what about synthetics?

[roscoe G coltrane]

I've got an 82 GS 650 G with 28K that I bought about a week ago. the PO didn't know what kind of oil was used in it but said it needed to be changed.I know some wet clutches don't mix with synthetics but I was wondering if any of you have used it with any sucess? mine is a shafty so I'm definately using it in the rearend.(75/90 gear oil of course) this is my first inline 4 so I'm new as to what kind of oil works the best. so many choices...full synth..blend...conventional.....motorcycle specific..somebody give me some imput please. roscoe

[marvinsc]

Careful What You ask For! The Oil Debate comes Up here on a Regular Basis. I have heard Mixed Reviews about Synthetic and Blended Oils, Clutch Slippage and Increased Oil Leaks being the Most Frequent Complaints while Some Folks Swear By them. As for Me, Good Ole Castrol GTX 10W40 which is What the Bike was Designed to Use. One thing Everyone Agrees on, CHANGING the OIL Regularly (Every 2 to 3 Thousand Miles) is Much More Important than Which Oil is Used.:-D

[Dan Ruddock]

What's is important is to use an oil that has no moly or friction modifiers and not wether it is synth or not. If you want to run synth use rotella 5-40 available at wal mart it meets this criteria. Dan

[Steve]

The most important part of whichever oil you decide to use is to look on the back label, find the API seal. It is a circle that shows the characteristics of the oil. Look at the bottom half of the circle for the words "ENERGY CONSERVING". If you see those words, DON'T USE THAT OIL. :shock:

Generally, you will not find those words on any 40-weight oil, so any of the 10w-40 or 20w-50 oils will work. Obviously, some better than others.

Many will agree that Castrol GTX is a good oil. Another bunch will also point you toward the Rotella 5w-40 Synthetic in the BLUE jug. You can also spend even more money and get motorcycle-specific oils from your dealer, but nobody has convinced me that it's worth that much more money. 8-[


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[jimcor]

Use good oil, change it often.

I use car oil in 10W40 grade, whatever is on sale. Oil is changed every 1000 to 1500 miles, filter gets changed about every 3 or 4 thousand miles.

[Greg O.]

When I bought my 79 GS 750L two years ago, I noticed when it got hot in city traffic or on a hot day, the clutch would chatter. I figured the oil was thinning out, so I changed it to Mobile 1 synthetic 20W 50. As mentioned above, be sure it does not have the words "ENERGY CONSERVING" on the lable, because this can cause the clutch to slip. When I swithced, my clutch chatter has never come back even while riding in Florida last summer in 90 something heat. The clutch is much smoother.

Greg O.

[Ozymandias]

I've always preferred to use syth oils personally. I find I get better fuel economy and slightly better performance. But if your engine isn't tight you will get some leakage. "It flows like 5w but protects at 40" is no joke. It will flow through any leak you have better than conventional. Contrary to what I've been hearing from so many people you aren't "stuck" to using sythetic if you don't like it. You shouldn't mix it if you decide to use it, however. You should change the filter at the same time regardless as well. Same as if you switch back to conventional.

Ultimately the choice is yours. I've been using Castrol syntec in my cars for a decade and always improved the car when switching to it. I just changed the oil in my '78 gs550 today and I can already tell a modest improvement in performance and I'm waiting to see how much better the fuel economy is.

But like the other people have said, you'll still want to change your oil regularly. Syth oil is billed as lasting longer than conventional and I usually do put an extra 2k miles on it in my cars. The jury is still out on how I'll handle it on the bike though since I just started riding again.

[salty_monk]

Using Castrol GTX 10-40. Changing to 20-50 soon for the summer. Will probably stick with 20-50 after that as it's never really cold here.... (even the owners manual says you can).

Dan

[earlfor]

Mobil 1 15w50 synthetic for the last nine bikes. Never a problem with it.

E.

[headsbikesmopars]

How many miles before using synthetics ??

[earlfor]

I probably wouldnt put synthetic oil in until the bike had around 2000 miles on it. I'd like to be certain everything had settled in/worn in.

E.

How many miles before using synthetics ??

[jm_foote]

What I understand about synthetic.

Some say, that if you put synthetic in a dino-oil machine, the added detergents will free up gunk. I would suggest changing the oil, once switched over to synthetic, rather rapidly the first time or two. This may also mean, that some seals may start to leak a little bit as the holes would have been plugged with gunk.

I've heard people recommend running synthetic from the get-go, with the exception of the first oil change or two, as you will be changing them right off the bat anyway.

Synthetics work better in the cold, as they do not become as viscid in cold weather. Most people don't ride in the cold, however.

Synthetics should have no detrimental effects on our clutches.

I use AMSOIL 10W40. I started running it at 40,000 klicks without any noticeable leaks developing.

Most "full synthetics" are actually partial blends. I was told AMSOIL is one of the only real fully synthetic oils. I could be mistaken, however.

I heard a rumor that AMSOIL guaranteed up to 40,000 km between oil changes when using their oil and their oil filters.

Both synthetic and dino oils are good alternatives. So long as you change your oil and your oil filter on a regular basis.

Bottom Line:

I use synthetic oil. I like how it behaves and have not experienced any detrimental effects from the use of it. My clutch has not started slipping. I have not been leaking oil. My fuel mileage did not increase/decrease by any significant amount.


One important thing;

Oil additives are bad. Slick 50 will harm your machine. If these additives were so great, they would be put into oil by the manufacturers.

[Rz2538]

Synthetics motor oil

You should always use motor oil that made for a motorcycles. The manufactures add additives designed for motorcycles. One of these additives is anti-forming agent, the transmission whips up the oil into foam like an egg-beater which the oil does not lubricate as well. The second additive is anti-corrosion additive to coat the inside of motor for corrosion. To answer the question these synthetics motorcycle oils will not effect the wet clutches, if it designed for motorcycles.

[Cassius086]

hmmm. My GS has never been fed MC specific oil. Better than 45,000 of the 75,500 miles on the clocks has been 15w50 Mobil 1 car oil. I have seen the insides of my bikes engine, and all is clean. No corrosion, no pitting on engine internals, and my clutch does not have any issues with slippage. Just don't run energy conserving oil in the bike, and keep a regular maintenance schedule, and you'll be fine.

[Nessism]

hmmm. My GS has never been fed MC specific oil. Better than 45,000 of the 75,500 miles on the clocks has been 15w50 Mobil 1 car oil. I have seen the insides of my bikes engine, and all is clean. No corrosion, no pitting on engine internals, and my clutch does not have any issues with slippage. Just don't run energy conserving oil in the bike, and keep a regular maintenance schedule, and you'll be fine.

The problem with "oil threads" is that many of the people post hearsay as fact.

I’m a mechanical engineer and spent 21 years working in the automotive industry. I’ve studied this subject and have concluded that synthetic oils are superior if you like to run extended change intervals, since they are very stable and don’t brake down as fast. They are not more “slippery” thus there is no worry with using them during break-in. In fact, many engines come with synthetic oil from new. Regarding viscosity, synthetics don’t thin as much as the temperature increases, and they have a higher flash point. This can be important on an air cooled engine but only under extreme conditions. So bottom line is that synthetics are better in some situations but if your bike never sees these conditions…it doesn’t really matter.