Shell Rotella T6 Out of Stock! Any available? Any Alternatives?

[Valkrocket]

I have always use Rotella F6 5W-40 in my Spyders and recently went out to purchase a couple of gallons to do a needed oil change in my 21 RTL. I went to 4 Walmart's that were all out of stock. Then I went to every auto parts store in the Myrtle Beach SC area who either did not carry Rotella F6 or were out of stock. Well, there is always good ole Amazon.....Wrong! They told me they were "temporarily" out of stock and gave me a February "tentative" ship date. Not sure what's going on at Shell. So, I have 2 questions..... 1. Is anyone else having this availability issue with Rotella and 2. Recommendations for an equal substitute? Thanks for your input guys.

[troop]

Spend a bit more on either Amsoil 10w40 m/c or Mobile 1 10w40 4T and you'll be even better off However, if you insist on staying at 5w40, this might be a considered option .. https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-Power...s%2C132&sr=8-2

[mecsw500]

Spend a bit more on either Amsoil 10w40 m/c or Mobile 1 10w40 4T and you'll be even better off However, if you insist on staying at 5w40, this might be a considered option .. https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-Power...s%2C132&sr=8-2

Castrol is essentially what Triumph puts in my twins and triples. Seems to do the job and I suspect most of their triples put way more stress on the oil than the 1330 Rotax. The Rotax being dry sump-ed will have a much greater oil capacity, less problems with oil starvation with sideways g-forces on cornering, and a more constant oil temperature. So, anything truly fully synthetic, approved for wet clutch systems and endorsed by a name brand motorcycle manufacturer who "recommends" 10,000 mile oil change intervals is highly unlikely to cause a 1330 Rotax to grenade due to oil related failures with 5,000 mile oil and filter changes. With a 7,000 rpm rev ceiling and producing 115 bhp out of 1330 cc it is hardly the same stress on the oil as Triumph 1200 triples producing well over 150 bhp at 10,000 plus rpm.

If you change your oil regularly, more often if you abuse the red-line or live in a severe heat, cold and/or high dust climate, any choice of the major independent oil brands, or those of the big 6 motorcycle manufacturers will be just fine. I'm not going to lose sleep over which exact brand of high quality oil sits in the sump of my Spyder or motorcycles, or cars for that matter. I'm sure they are not all quite the same and have their own brand specific advantages and disadvantages, and differing prices too, but I think the vast majority of any quality brands are up to the task. I suspect any name brand oil with 5, 10 or even 15 W40 rating will work fine as they all run to the 40 rating when warmed up. If you live in Arizona or the likes I'm sure 20w50 will be just fine too.

If Triumph changed their oil supplier from Castrol tomorrow, I wouldn't worry about it in the least. Same goes if Can Am changed their supplier for XPS. I think it makes about as much difference as filling street tires with air or nitrogen, to be honest.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Castrol is essentially what Triumph puts in my twins and triples. Seems to do the job and I suspect most of their triples put way more stress on the oil than the 1330 Rotax. The Rotax being dry sump-ed will have a much greater oil capacity, less problems with oil starvation with sideways g-forces on cornering, and a more constant oil temperature. So, anything truly fully synthetic, approved for wet clutch systems and endorsed by a name brand motorcycle manufacturer who "recommends" 10,000 mile oil change intervals is highly unlikely to cause a 1330 Rotax to grenade due to oil related failures with 5,000 mile oil and filter changes. With a 7,000 rpm rev ceiling and producing 115 bhp out of 1330 cc it is hardly the same stress on the oil as Triumph 1200 triples producing well over 150 bhp at 10,000 plus rpm.

If you change your oil regularly, more often if you abuse the red-line or live in a severe heat, cold and/or high dust climate, any choice of the major independent oil brands, or those of the big 6 motorcycle manufacturers will be just fine. I'm not going to lose sleep over which exact brand of high quality oil sits in the sump of my Spyder or motorcycles, or cars for that matter. I'm sure they are not all quite the same and have their own brand specific advantages and disadvantages, and differing prices too, but I think the vast majority of any quality brands are up to the task. I suspect any name brand oil with 5, 10 or even 15 W40 rating will work fine as they all run to the 40 rating when warmed up. If you live in Arizona or the likes I'm sure 20w50 will be just fine too.

