I spoke to a cool bike mechanic this weekend and we talked about oil. He said that he uses regular oil because of a bad experience he had with his TLS: freshly rebuilt engine and tranny, he put in the oil and developed a leak...he said the stuff was just too slippery...seeped through the tiniest of holes. He put in regular oil and no more leaks.
He did say that on smaller displacement bikes it would probably be OK to use synthetic oil for cars(I'm using Mobil1 full synth for cars) but that on litre bikes, for instance, it might cause clutch slippage just because of the kind of forces their clutches experience. Or at least use full synthetic that is specifically designed for a wet clutch.
Just thought I'd share. :cheers:
I have been using syn oil in my TLR for over 10,000 miles and no problems what so ever. I know of plenty of other TL owners that use it as well without issues. If he is leaking oil (of any type) then he has some other issues with his bike. Plus with a rebuilt motor and tranny, he should not be using syn oil to break in the motor anyway.
You NEVER use synthetic in a new motor anyway.
Use dino oil for break in of a new/rebuilt motor.
But yea, if he had an oil leak its not the oils fault. Deffinetly something with the bike.
I put 15W-50 Mobil 1 synthetic automotive oil in my 97 GS at 5k miles and ran it till about 70k miles with about 3k change intervals. Never had any leakage or clutch problems with it. Bike now has about 80k on it and still has original clutch. I did put it in an old high milage Honda CB750K years ago and it started leaking from the engine cylinder base gasket and a couple other places. Put regular oil back in and leaking stopped.
I switched the 97 GS to the 15W-40 Mobil Delvac 1300 at about 70k and discovered the bike ran noticeably cooler with the lighter oil and I could switch back to regular gas w/o pinging in warm weather. I run the Delvac 1300 truck oil in both bikes now. With about 21k miles on the 02 GS now it is still full at oil change time like the 97 was till past 40k miles. Didn't have to add to the 97 between changes till past 50k miles.
I'm sold on the 15W-40 Mobil Delvac or Shell Rotella truck type oils for air cooled mc's now till something better comes along. :lol: These oils are about $7 a GALLON at any Walmart or auto parts store as oposed to the $5-8 a quart for the full synthetics. :thumb:
Good ref: http://www.yft.org/tex_vfr/tech/oil.htm
Put AMSOIL full synthetic MC oil in my GS at 20,000 miles and experienced almost immediate clutch slippage. Put the dino stuff back in and clutch went back to normal. Bike did run cooler though, so when this clutch gets toasted...and I think it's on it's last leg, I'll put in a kevlar clutch and synthetic.
I had the same slipping issue when I first put in syn oil on a stock GS clutch. After changing to a kevlar Barnett, no more problems.
where did you guys buy your clutches?
Barnett from Marietta Motorsports www.1888fastlap.com
Same plates as the SV650 but different quantities.
i put synthetic in my gs500f. i don't notice any slippage, but i have a hell of a time getting it into neutral at a stop light (from first). i have to force it up into 2nd and then lightly tap it into neutral...if i tap too hard it'll go back into first.
when i pull away from a stop light, sign etc i have no problems going from first to second and beyond. could this have something to do with the oil i'm using? i'd rather not spend the extra on motorcycle oil...will a semi-syn blend work any better? or how about regular car oil?
i was told by one person that motorcycle oil has an additive in it to prevent this non-action with my clutch....any truth to that?
How many miles did you have on the bike when you first put in syn? At least 3000 is best so everything seats properly.
I have an F model and went with mobil one full synthetic somewhere around 1200 to 1500 miles (I don't have my records in front of me).
No problems... matter of fact I don't have to use the choke as much when it's cold..
Quote from: dgyverBarnett from Marietta Motorsports www.1888fastlap.com
Same plates as the SV650 but different quantities.
marietta motorsports... I live just outside of marietta....
Like Jack, I'm a big fan of diesel rated dino oils. I use Rotella, because I also burn it in my diesel truck. I figure it is designed for higher compression and I know it has anti-soot additives.
Then again people have been arguing about which oil is best since the 2nd brand of oil was invented. :lol:
Mobil1 has recently introduced a yellow cap, 10w40 "Truck and SUV" oil that is just relabled Delvac1. That is very good oil...
Personally, I've been using 5w30 mobil1 in my R6's (both are race only) and have no problems.
From my experience, if your clutch is having problems or is old, synthetic (with the friction modifiers) will compound the problem, but if your clutch is in good shape the modifiers wont affect it.
-T
I have change my oil from "the dealer i bought it from oil" to Castrol R4, fully synth. oil - change the oilfilter at the same time, of course :)
I have done aboute 100 miles since that, without any clutch problems what so ever, and the bike seems to like it ...I mean, the throttle response is more "aggresive" and it revs higher.
I don't want to go in to the "dino vs synth. oil discussion" but I (and my GS) really likes the Castrol R4 oil, and THAT is what really matters ...isn't it ??
John
Ooops ...I forgot, my bikes is an 1998 Suzuki GS500E with 20000 Km on the clock ...sorry :oops:
Dragonfly,
I don't know if that's true for motorcycles, but as far as cars go, I know VW/Audi/Porsche all come with synthetic from the factory. It seems to make sense with a bike, just b/c MC's seem to be way more touchy...but it might be the case that it's becoming increasingly untrue. just my $.02. feel free to substantiate/refute.
Regards,
Riz
:thumb:
Ducati's come factory with synthetic oil.
Newer Hondas don't have a break in period, you just get on the bike and ride it. No staying under any rpm's for a set amount of time; just ride it.
I second the Rotella 10w40; a friend of mine is giving rave reviews about the oil. Myself? I am using Mobil 1 15w50 because I pay the same amount for 4 quarts of Mobil 1 as my friend does for Rotella. (Get the oil through the shop; did I mention I work in a lube shop? :mrgreen: )
I'm also using the Delvac 1300. I think it's $19.95 for a 4 gallon case at Costco. I hate dealing with the little quart bottles anyways.
I used Mobil-1 for most of a year, but twice I left the petcock on PRIme, and ended up with some gas on the floor, and some in the oil, and had to toss-out $20 in oil.
(yeah, I know, fix the float needle!)