Okay... I'm thinking about going with the mobil one in my 500F... anybody have any recomendations?

Use a synthetic blend intended for use in a motorcycle. Avoid full synthetic, the stock clutch can't take it - will likely slip.

Quote from: octaneUse a synthetic blend intended for use in a motorcycle. Avoid full synthetic, the stock clutch can't take it - will likely slip.

While you may have had a bad experience, by and large full synthetics - including Mobile 1 - work just fine.  I have used Mobile 1 in five bikes starting in 1980 -  three of them Suzuki's, all with wet clutches and never had a problem.  There have been several articles in bike magazines sying that there are no problems, onece the rings are seated,  unless the clutch is worn.  One of the current bike magazines (I read a couple British mags, Cycle and Cylle World - can not remember which one it was - think its the one with the V-Max/Triumph comparo test) in answer to a question says that people keep claiming that  there are some problems, but that  evidence of problems is hard to come by.  

So, if your clutch is in good condition, it should not be a problem at all.

When I bought my 500F the guy at the bike shop told me synthetic was unnecessary for the GS and I should use a good regular oil.  My brother suggested Suzuki brand oil because he said it should have all of the addatives etc. that Suzuki wants in their engines.  :dunno:

I would not recommend running full syn oil until after 3000 miles.

I have started to question full syn in the GS since I fried my clutch last time at Jennings. Replaced the stock clutch with a Barnett but still running full syn. Shifting is just so much smoother. Probably stay with dino oil in the 94 until the clutch needs replacing then switch to full syn since I will put in a Barnett as well.

I have about 1500 miles on the '04 right now... later this week I'm going on a 350 mile road trip... I'm thinking of giving the synthetic a try when I get back... Is there any warranty issues with using synthetic?

fett

Quote from: dgyverI would not recommend running full syn oil until after 3000 miles.

I'm going to try it on mine when I do the 4K service in a week or so.  I changed to synth on the Miata I got at 124K miles, and it's been terrific.  I think meticulously maintained engines take the switch fine.

Full synthetic is great for the motor, questionable on a clutch. The stock clutch is cork based and not designed to work in the super slick world of synthetic oil. After break-in your clutch may do fine in synthetic for many miles, many people claim it does in their experience, but I still wouldn't recommend it personally. Most stock replacement clutches will state in the warranty that they are not meant to be run in synthetic. Kevlar based clutches on the other hand are designed for use in either dino or synthetic oil.

My stock clutch was fine until I put Amsoil full synthetic in the bike - after the AMSOIL SALESMAN told me it would not damage the clutch. After a few miles the clutch would engage fine at low speeds, but if I hammered the throttle at any rpm in any gear I'd get significant clutch slippage. Once I drained $24 worth of fresh oil into the recycle bucket and filled it back up with 30 weight Castrol (at the recommendation of a friend who is an old school bike mechanic and racer) the clutch went back to where it was pre-Amsoil.

Quote from: Roadstergal

Quote from: dgyverI would not recommend running full syn oil until after 3000 miles.

I'm going to try it on mine when I do the 4K service in a week or so.  I changed to synth on the Miata I got at 124K miles, and it's been terrific.  I think meticulously maintained engines take the switch fine.

Not the same. The GS uses a wet clutch and shares oil with the engine. The synthetic oil in your Miata's engine is completely isolated from the clutch and transmission.

Yeah, I forget about such subtle differences between cars and bikes.  :p