Supertech ST7317 Oil Filter and Delo 400 Oil

[indybobm]

I have one of the many oil filter comparison documents and it says that the Walmart Supertech ST 6607 & ST7317 filter are superior filters. They are both $2.84.

1. Has anyone else used either of these? The 6607 is 2 1/2" long and the 7317 is 3 1/4" long. Does the extra length of the 7317 cause interference problems?

2. Also, one of the posts on this board claims that Delo 400 gives smoother and quieter transmission
 operation.

3. What oil is best for quieting down the transmission and giving smoother cluch operation?

4. And last, is it strickly forbidden to use something like Restore in the engine? Will it make the clutch slip?

I'm sure some of these questions have been asked previously and I did search for similiar questions. I am interested in what the current thinking is on this.

thanks

[The Anvil]

I use the Supertechs. Not on the Valk but on my lawn tractor and cars and I know I've used the 7317. I've seen shocking reviews featuring the Supertechs. I say shocking because they came in near the top of the pack but are dirt cheap.

I think there will still be plenty of clearance with the larger filter. I used to run the larger dyna filters on my Buell as the extra capacity can only be a good thing for an air/oil cooled bike but it's not strictly necessary with a liquid cooled engine.

[roadhamr]

 in regards to Restore. it will likely contain friction modifiers and may contain moly. these are not recommended for wet clutch applications such as a Valkyrie. why are you thinking of using one of these products?
Synthetic oils seem to have a much better results in quieting and smoothing out transmission function. this is of course a generalization. i would not recommend using an oil that was not a specific motorcycle oil. many motorcycle oils have special additive packages that are designed for better heat transfer and actually have clutch plate friction enhancers and do not for the most part contain automotive quality or quantity friction modifiers like moly.

[98valk]

in regards to Restore. it will likely contain friction modifiers and may contain moly. these are not recommended for wet clutch applications such as a Valkyrie. why are you thinking of using one of these products?
Synthetic oils seem to have a much better results in quieting and smoothing out transmission function. this is of course a generalization. i would not recommend using an oil that was not a specific motorcycle oil. many motorcycle oils have special additive packages that are designed for better heat transfer and actually have clutch plate friction enhancers and do not for the most part contain automotive quality or quantity friction modifiers like moly.

moly is fine for wet clutches until it gets in the 300-500 PPM range. even mobil 1 m/c oil has moly in it about 100ppm. the scare was always from the auto/torque scooter transmissions. all other bikes it affects the starter clutches, not the main clutch.
see SAE tech paper #961217
 its either torco or motul that has close to 700ppm of moly in their m/c oils. delo has 100 to 200 ppm the last time I checked.

[Bonzo]

I use the ST 7317 and Rotella full syn. No problems at all.

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

I use the 6607  on my I/S and have for a very long time. Once on a tourer I had while running the 7317 I had a problem with the back of the front fender hitting the filter while turning into a parking lot with a steep angle grade. I was loaded pretty heavy (2up) with gear. It only happened once and it was more of a shock than a problem but it dented the filter a little and cause a moment of wtf happened when it did. So I just use the 6607 now.

[indybobm]

Thanks for all of the responses. I was worried thath the ST7317 might be too long with the angle of the forks and suspension travel. I will try the ST6607 with Mobil 1 15W50. This is my second Tourer and I had almost forgotton the amount of gear whine. Hoping the Mobil 1 will lessen that a little.

[ricoman]

the 7317 works great, never in the way of anything
I paint mine to match the engine
Have used Valvoline Durablend 10W-40 for a good while

[thewoodman]

Like my buddy Ricoman, I've used the ST7317 for years with no interference issues at all. After using Rotella T synthetic oil and liking it, my local Wally world discontinued keeping it in inventory. So I had to switch and I found that Mobil1 Turbo Diesel oil quiets down the transmission whine and it shifts slicker and quieter than any other oil I’ve ever used.