If Triumph changed their oil supplier from Castrol tomorrow, I wouldn't worry about it in the least. Same goes if Can Am changed their supplier for XPS. I think it makes about as much difference as filling street tires with air or nitrogen, to be honest.

For Spyders it's NOT the engine that wears out the OIL .... it's that fact that the engine SHARES the OIL with the TRANSMISSION .... The tranny " shears " the oil much more than the engine ..... JMHO .... Mike

[Valkrocket]

Spot on Mike.

[mecsw500]

For Spyders it's NOT the engine that wears out the OIL .... it's that fact that the engine SHARES the OIL with the TRANSMISSION .... The tranny " shears " the oil much more than the engine ..... JMHO .... Mike

Yes, but so do all motorcycles I have owned too, well apart from most of the BMW's I had that had dry clutches. Given the increased oil capacity of the dry sump-ed Spyder over the motorcycles I've had, I think oil breakdown due to shearing will be less of an issue on the Spyder. All of my motorcycles have survived relatively high mileage no matter what the manufacturer recommended in oil type, so I'm still going to sleep soundly. I see old Suzuki GSXR1100's with high mileage and those things were air / oil cooled and I'm sure they really beat the oil up.

I managed over 90,000 miles out of my old Laverda 1200 Mirage in the 80's, and that thing was air cooled with roller bearings and ran its whole life on 20w50 mineral oil. I had a Honda VF1000R and I put a fair few miles on it in the 90's and that ran on what was then Honda's semi-synthetic oil. It was a complex V-Four engine with gear driven cam-shafts which really sheared oil, let alone the transmission.

If synthetic oil was suddenly unavailable tomorrow, I would still happily run a quality mineral oil in my Spyder, but drop the change intervals and not worry about it. I don't think I've ever had an oil related engine failure or even excessive wear on a 4-cycle engine in recent memory to be honest.

Yes, a good synthetic is the way to go in a Spyder obviously, but I'm not sure there is one best manufacturer's solution. Any quality brand with the right specifications will work just fine in my book.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Yes, but so do all motorcycles I have owned too, well apart from most of the BMW's I had that had dry clutches. Given the increased oil capacity of the dry sump-ed Spyder over the motorcycles I've had, I think oil breakdown due to shearing will be less of an issue on the Spyder. All of my motorcycles have survived relatively high mileage no matter what the manufacturer recommended in oil type, so I'm still going to sleep soundly. I see old Suzuki GSXR1100's with high mileage and those things were air / oil cooled and I'm sure they really beat the oil up.

I managed over 90,000 miles out of my old Laverda 1200 Mirage in the 80's, and that thing was air cooled with roller bearings and ran its whole life on 20w50 mineral oil. I had a Honda VF1000R and I put a fair few miles on it in the 90's and that ran on what was then Honda's semi-synthetic oil. It was a complex V-Four engine with gear driven cam-shafts which really sheared oil, let alone the transmission.

If synthetic oil was suddenly unavailable tomorrow, I would still happily run a quality mineral oil in my Spyder, but drop the change intervals and not worry about it. I don't think I've ever had an oil related engine failure or even excessive wear on a 4-cycle engine in recent memory to be honest.

Yes, a good synthetic is the way to go in a Spyder obviously, but I'm not sure there is one best manufacturer's solution. Any quality brand with the right specifications will work just fine in my book.

I apologize for not doing an internet search on what mtc's you've owned, or whether the ones you've owned did or didn't have Dry Sump systems. .... I just stated a Well known fact about Spyder engines ..... Mike

[JayBros]

FWIW, in analysis of each oil change since I started doing them after the 3K service I found that the Mobil1 4T sheared down much faster at shorter change interval than the Amsoil Metric 10W-40 which has not gone below 30 at the full 9,300 distance. Pandemic has me doing it annually vice 9,300 for second year in a row.

