Rotella T + Other question.

SwissGuy

SwissGuy

Been Around the Block
Heard from a good friend of mine, who I trust, that the best oil to use in this bike was Rotella T oil, normally for Diesels, but many a motorcyclist use it. So, I popped on down to the local auto store, and picked up 4qt. Anyone want to chime in on Rotella T? Reasoning is that it's supposedly better for wet-clutch bikes.

Now, here is the puzzler.

So, put in new filter, drained the old gas-diluted oil from leaving the petcock open all damn winter (like an idiot). I put in 3.5 us qts, shop manual says 3.7 us qts.

Checked the dipstick, and it's way over the upper line. Now, I would tend to trust the Honda provided shop manual that this thing should have 3.7 us qt in it, but I also tend to get a bit weirded out when the shop manual amount causes my dipstick to read wicked overfull.

Note, I'm checking oil level with the bike on the center-stand. Ease my mind, or tell me to go drain some oil. Started her up and let her run for a few minutes, but haven't ridden at all and nothing high RPM.

Bike is a 1973 CB350F, manual is a 1972 Honda Motor Co 350F-400F manual.
 
And because, like a noob, I didn't search for Rotella T before posting this, I retract my question on the Rotella. Note to self: search function is good. For anyone with the same question seeing this thread because of search, firstly, congrats on using the search function, and secondly, Rotella T is a great oil by all commentators I've read for motorcycles.

My question about the discrepancy between my shop manual and dipstick still stands.
 
I know on the CB360 you pull the dip stick, wipe it off, and place it back in the hole to get the reading (do not tighten it).
Maybe this helps.


I just started using Rottella. People like it because it is cheap, and has a decent amount of Zinc which most new oils do not have. Zinc helps lubricate engine parts without destroying wet clutches. The modern zinc replacements in new oils do not work with wet clutches.
 
I use Rotella now in bikes. Affordable and is liked in many forums for many types of bikes.

On the oil level thing, you probably overfilled it. I know, you read the manual and it said... Well, the manual is probably right in the amount of oil that the system holds but when you change the oil, you are not getting every bit out. The consensus seems to be about 2 1/2 to 3 quarts for an oil change.

Edit: Missed the bike model, this is for the 750 but still, you do not get all of the oil out during an oil change.
 
andoor said:
I know on the CB360 you pull the dip stick, wipe it off, and place it back in the hole to get the reading (do not tighten it).
Maybe this helps.
Click to expand...

Same for the 350F, I'm doing it correctly. I'm going to just drain down to the top line anyway for safety, but would still like someone to chime in with the answer if they can. To Reiterate:

Bike is level, on center stand. I filled with 3.5qt oil as per Honda Factory Manual. When checking oil level (by removing dipstick, wiping, placing back in hole but not screwed down i.e. Correctly) it shows that I am way over the top-line on the dipstick.
 
I think you will find that when you drain the oil, it doesn't all come out. There's oil in all sorts of little pockets and nooks and crannies. Some OEMs list oil for a fresh fill and oil for an oil change and oil change is usually 200ml or so less. Remove the surplus oil to take it back down to the right amount.

And make sure you have the right dipstick. It is also possible that a PO fitted whatever he could find and it may be too long because it is for another bike. Ask someone with your model bike to measure the dipstick in their bike and compare dimensions.
 
Good idea Teazer, also, good insight on the change level being off, possible, but that'd be the only thing on this bike I've found that wasn't off the factory floor with the bike, save for the mufflers the original owner had put on it in 1973 at the dealership.

That being said, I'm guessing according to the dipstick I have, it was about 1/2qt over-filled. Just to be safe, I drained to the top-tick on the dipstick.

Anyone have a CB350F they want to measure the dipstick of?
 
It sounds like teazer is right. You probably grabbed the wrong number from the manual. Look for the fill amount for an oil change, not the amount you need after an engine rebuild. It should list two values. And 3.5qt sounds high...
 
Ringo said:
It sounds like teazer is right. You probably grabbed the wrong number from the manual. Look for the fill amount for an oil change, not the amount you need after an engine rebuild. It should list two values. And 3.5qt sounds high...
Click to expand...

Looked around, and yea, thought 3.5 seemed high (it actually says 3.7). Doesn't say any other number in the whole manual.
 
Then I would just drain it to between the marks. If you want to definitively know the oil fill amount, do a search on forums.sohc4.net
 
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