My cousin is a petroleum engineer who has spent his 40+ year career in specialty lubricants and seemed OK with my choice since it has little or no friction modifiers to mess up the wet clutch packs.
 

[qc-teky]

The ST 3543A is another that I have used for the last 3 years. It's the same length but a little larger
diameter. I can't seem to find them anymore at the wallys near me, nor any of the other sizes. Looks
like the wallys are letting all of the Super Techs run out and are not being replaced. Anyone else
notice this? Had to go to a parts store and get a Puralator - I like it tho - it's a purty yellow color and
goes with the bike real well.

[Hoser]

Thanks for all of the responses. I was worried thath the ST7317 might be too long with the angle of the forks and suspension travel. I will try the ST6607 with Mobil 1 15W50. This is my second Tourer and I had almost forgotton the amount of gear whine. Hoping the Mobil 1 will lessen that a little.

That is a combo I have used for 91000 miles. The whine will dissapear.  hoser

[roadhamr]

in regards to Restore. it will likely contain friction modifiers and may contain moly. these are not recommended for wet clutch applications such as a Valkyrie. why are you thinking of using one of these products?
Synthetic oils seem to have a much better results in quieting and smoothing out transmission function. this is of course a generalization. i would not recommend using an oil that was not a specific motorcycle oil. many motorcycle oils have special additive packages that are designed for better heat transfer and actually have clutch plate friction enhancers and do not for the most part contain automotive quality or quantity friction modifiers like moly.

moly is fine for wet clutches until it gets in the 300-500 PPM range. even mobil 1 m/c oil has moly in it about 100ppm. the scare was always from the auto/torque scooter transmissions. all other bikes it affects the starter clutches, not the main clutch.
see SAE tech paper #961217
 its either torco or motul that has close to 700ppm of moly in their m/c oils. delo has 100 to 200 ppm the last time I checked.

Moly is only just an example, it is friction modifiers in large quantities like you said over the 500 ppm range that is an issue. most automotive or heavy duty oils have higher levels of friction modifiers that will include moly and they typically dont include the additives that enhance clutch life and contact. Japanese bikes especially the Valkyrie have excellent clutches in them from the factory so they can tolerate the use of some of these oils and under regular riding conditions will not expose any kind of issue or weakness. Automotive oils are however not designed for this application and you may run the risk of doing in your clutch by using them. the scare is the wet clutch being saturated by friction modifiers and damaged. i have a close friend of mine who went through tech school with me that now builds motors of very high horsepower. he will not use a synthetic oil in his 150hp plus engines as the clutch will slip. he has used semi synthetic in 200 hp motorcycle engines and had no issues at all. he recommends a petroleum oil in the 200 plus hp motors he builds just to be sure. if you go by the ratings the oils mentioned meet the specs but they were not designed or originally intended for use in a motorcycle. i am not saying you cant use them i am just saying there are risks you should be aware of when you make your decision. they probably arent likely to cause anyone a problem but i know i would not use them in my precious Valkyrie.

[indybobm]

I just changed the oil and filter. Used the Supertech ST7317 and Delo 400 oil. The gear whine is reduced, and the gear change clunk is softer. The big difference that I noticed is that the clutch operates a lot smoother, it engages a lot smoother.  The big problem in comparing different oils is that you are replacing old, ready to be changed oil with new oil. It makes it hard to do an accurate comparison. It is too expensive to try multiple oils and put 100 miles on each to do the comparison.

Thanks for all of the replies.

[Canuck]

I just changed the oil and filter. Used the Supertech ST7317 and Delo 400 oil. The gear whine is reduced, and the gear change clunk is softer. The big difference that I noticed is that the clutch operates a lot smoother, it engages a lot smoother.  The big problem in comparing different oils is that you are replacing old, ready to be changed oil with new oil. It makes it hard to do an accurate comparison. It is too expensive to try multiple oils and put 100 miles on each to do the comparison.

Thanks for all of the replies.