[troop]

FWIW, in analysis of each oil change since I started doing them after the 3K service I found that the Mobil1 4T sheared down much faster at shorter change interval than the Amsoil Metric 10W-40 which has not gone below 30 at the full 9,300 distance. Pandemic has me doing it annually vice 9,300 for second year in a row.

I've seen it both ways, with Amz actually shearing down a bit quicker than the 10w40 4T in some analysis. . Either way, both will work, and both will shear much less than the Rotella 5w40. It's officially become an oil thread

[PW2013STL]

I've seen it both ways, with Amz actually shearing down a bit quicker than the 10w40 4T in some analysis. . Either way, both will work, and both will be better than the Rotella 5w40.

What is your bases for stating that the Rotella T6 5w40 is not as good?

[Knizar]

What is your bases for stating that the Rotella T6 5w40 is not as good?

"Oh Boy, Here we Go!"

[troop]

What is your bases for stating that the Rotella T6 5w40 is not as good?

My basis is from the oil analysis' I've read on the motorcycle forum at Bob Is The Oil Guy. The majority consensus from those who used it, and had it analyzed, is that the Rotella T6 5w40 oil shears down in weight considerably after a few thousand miles. Does it work fine in the 1330cc motor? Sure, probably never any issues. It just becomes an upper 20w/low 30w oil after a few thousand miles. Lots of reading here when you search for it .. https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/fo...lubrication.9/

[Valkrocket]

Thanks Troop. Shop manual calls for a 5w-40 so it looks like the Castrol Power1 5W-40 will be my choice. It has the Jaso MA2 and exceeds the SL rating I'm looking for. Got 1 day free shipping from the big "A", so I'll change her in a couple of days.
Thank you Jay, for your response also.

[BajaRon]

Thanks Troop. Shop manual calls for a 5w-40 so it looks like the Castrol Power1 5W-40 will be my choice. It has the Jaso MA2 and exceeds the SL rating I'm looking for. Got 1 day free shipping from the big "A", so I'll change her in a couple of days.
Thank you Jay, for your response also.

Shop manual calls for what Can-Am sells, not necessarily what is the best viscosity for your Spyder. BRP used to make a myriad of lubricants. Each tailored to the vehicle. Several years ago they cut their offerings down to 2. Which have to cover everything from snowmobiles to off road and on road vehicles. Snowmobiles require a very thin start up oil (the lower number of the 2). You can't compromise on that at sub-zero temperature startups.

Spyders rarely see a sub-zero start-up temperature (the temperature of the oil). Simply put, a 5/40 oil will work OK. But it isn't the best viscosity for our Spyders. A Spyder just doesn't need that light weight oil.

When BRP sold a 10-40 weight oil, they recommended that for the Spyder.

The wider the spread between the 2 numbers, the less stable the lubricant is. This is why you can expect a 5/40 oil to break down sooner than a 10/40. This is a universal fact. When taken all together. A 10/40 oil is a better fit for the Spyder than what BRP recommends. The engineers don't have the last say, as many imagine.

Good luck with your search!

[chunkmonk]

Shop manual calls for what Can-Am sells, not necessarily what is the best viscosity for your Spyder. BRP used to make a myriad of lubricants. Each tailored to the vehicle. Several years ago they cut their offerings down to 2. Which have to cover everything from snowmobiles to off road and on road vehicles. Snowmobiles require a very thin start up oil (the lower number of the 2). You can't compromise on that at sub-zero temperature startups.

Spyders rarely see a sub-zero start-up temperature (the temperature of the oil). Simply put, a 5/40 oil will work OK. But it isn't the best viscosity for our Spyders. A Spyder just doesn't need that light weight oil.

When BRP sold a 10-40 weight oil, they recommended that for the Spyder.

The wider the spread between the 2 numbers, the less stable the lubricant is. This is why you can expect a 5/40 oil to break down sooner than a 10/40. This is a universal fact. When taken all together. A 10/40 oil is a better fit for the Spyder than what BRP recommends. The engineers don't have the last say, as many imagine.

