My dabble in synthetic oil...

[brveagle]

Well after two months of running the semi-synthetic oil, (changed it once too) i have noticed that my engine runs smoother and is not as hot in traffic... However, i am springing leaks everywhere. I recently had a completely top end rebuild with all new gaskets, and they are just barely seeping oil in various spots. I'm gonna try retorqueing the head to see if that helps, but if it doesn't. I'll probably be switching back to regular motor oil.

Anyone else have this problem?

[Jethro]

I've switched back and forth with no issue before. I am running the synthetic from now on though. If your gaskets leaked from the oil, they were suspect anyway.

[Joe Guilbeau]

Royal Purple

Been using Mobil 1 but have now moved on to Royal Purple, 20w-50w, in my GS1100EX. Owned her since she came off of a Houston dealership in the summer of 1981, figure I have over 300,000 miles on her now. 4-engines, two transmissions, umpeen tires, chains and various other parts en-route...

This week it was 102-Degrees F, doh! (San Antonio, Texas)


Anyway, you should be pleased with Royal Purple, I get mine from a NAPA dealer which is close by.

Used it in my AMC '83 Cherokee Laredo with the AMC-360 CID and it was much quieter and the engine did not "strain" as much as with the Mobil-1.

[ScottMc1100L]

Poured some Golden Spectro in there tonight. We'll see how it is at $11.95/qt.

So what do you think, worth the extra $$ ??

[Jethro]

So what do you think, worth the extra $$ ??

I don't know why I keep buying expensive oil. My bike runs no cooler or hotter, shifts no better or worse, sounds no better or worse, it doesn't leak now nor did it before, it doesn't warm up any different, I won't increase my oil change interval (becasue that has nothing to do with the quality of your oil)...

I think I am going back to Castrol Syntec becasue it has those containers that have a huge cap and no foil underneath it. Seriously.

[Hoomgar]

I don't know why I keep buying expensive oil. My bike runs no cooler or hotter, shifts no better or worse, sounds no better or worse, it doesn't leak now nor did it before, it doesn't warm up any different, I won't increase my oil change interval (becasue that has nothing to do with the quality of your oil)...

I think I am going back to Castrol Syntec becasue it has those containers that have a huge cap and no foil underneath it. Seriously.

I haven't even tried the syn yet but this is how I feel already and I'll bet is how I will feel if I do try it. I guess I need to try it

[Jethro]

I haven't even tried the syn yet but this is how I feel already and I'll bet is how I will feel if I do try it. I guess I need to try it

That what I said. And I'm one of those fools that thinks, "If it's expensive, it has to be good!":?

[redtires]

Shell Rotella T 'full' synth is only 13% synthetic base stock...mostly dino oil...Any deisel oil makes a great GREAT motorcycle oil though; Even Mobil 1 Extended life is not pure synthetic stock. Only full synths now are Amsoil, Redline, Motul.

I've made it this far into the thread before thinking of asking this, so apologies if it is addressed later, but has anyone used/experimented with royal purple? It's super in my car (Ztec/cold-air intake/oversized exhaust w/turbo muff...etc...), but I'm wondering about the bike?

[beby99]

I've made it this far into the thread before thinking of asking this, so apologies if it is addressed later, but has anyone used/experimented with royal purple? It's super in my car (Ztec/cold-air intake/oversized exhaust w/turbo muff...etc...), but I'm wondering about the bike?

Been using Mobil 1 but have now moved on to Royal Purple, 20w-50w, in my GS1100EX. Owned her since she came off of a Houston dealership in the summer of 1981, figure I have over 300,000 miles on her now. 4-engines, two transmissions, umpeen tires, chains and various other parts en-route...

This week it was 102-Degrees F, doh! (San Antonio, Texas)


Anyway, you should be pleased with Royal Purple, I get mine from a NAPA dealer which is close by.

Used it in my AMC '83 Cherokee Laredo with the AMC-360 CID and it was much quieter and the engine did not "strain" as much as with the Mobil-1.

...............

[joejeweler]

But isn't the original Mobil 1 still fully synthetic? I always thought so,..... but may try the Rotella 5W40 synthetic if my local Wall Mart carries it since some around here seem to like it.

Shell Rotella T 'full' synth is only 13% synthetic base stock...mostly dino oil...Any deisel oil makes a great GREAT motorcycle oil though; Even Mobil 1 Extended life is not pure synthetic stock. Only full synths now are Amsoil, Redline, Motul.

[rustybronco]

So what do you think, worth the extra $$ ??

I use amsoil 20w50 at about 8-9.00 a quart it probably won't be worth the extra money, though the engine temp is lower and at 2,000+ miles so far it hasn't lost its shift qualities, with rotella t 15w40 it was starting to get clunky and harder to find first by now, i'll let you know more at 4,000 miles i probably will go to synthetic rotella 5w40 next year and see what that does, but for what i've seen there will be no more conventional dino oil for me again, with the cost dis-advantage for the different synthetic oils, which synthetic oil is most cost effective solution is what i have been trying to figure out.
the down side has been the leaks, still a good gasket is a good gasket, a bad gasket is well a bad gasket, don't think it's the oil there.

[REDDY]

Go to xs11.com.Check two articles ( Auto oils v. motorcycle oils and the next one on the list ) This site has a lot of good info.

[jimcor]

Go to xs11.com.Check two articles ( Auto oils v. motorcycle oils and the next one on the list ) This site has a lot of good info.

Careful. Those articles have been discussed many time before. They're over 12 years old now. The oil formulations have all changed since then, and so have the prices!

[rodm850g]

syn oil

Guys
I have owned my old trusty screen name sake some 20 years now and he has been on Mobil one or Rotella since then....OEM filters and as the gear oil became available in synthetic I changed over from the old Kal-Gard brand to synthetic. Filters seems like a good one to take off on to me...
A fellow did some rudementary research on filters a while back and what he found was interesting...the media came under scrutiny.... and other aspects as well. Most of it centered on spin on filters which dont confront us, but between OEM and Vesrah they are hard to beat...any one interested drop me a pm and I'l try to drag up a link.....

Rodm850g

[Nessism]

Sorry to keep this crusty thread going, and going, and...

I've always been one of those "motor oil is motor oil" types, typically grabing what ever oil is on sale. My thinking is that as long as the oil meets the SAE spec then all is well.

I've recently started doing some more reading on the oil subject and it seems clear that not all oils are alike. Pure synthetic oils, like Amsoil & Golden Spectro, seem to be superior products but are priced accordingly. Cheaper mixed synthetics, like Rotella and Mobil 1, again seem superior to dino oil but are more expensive. So the question remains: where is the sweet spot with regard to the best cost vs. benift ratio?

Motor oils capture combustion by products and keep them in suspension in the oil. This would lead one to think that frequent oil changes are the way to go - leaning toward dino because it's cheaper. Motorcycle transmissions chew up long chain molocules in the oil though which would lean toward synthetic since they have more chemical stability.

I'm thinking that mid priced mixed synthetics are the best compromise since they are not killer expensive, so you can change it more often, yet protect the motor a little better than dino oils.

I'm a convert...for now.