This is the combo I used on my Wing for about 3 yrs and now on the Valk.  I could feel the difference switching from Rotella T.  Delo has a built in oil change reminder  as you're approaching the 3k mark the tranny starts getting a little clunky. 

At the end of the season (which sadly isn't far off) I'll add a few ounces of SF, put a couple hundred miles on her and put some fresh Delo in for the hibernation.

Oil is all personal prefference, but regular oil changes are key.  I just bought a new F150 EcoBoost and Ford is telling me to change the oil every 7500 miles.  That's not going to happen, it'll get changed every 3k.  They even said that for the first oil change, but that will get changed at 2k.  Again, just a personal prefference.

Ride Safe and Smooth.

[Ricky-D]

I've been using Schaffer Oil from the start.  20W50 

It is a blend oil which also has Moly in the blend.

Never had a problem with the clutch.

As for oil filters. In my opinion, the only real value of the oil filter is that it removes the water from the oil, so I seldom change it.

***

[John U.]

Ricky, I'm curious to know how you think an oil filter is going to remove water? Seems to me that once the filter media is saturated with oil, it will be unable to absorb water.
Since filters are just tin cans with media, bypass and/or backflow valves and a gasket, I don't understand by what method they could remove water,
My understanding is that water is removed from motor oil by evaporation, mostly when the oil is hot.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

6607 is very close to the same size as Honda OEM so if you have a chrome filter cover it will work....Been useing the 6607 for many years I change my oil more than most on here I change around 2500 /3000 and always install a new filter with Rotella T6 Full Synthetic 5W-40.

[The Anvil]

As for oil filters. In my opinion, the only real value of the oil filter is that it removes the water from the oil, so I seldom change it.

Ah geez, where to begin with this one...

[lucky_1_chris]

I use the 6607  on my I/S and have for a very long time. Once on a tourer I had while running the 7317 I had a problem with the back of the front fender hitting the filter while turning into a parking lot with a steep angle grade. I was loaded pretty heavy (2up) with gear. It only happened once and it was more of a shock than a problem but it dented the filter a little and cause a moment of wtf happened when it did. So I just use the 6607 now.

...I'm gonna say for the record that there is absolutely no way your fender could have hit that oil filter. It may have hit something, but not the oil filter. 

[ricoman]

I use the 6607  on my I/S and have for a very long time. Once on a tourer I had while running the 7317 I had a problem with the back of the front fender hitting the filter while turning into a parking lot with a steep angle grade. I was loaded pretty heavy (2up) with gear. It only happened once and it was more of a shock than a problem but it dented the filter a little and cause a moment of wtf happened when it did. So I just use the 6607 now.

...I'm gonna say for the record that there is absolutely no way your fender could have hit that oil filter. It may have hit something, but not the oil filter. 

 second that, for the record and off the record-
fender did not hit oil filter with bike not wrecked

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

    Well I'll have to differ with you on weather the fender hit the filter cause I was there when it did it. We were going very slow and turning from the street level into a very steep drive  into a parking lot. It hit for just a second and kind of made the steering shake and then as I drove in the lot everything was fine. The dent was in the top of the filter right at the very end of the filter. We were loaded fairly heavy at the time.
    This is not my first rodeo as I've been riding valks for over 10 years now and have over a 100,000 miles in the saddle on them.
     I don't know if it would ever happen again but I just run the 6607 now as 3/4 of an inch more oil filter is not that important to me. JMHO.

[Ricky-D]

Ricky, I'm curious to know how you think an oil filter is going to remove water? Seems to me that once the filter media is saturated with oil, it will be unable to absorb water.
Since filters are just tin cans with media, bypass and/or backflow valves and a gasket, I don't understand by what method they could remove water,
My understanding is that water is removed from motor oil by evaporation, mostly when the oil is hot.

With the filter element being paper, and even though the paper is oil saturated, the paper fibers have a greater affinity for water, hence they will absorb the water that is present in the oil.

