Interesting read

Repsol and Michelin silly boy!!!!

 

Isn't Repsol just a relabelled brand?



EDIT: ignore that. I was thinking Honda, not Repsol.

 

Thought you were a devoted Rotella man.

 

I do love Rotella full synthetic... simple reason is I can run it in:



My RSV-1000

My ZX6

My Dakota

My Freightliner

My Snow-thrower

My Cummins Generator

My Honda Air Compressor

My Portable generator



All that from one source is pretty sweet.



I'm going to switch over to Repsol for all the bikes. They make a great product and are supporting the sport and that means a lot. I'd rather support a sponsor than Wal-Mart.



I will miss the strange "WTF" looks when I top off the Freightliner and bikes with the same product!!!

 

Agree about the Rotella. Great stuff. I saw your post about the sponsorship after posting. Congrats.



I have trouble disassociating Repsol from Honda HRC, the 2nd the worst client I have ever had. Only Honda NA was worse. As a result, I have vowed never to own a Honda, and I have rooted against their race teams ever since. :shock:

 

What profession are you in?

 

Monte - no problems with clutch slippage when you run full synth? I have always used semi-synth in the Mille but might have to try to the full synth Rotella very soon...

 

International Trade Compliance. They were clients when I was with PricewaterhouseCoopers' WorldTrade Managment Group.

 

Hank,



I don't seem to be a "hard on clutches" guy. Of course, now I have said that everything including my washing machine will have clutch problems in 07.. :shock:



I do prefer a semi-synthetic and will use this in the Repsol product.

 

Dayuuuum.. Smart guy is in the house!!



Did you enjoy working with international business. I mean, jeez, the USA has enough rules and reg when good and services stay IN the country..

 

I'm still in International Trade, but I am on the industry side now instead of the consulting side. It's probably the only field within US industry where job security has increased as more things are sourced overseas, so it's good from that perspective. In a prior life I taught political science at MSU, which was the only job I truely enjoyed.

 

I generally refrain from getting involved in topics involving politics, religion or oil, but I will throw my .02 in on this one.



The Repsol Full Synthetic Oil is the best I have ever used. Being in the position I am I can use just about any oil I want for free & have tried just about every full synthetic & most conventionals on the market (Amsoil, Mobil1 4T, Motul 300V, 5100, Royal Purple, Castrol etc...), but after getting my initial trial of the Repsol oil I now continue to pay for it even though I could still be getting other brands for free.



All the synthetics are pretty much the same in my opinion. Some do have a few issues with clutch slippage some don't, but alot of that can be contributed to excessive Moly content not being compatible with the newer style Honda organic clutch plates. At any rate, the only one that has ever stood out for me is the Repsol oil. As soon as you do your first oil change to the Repsol Full Synthetic you will INSTANTLY notice smoother shifting & clutch engagement & it gets even better after you make the 2nd oil change using the same stuff. It is a very noticable difference over other full synthetic oils I have tried & I don't prescribe to the placebo effect like so many others do. This stuff does make a difference.



The downside is it is expensive & it doesn't last all that long. Usually within a couple thousand miles it will start to break-down & at that point the transmission will start to shift rougher. Everything just gets a little notchy feeling. When I drain the oil it doesn't look that bad at all, but the difference in the way it performs when it is old is like night & day from when it is new. In comparison most other full synthetic oils don't offer the same level of improvement, but do offer a longer service life for what they do offer. I tried to find a techhead at the Indy Dealer Show to ask specifically about this longevity issue & all I could find were glorified stock boys pretending to be sales reps....



As a side note I also tried their semi-synth blend & it didn't feel any different than say Honda HP4 etc...

 

That's a pretty big downside. While it may not matter so much to a racer who is changing his oil every weekend, for most people longevity is one of the most important properties of an oil and a real world indicator of its quality.

 

It could be worse. In the sixties we had to change the transmission oil on our Suzukis that we drag raced every week or suffer missed shifts. If not racing, 500 miles was the limit although Suzuki said it could go 1,000.



Of corse this was strait dino oil and was probably too fresh from the dinosaurs and not fully cured

 

MOOOOOOOOOOCH!!!!

 

Mike - Any difference between twin vs. in-line four in this regard. I notced that the 636 tranny works SWEET with full-syn and it was notchy before. FWIW, 636 is very fussy about oil change intervels. The tranny gets real "bitchy" wih dirty/old oil.

 

LOL you can call me a mooch if you want to Monte. I've been called worse by people that know more :lol:



Actually I have been doing R&D work for several aftermarket manufacturers & dealers for years now as well as some magazine assignments both here & across the pond & even some contractual race team stuff here & there. I never originally solicited the business or anything as I just wanted to do independent testing just to get the truth out & dispell some of the commonly perpetuated myths in the world of sportbikes, but word has spread over the years & now every week is like Christmas as I constantly get parts in to evaluate like exhausts, clip-ons, prototype chain oilers, speedo correction devices, Fi components & even some stuff for bikes I don't own. Hayabusa rearsets & triple tree clamps for SV650's immediately come to mind. Now some companies are even starting to send CAD files so I can make proposed changes to existing parts & stuff if need be.



Sometimes it is just fluff & other times it requires some serious effort & time on my part for dyno testing or track time etc... Either way I enjoy increasing my knowledge of all things sportbike & it has given me the opportunity to make some really good contacts in the industry.