Shell Rimula X

johnnysneds · Feb 29, 2012

Hi All,

After blowing the tits out of my clutch ive found out that Rekluse recommends Shell Rottela T Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Oil 15W-40. After researching some more this oil seems to be used quite widely in motorcycle engines. Unfortunately Rottella can only be found in the United States of America! boooo. I had a trip round to the local Shell Station and they had in stock the below products.

900 Baht for 6 Liters

650 Baht for 6 Liters

Fully Synthetic 2,400 Bath for 6 Liters

In Australia particularly this question is asked a lot, and there seems to be conflicting views whether its the same stuff. I had the wife phone Shell Thailand but they were none the wiser as usual.
So anyone had any experiences with using Diesel Oils with your motorcycle, specifically Shell Rimula X??? or seen any Rottella T anywhere

I have also found out that its quite common for Yamaha OEM clutch friction disks to fail with Rekluse clutches. The move to Hinston or Rekluse items hopefully will prevent it happening again in future, hopefully!

TonyBKK · Feb 29, 2012

Got me stumped! Aren't you an oil guy??? Just sayin' :lol-sign:

Actually it bugs me to no end that I have NEVER found a Shell employee in Thailand who knows ANYTHING about the products that they sell.

To this day I've never found a Shell employee who can tell me what the difference is between Shell FuelSave Diesel and Shell V-Power Diesel. :crazy:

Or the difference between Shell FuelSave Gasohol95 and Shell V-Power Gasohol 95. I know in the "old days" that V-Power was benzene, but if I'm not mistaken, somewhere along the line, and without telling anyone, they turned "V-Power" into E5 Gasohol and later into E10 gasohol. But again, the staff at the service stations have not a clue.

I know that Shell makes top quality products, but here in Thailand they seem quite clueless and I try to avoid Shell service stations as much as I can as a result.

Totally unhelpful to your original query I know, but just wanted to get that off my chest

Ride On!

Tony

feejer · Mar 1, 2012

Consensus here is that the Helix Ultra is the closest match to the Rotella T Synthetic here in vis, base oil type, and additives. Search bobistheoilguy.com for more info. The Rimula is a bit of a mystery???? But your concern about OEM Yamaha clutches being picky is justified. For the first oil change on my new FZ1 at 50 miles, I used Mobil DELO 15W/40 non-synth diesel oil as a break-in oil. The FZ1 OEM clutch did NOT like this oil at all and would actually "stick" and remain engaged for several seconds even after the clutch lever was pulled in. Then it would release the gearbox tension with a little clunk and be free. So the oil's frictional properties seem to be an issue with some of these plate compounds.

At first I thought it was just an adjustment issue but after checking things and all in spec, I started to suspect the oil. Drained it out and went with the Rotella Synth 5W/40 and worked it into the plates a bit in the garage before heading out. Was still a bit sticky for a few miles but eventually all was well and remains so 2 years later. So I would go with the Helix, whether synth or non-synth really depends on how long you want to go between drain/refill.

mikerust · Mar 1, 2012

My take on this was that Rimula is Rotella sold in different markets as they don't seem to be available together. Although it did say some years ago that Rimula is not suitable for caterpillar engines. Don't know why.

daewoo · Mar 2, 2012

Here in Aus, I use Caltex (Havoline) Delo 400, I assume that freejer got the brand wrong, unless Mobile sells Delo in Th...

I couldn't get any good info on which Rimula oil is the same as the Rotela oil that people use...

It seems that Delo Multigrade isn't suitable for bikes with catalytic converters, as it has too much sulfur, which makes it's way into the exhaust and can cause problems, so you need eith LE or XLE...

feejer · Mar 2, 2012

daewoo;277017 wrote: Here in Aus, I use Caltex (Havoline) Delo 400, I assume that freejer got the brand wrong, unless Mobile sells Delo in Th...

I couldn't get any good info on which Rimula oil is the same as the Rotela oil that people use...

It seems that Delo Multigrade isn't suitable for bikes with catalytic converters, as it has too much sulfur, which makes it's way into the exhaust and can cause problems, so you need eith LE or XLE...

Good catch, it was Mobil DELVAC, not DELO. Lol! Too many "DEL" oils in this mofo. http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/NAUSENCVLMOMobil_Delvac_1300_Super.aspx

mikerust · Mar 2, 2012

daewoo;277017 wrote:
I couldn't get any good info on which Rimula oil is the same as the Rotela oil that people use...

I sent an email to Shell but don't hold your breath.

mikerust · Mar 2, 2012

From the horses mouth

First, may be you can use Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 into yours bike because that is pass JASO MA but Shell Rimula R3X, Shell Helix HX5 and Shell Helix Diesel Ultra are not pass JASO MA(wet clutch slipping)

We have Shell Advance Ultra 4T 10W-40 (JASO MA2) available in Thailand.

Please find more info from yours book service bike for oil recommendation.

Best Regards,

Wootthigrai H
Shell Company Of Thailand LTD.

No mention of Rimula Ultra and the Shell Help desk guy who forwarded the inquiry to Thailand was named KG Balingit which sound more Bangalore than Wythenshawe but then again....

So in that regard you 4-stroke guys are back to square one.

johnnysneds · Mar 2, 2012

I've settled on Mobil Delvac 1 Heavy Duty Commercial Fully Synthetic Oil. It's available at the Mobil1 Centre south of the Airport on the 108. It's not recommended for bikes with Cats. It passes JASA standards also.
i also got that exact same reply from Shell today. Rekluse also replied and said the Rimula R3 would suffice but check it was suitable for use in a wet clutch environment. I can't see JASO rating on it anywhere, is why I've went with Mobil Delvac.

feejer · Mar 2, 2012

johnnysneds;277050 wrote: I've settled on Mobil Delvac 1 Heavy Duty Commercial Fully Synthetic Oil. It's available at the Mobil1 Centre south of the Airport on the 108. It's not recommended for bikes with Cats. It passes JASA standards also.
i also got that exact same reply from Shell today. Rekluse also replied and said the Rimula R3 would suffice but check it was suitable for use in a wet clutch environment. I can't see JASO rating on it anywhere, is why I've went with Mobil Delvac.

Great choice and nice that it is available there. The SYNTHETIC Delvac is outstanding stuff and about as bulletproof as an oil gets. I use the consumer version Mobil "TurboDiesel Truck" (Delvac 1 is marketed to fleet use and more expensive here) in everything from bikes to cars. Just beware that I had problems trying to use the non-synth Delvac 1300 in my FZ1 as described above. I wanted to use a non-synth for break-in and the clutch did not care for it one bit. The synthetics have been trouble free.