If you are using an oil filter that is not employing a paper element I would say the water then, will only be eliminated by heating the oil. I think the majority of oil filters use paper as the filter element.

***

[Chrisj CMA]

I've been using Schaffer Oil from the start.  20W50  

It is a blend oil which also has Moly in the blend.

Never had a problem with the clutch.

As for oil filters. In my opinion, the only real value of the oil filter is that it removes the water from the oil, so I seldom change it.

***

How often is "seldom"  If you are saying you go several oil changes on the same filter, well thats just ignorant and (really) motorcycle abuse.  Even if your magic water eliminating filter actually did eliminate significant water condesation in the oil, its not going to keep on trapping all that water forever.  You should change that filter MORE often than every oil change if its in fact removing water from your oil.  

You know Ricky, I think sometimes you post these outrageous dumb comments just to get people to respond.  Its hard to believe you could actually believe some of the BS you spew.............but I suppose life would be a tad more mundain without them........just dont get upset when I call you out for the sake of the new rider/wrencher or just someone that might take you serious for no particular reason.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I've been using Schaffer Oil from the start.  20W50 

It is a blend oil which also has Moly in the blend.

Never had a problem with the clutch.

As for oil filters. In my opinion, the only real value of the oil filter is that it removes the water from the oil, so I seldom change it.

***

How often is "seldom"  If you are saying you go several oil changes on the same filter, well thats just ingorant and (really) motorcycle abuse.  Even if your magic water eliminating filter actually did eliminate significant water condesation in the oil, its not going to keep on trapping all that water forever.  You should change that filter MORE often than every oil change if its in fact removing water from your oil. 

You know Ricky, I think sometimes you post these outrageous dumb comments just to get people to respond.  Its hard to believe you could actually believe some of the BS you spew.............but I suppose life would be a tad more mundain without them........just dont get upset when I call you out for the sake of the new rider/wrencher or just someone that might take you serious for no particular reason.

He not only has Magic Water Removing Forever Oil Filters he also has Forever Wheel Bearings ....He's one lucky guy 

[Dag]

It is written very much weird about motor oils, lubricants and filters here.
The company I work for have delivered this kind of products to the oil and gas industry in the North Sea the last 40 years, we have our own lab where we tests oil samples, filter efficiency, properties of different lubricants etc. Our motorcycles dont really care much about what motor oil or the name of the lubricants we use. The tolerances are so large that it doesnt matter much what we use, but of course we need to be comfortable with what we choose ...For the Valkyrie only the best is good enough. 
There are big differences in the quality of the filter elements. There are a few manufacturers that produce filterelemnts to specifications, but most manufacturers buy filter media on the open market, so the quality can vary greatly from one batch to another. There is only one way to find out if the filter is good or bad... Take the oil to a lab.

Regarding water absorbing filters.... We use them every day. They effectively remove solid and water contaminants from hydraulic and lube oil. -but they have to be changed at shorter interval than particle filters.

Normally, I stay away from these posts because the argument is usually based on own beliefs more than facts. "I think" 

[rodeo1]

delo 400 is just the top of the heap for dino oils. it was designed for diesels, diesels have no catalytic convertors, no converter = no need to take the zinc and phosphorus out of the oil = very good for high performance engines.

bottom line is always the same - change oil every 3,000 miles and the cheapest 10-40 wal mart sells will do just fine for 200,000 miles or more. change the filter at the same time and the lowliest $1.99 filter will do just fine too.

BUT !

i aint runnin that crap in my valk !!!

[franco6]

Thanks Dag! :)Guess these things will go on forever.
see you in a couple of weeks .I got questions about the 97 cams and production changes.
Can t wait for the Kerville ride!

