealership assured me 15w40 wouldn't hurt the CB1100, so I decided to try the T6 15w40 as that seems to resist shearing better and is also MA2 rated (rated, not certified...)

The T6 15w40 held up much better than the Honda GN4 10w40, but it was causing ticking from the top of the engine. 15w40 grade is too stout and simply isnt a good match with the CB1100.

A few people on BITOG recommended the T5 10w30, but I was hesitant since it's not MA or MA2 rated. Decided to give it a try since the oil analysis looked very much like a motorcycle oil, and there were several people there using in bikes similar to the CB1100 such as rhe ZRX1200.

I'm not knocking anyone's choice of oil here, I just want to report that my Eleven is doing great on the T5 10w30, very smooth and quiet, and no shifting issues at all.

According to reports on BITOG forum, the T5 10w30 resists shearing very well, and the ZRX rider reported the T5 was still in grade after 5000 miles. I fully expect it will perform similarly in the CB1100.

Rotella T5 10w30 is a better motorcycle oil than many other oils that are MA certified. You can use Rotella T5 in your CB1100 with confidence.

I've attached a Virgin Oil Analysis of the T5 that I found at BITOG.

Ps. My CB1100 takes between 3.8 and 3.9 quarts to fill including a filter change. There appears to be some confusion over this in some of the manuals and online. At least on my bike, the 2014 Standard, aka "The Black One", a full 4 quarts overfills it and completely blots out the sight glass.

[GoldOxide_imp]

Useful to know Yata-Garasu.

I will consider looking at that during the next opportunity.

[sourdough44_imp]

Thanks.

[Ollie]

Seems odd that full synthetic T6 15-40 would not be better on an air cooled, 4 cylinder engine? What do you mean by it being "too stout"? Mine shifts and sounds fine with M1 4T 10w-40.

[Yata-Garasu_imp]

After I made the leap to T6 15w40 from GN4 10W40, I found a post here on the forum (that I can't find at the moment) by someone who claimed to have insight into the Honda engineering process for the CB1100, and he claimed that he would never put an oil heavier than 10w30 into a CB1100 due to the tiny clearances in the oil cooler mechanism.

Also, there was a noticeable amount of "valve chatter" that I could hear with the T6 15w40. Not terrible, but noticeably louder than the GN4 10W40 that it replaced. It did get better with time, but it never went away.

Mine shifted fairly well with the T6 15w40, but occasionally it would miss second. I attributed this to user error at first but after switching to the T5 10w30 I haven't missed second gear a single time.

I also expected the 15w40 would be a good match for the CB1100, especially in Texas summer riding... But it wasnt the case.

In my experience, the T6 15w40 wasn't a good match for the CB1100

If I had stayed with a 10w40 I probably wouldn't have noticed the valve chatter, but the 10w30 is the quietest oil Ive had in her sonfar. No valve chatter or ticking.

The T5 10w30 has shown itself to stay in grade for 5k mile oil change intervals on a ZRX1200 in Phoenix, also an inline 4 aircooled engine.

I can't comment on the Mobil 1 4T 10w40, but I am glad I decided tontry the T5 10w30. Its working for me.

Since the manual for this bike is demonstrably wrong about the oil capacity, at least for the 2014 standard model, I had to figure it out on my own.

I am very happy with my new filter and 3.8 quarts of Rotella T5 10w30 10w30.

[GoldOxide_imp]

... and for winter riding in the northern regions, Rotella T6 5W40 is smooth in the bowels of the CB1100. It is equivalently good in summer too. Explicitly meets MA and MA2.

I would consider T5 10W30, if I could get some.

[Tev62]

Great you could get the oil to suit you. I thought I would give the Honda Genuine GN4 a go at the recommended grade (not that I was having any issues with a Motul 10W-30 brand) and the official importer for Honda Motorcycles in Ireland said they don't stock it but could sell me an equivalent, I declined.

[the Ferret]

the official importer of Honda motorcycles doesn't carry Honda branded oil? That's about crazy imo

[peterbaron]

Great you could get the oil to suit you. I thought I would give the Honda Genuine GN4 a go at the recommended grade (not that I was having any issues with a Motul 10W-30 brand) and the official importer for Honda Motorcycles in Ireland said they don't stock it but could sell me an equivalent, I declined.

Time to move to Canada, Tev.
Here we have everything or almost everything

[GoldOxide_imp]

Great you could get the oil to suit you. I thought I would give the Honda Genuine GN4 a go at the recommended grade (not that I was having any issues with a Motul 10W-30 brand) and the official importer for Honda Motorcycles in Ireland said they don't stock it but could sell me an equivalent, I declined.

Bah. Use some local-available diesel engine oil that meets JASO MA/MA2 requirements?