Gas Milage

[ScooterGuy]

Hello all. Just joined the group and wanted to add my 2 cents worth of free info.

I ride a 1986 Suzuki Cavalcade GD1400 LX full Touring Motorcycle.
This bike only has 45,000 original miles on it. I was getting around 38 to 41 miles per gal
and wanted more. Previous owner said he was getting just over 50 mpg but that was in Georgia. Different climate than Washington State.

After talking with a few cade owners, I changed my spark plugs (4) that was fun.... NOT!
and replaced my engine oil with Shell Rotella T 15-40 (diesel oil)

My mpg is now over 50mpg. At my last fill, I was getting 54.3 mpg. If you want to increase your mpg, try the Rotella and see what happens. My riding buddy tried it in
his HD and found an increase in his mpg. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Good luck and ride long....
ScooteGuy
(Terry)

[alvaro84]

So you say it's fine to pour diesel motor oil into a wet clutch motorcycle? And a 15W40 for diesels gives better FE in your bike than a 10W40 for motorcycles?

[ScooterGuy]

My Cavalcade has a Wet Multi-plate clutch. 6 speed transmission with Cruise Control.

Since switching to Rotella Mileage went up and engine runs smoother. Also, most owners now change oil at around 6,000 to 6,500 miles. Or twice a year depending on how much you ride. No need to change oil at 3,000 miles anymore.

ScooterGuy

(Terry)

[Jay2TheRescue]

I use full synthetic 20W50 motorcycle oil in my Harley, and change it every 5,000 miles. I've toyed with the idea of using synthetic 10W40 motorcycle oil. Haven't really heard of anyone using it in a Harley except in really cold climates. Synthetic made a big difference in the transmission of the bike though. The transmission shifts a lot smoother now than it did before.

[litesong]

Originally Posted by ScooterGuy

Previous owner said he was getting just over 50 mpg but that was in Georgia. Different climate than Washington State.

From pure-gas.org there are 192+ stations selling 100%(ethanol-free) gasoline. That will raise mpg, too, as well as having a slightly smoother, quieter, more responsive engine, with a trace extra of low rpm torque.

[Mark323]

Never really worried about MPG on a motorcycle. Mine has a 7.5 gallon tank

[Charon]

Shell's Rotella, both the conventional 15W-40 and the synthetic 5W-40, carries the JASO MA rating. It's on the back of the bottle in small print, among a whole bunch of other ratings. It's the lack of a picture of a motorcycle that makes bikers suspicious. In fact Rotella is sold as a Heavy Duty Engine Oil (HDEO), not specifically as an oil for Diesel trucks. The story is that Rotella met the JASO MA specs for many years, but Shell didn't choose to pay the fee for the official rating until they were goaded by legions of Gold Wing riders.

[Rick6375]

The Vulcan forums I'm on have quite a few using the Rotella oil with many trouble free miles and claim the bike runs, shifts and overall perform smoother. These are all wet clutch bikes.

[Jay2TheRescue]

Rotella is a good oil. Personally I like the Mobil1 motorcycle oils though. Bike runs smoother, quieter, and the tranny shifts a lot better on it.