[cajundood]

still unable to locate 15w-40 mobil 1 at wally world but i did find 10w-40 mobil 1. $26. the ST7317 was $2.80 and it looks as though walmart is slowly phasing all supertech filters out. there used to be an entire isle of them now its limited to about 3 or 4 ft of shelf space. (so i bought 4  )
the smaller 6607 was there as well, but i'd rather the larger filter. excellent protection for a reasonable price. the supertechs have a very good filtering element in them that surpasses a lot others. (i've checked) 

[98valk]

in regards to Restore. it will likely contain friction modifiers and may contain moly. these are not recommended for wet clutch applications such as a Valkyrie. why are you thinking of using one of these products?
Synthetic oils seem to have a much better results in quieting and smoothing out transmission function. this is of course a generalization. i would not recommend using an oil that was not a specific motorcycle oil. many motorcycle oils have special additive packages that are designed for better heat transfer and actually have clutch plate friction enhancers and do not for the most part contain automotive quality or quantity friction modifiers like moly.

moly is fine for wet clutches until it gets in the 300-500 PPM range. even mobil 1 m/c oil has moly in it about 100ppm. the scare was always from the auto/torque scooter transmissions. all other bikes it affects the starter clutches, not the main clutch.
see SAE tech paper #961217
 its either torco or motul that has close to 700ppm of moly in their m/c oils. delo has 100 to 200 ppm the last time I checked.

Moly is only just an example, it is friction modifiers in large quantities like you said over the 500 ppm range that is an issue. most automotive or heavy duty oils have higher levels of friction modifiers that will include moly and they typically dont include the additives that enhance clutch life and contact. Japanese bikes especially the Valkyrie have excellent clutches in them from the factory so they can tolerate the use of some of these oils and under regular riding conditions will not expose any kind of issue or weakness. Automotive oils are however not designed for this application and you may run the risk of doing in your clutch by using them. the scare is the wet clutch being saturated by friction modifiers and damaged. i have a close friend of mine who went through tech school with me that now builds motors of very high horsepower. he will not use a synthetic oil in his 150hp plus engines as the clutch will slip. he has used semi synthetic in 200 hp motorcycle engines and had no issues at all. he recommends a petroleum oil in the 200 plus hp motors he builds just to be sure. if you go by the ratings the oils mentioned meet the specs but they were not designed or originally intended for use in a motorcycle. i am not saying you cant use them i am just saying there are risks you should be aware of when you make your decision. they probably arent likely to cause anyone a problem but i know i would not use them in my precious Valkyrie.

didn't mention friction modifiers. moly and friction modifiers (FM) are two completely different additive packages. u never want to use an oil that has FMs in a wet clutch engine (WCE). the SAE reports indicate the safe range of moly in WCEs and is what I posted.

[fordmano]

I use the ST 7317 and Rotella full syn. No problems at all.

Same here, but I lightly sand the filter itself and spray it with some chrome colored spray paint and it ends up looking like finished aluminum not realy chrome but close enough for my tastes and the location of the filter.

[Brian]

You Supertech oil filter fans may have a problem finding them. cajundood may right in that wally world is pushing these off their shelves. Our store here has only five sizes left, I bought the last two 6607's. This is all they had that fit our bike by the part #'s you all had posted here. I never notice these filters sold any where else in my area. Is the same filter out there under another name of the same quality? I switched to the Purolator a while back. Only bought these to have on hand if the Pure One was not available when I wanted to change the oil.

[Earl in Pensacola]

I bought the last four(4) #6607's on the shelf at Walmart on Creighton in Pensacola two days ago.  However, the clerk said that the computerized inventory controller will automatically reorder.   Anyway, the four I've got will last a year or so.

[Bone]

Stopped at my local WMart planned on picking up a couple of ST7317 oil filters. Had an employee working right at the Supertech filters ask if he could assist. Gave him the number and he checked each shelf from his sitting level. Not one on the shelves.
Told him about the rumor and ask him if he had heard anything. He said no Wix makes the Supertech and they did this before selling off their inventory because they were changing packaging. 

[cajundood]

well, in any case, its a good idea to go ahead and stock up (especially @ $2.80 ea.) i'll probably go back and get some more....its not like they will never get used.