Good luck with your search!

In the manual I have, XPS 4T 5W40 Synthetic blend oil, but I would tend to agree with Ron on the formulation. I've jumbled oils around in my old cars as well as my off-road Jeeps for a number of years, and have almost never taken the 'default' seriously. It's about what's best for the motor and the conditions in which you will subject the vehicle. I did a little looking and found this - Can-Am New OEM, XPS 1 US Gallon (3.785 L) 4T 10W-40 Synthetic Blend Oil, 779426 for $52 USD. So that would make the oil for an oil change at right about $60 to $65 USD. Still trying to figure out the part numbers/possible source for the O-Rings and seals, as well as the filter. Even with a K&N I can't imagine that the price of a filter and O-rings come up to the $140USD price of the "Can Am Oil Change Kit"...

[pegasus1300]

In the manual I have, XPS 4T 5W40 Synthetic blend oil, but I would tend to agree with Ron on the formulation. I've jumbled oils around in my old cars as well as my off-road Jeeps for a number of years, and have almost never taken the 'default' seriously. It's about what's best for the motor and the conditions in which you will subject the vehicle. I did a little looking and found this - Can-Am New OEM, XPS 1 US Gallon (3.785 L) 4T 10W-40 Synthetic Blend Oil, 779426 for $52 USD. So that would make the oil for an oil change at right about $60 to $65 USD. Still trying to figure out the part numbers/possible source for the O-Rings and seals, as well as the filter. Even with a K&N I can't imagine that the price of a filter and O-rings come up to the $140USD price of the "Can Am Oil Change Kit"...

The easy answer is to just order from BajaRon a sponsor here. If you go to the homepage you will see his ad there. He is very reputable and his parts are of the highest quality. For those looking for Rotella T6 that can't find it, Valvoline T4 is good and the same price is not too bad. The Castrol motorcycle oil is reasonable in price.There are other good oils out there that are around $10.00-$12.00. I don't think we are going to see the days of under $6.00/qt quality synthetic oil again. Hope I am wrong. Fortunately I have 4 gals of Shell and 5 gals of Valvoline on the shelf and 5 qts of Royal Purple Max Cycle. so I am probably good for the rest of my riding life.

[south GA Farm Boy]

Some Auto Part store carry the Shell Rotella T6 oil, if not order it from Amazon!

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Some Auto Part store carry the Shell Rotella T6 oil, if not order it from Amazon!

Must be a typo in the OP. He says F6 but that seems to be non-existent so he must have meant T6. The T6 is what he is saying is out of stock at parts stores and Amazon.

[ARtraveler]

Must be a typo in the OP. He says F6 but that seems to be non-existent so he must have meant T6. The T6 is what he is saying is out of stock at parts stores and Amazon.

I changed the information in the thread title to T6.

[RudyB]

Amsoil VTwin 20/50

[Little Blue]

Lots of good tips on Oil.
I am running Mobile 1 10W40 4T. This is a full synthetic oil and spec for your Spyder.

Your Spyder/Your Choice.
Have yourself a great day. ......

[Mikey]

Here we go again!!! Tires and oil, some way we could take them out of our diet???

[pegasus1300]

I stock up on oil when it"s on sale. That way I don't get caught short. Right now there doesn't seem to be any T6 on our Wal mart shelves in Utah either.

[PMK]

I just a moment ago did a quick Google search.

One topic, a Dodge Ram site indicated that this shortage has been mildly long term, indicating his order in October was cancelled due to Shell not being able to supply the oil. The person posted that the company he was trying to purchase from had a back order of 750 Gallons from Shell.

In another topic, it was mentioned that Shell is discontinuing some of its Rotella products. Did not see T6 mentioned, but may be worth an inquiry to Shell.

[jcthorne]

It has been in short supply for MONTHS. But Amazon got a big shipment Monday and fulfilled my order for delivery Friday. They sold out again in just a few hours but they have more coming in. It will take a bit of time for Shell to refill the supply chain but its good to know its showing up again. A few folks on Facebook groups have also reported sightings at wal mart here and there the last week or so.