Synthethic vs Normal Oil - 95 ST1100

My head hurts after reading all that :nuts1:
I got the feeling that this information was directed at cars/trucks etc. not motorcycles with wet clutches.
I guess all the motorcycles that I have put between 100,000 and 400,000 miles on them would be considered "damaged" according to his information.
I will keep using my chevron delo 400, valvoline premium blue, or mobil delvac 1.
I have never had ANY oil related failure on a motorcycle with it, and to be honest, the average motorcycle owner does not keep their bikes long enough to roll up that kind of mileage.
stats can be used to prove or disprove anything depending on how they are used....stats show that more people die in hospitals than walmart, but if you ever find me after I've crashed my bike, please don't take me shopping at walmart :rofl1:
 
Talking about Walmart, I recommend Castrol GTX 10W40 conventional oil - available at Walmart. Excellent oil and better for a wet clutch than full synthetic.
 
drseth said:
I also have been using Rotella T6 5W40 Synthetic, but after reading 540rat blog on oils, I may be changing to a different brand.

http://540ratblog.wordpress.com/
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I was convinced to read that a couple of years ago but anyone else can stop after his Reason #1. I'm not running a big bore pushrod rat motor. The ST engines are overbuilt for the use we put them to and do not tax their lubricating oil. There is "good enough" and there is good enough to run to 250,000 miles or more with generous oil change intervals on engines and oils designed and blended over two decades ago.
 
Don't know if I would call that statement fake news or not, but if you were to call Blackstone Lab and ask several folks who work there, and who ride motorcycles, I think you'd be surprised to find that none of them would use synthetic oil in their bikes.
Most of the ones I talked to said they saw no need to spend the money on synthetic oil, or even blended synthetic oil (which could simply mean a cap full of synthetic mixed in normal dino oil to call it blended) when after years of testing oils they felt that the quality of the modern dino oils was, like Dave said, Good enough.
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Igofar said:
Don't know if I would call that statement fake news or not, but if you were to call Blackstone Lab and ask several folks who work there, and who ride motorcycles, I think you'd be surprised to find that none of them would use synthetic oil in their bikes.
Most of the ones I talked to said they saw no need to spend the money on synthetic oil, or even blended synthetic oil (which could simply mean a cap full of synthetic mixed in normal dino oil to call it blended) when after years of testing oils they felt that the quality of the modern dino oils was, like Dave said, Good enough.
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My "beef" with Jim is not about whether the quality of one type is better than the other, but rather his statement that dino is "better for a wet clutch than full synthetic". That is spreading misinformation, IMO.
 
If your manual says to use synthetic then that's what you do. If it does not stipulate this then it's discretionary and your decision could be based on type of riding you do in terms of duration, mix of city/highway, outside temperature and #of km per annum. 99% of my riding is at least 2 - 3 hours long on highways and back roads at outside temps of 10 to 35C

I've been using Rotella T dino 15w/40 for 15 years, change oil and filter around August 1 and then again mid November as part of storage process for winter season. Air and sub filter checked once per year and changed every two years. My annual mileage is relatively low and change oil timing is length of time driven vs. km. I think if you keep whole system clean with routine maintenance you're going to avoid oil related wear. I suppose a synthetic oil might be marginally better in protecting the engine but given my riding situation the difference is effectively irrelevant IMHO.
 
ReSTored said:
If your manual says to use synthetic then that's what you do. If it does not stipulate this then it's discretionary and your decision could be based on type of riding you do in terms of duration, mix of city/highway, outside temperature and #of km per annum. 99% of my riding is at least 2 - 3 hours long on highways and back roads at outside temps of 10 to 35C

I've been using Rotella T dino 15w/40 for 15 years, change oil and filter around August 1 and then again mid November as part of storage process for winter season. Air and sub filter checked once per year and changed every two years. My annual mileage is relatively low and change oil timing is length of time driven vs. km. I think if you keep whole system clean with routine maintenance you're going to avoid oil related wear. I suppose a synthetic oil might be marginally better in protecting the engine but given my riding situation the difference is effectively irrelevant IMHO.
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BTW, The Moto Guzzi Owners Club several years back did a survey to find out what oil Owners had been using on bikes with over 100K miles and w/o any major engine problems.

They came to the conclusion it didn't matter what brand or type oil to use. What was important was that it was changed frequently.
 
Jim Van said:
OK, Mr. Bush , tell me why you think that ? Isn't synthetic slicker than dino oil ?
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It's not slicker, it just holds its viscosity and lubricious properties longer, i.e. It doesn't break down as quickly, thus the longer oil change intervals.

IMO, if you change your oil and filter regularly, appropriate for the oil, either will do its job well enough.
 
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The only decision maker between dino and synthetic oil is your engine 'condition'.
The first GL1000 I restored, I broke in with dino oil for one change, then added synthetic (10/40). I also parked it on the side stand unless I was doing maintenance on it. The synthetic oil would seep around the valve seals (new) on the left side over night. Startups literally looked like an insect fogger until the oil burned out of the cylinders. Went back to dino oil and the leakage went away.
Just a consideration to make. Some designs or older technology may be better suited to dino rather than synthetic oils. If there is a problem, it will be obvious.
I use synthetic in my 1991 St1100 with no leakage or burning issues anywhere.
 
Startups literally looked like an insect fogger until the oil burned out of the cylinders. Went back to dino oil and the leakage went away.
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Wow that brought back a memory. I used Mobil 1 on my GL1000 back in '77 or a little later after about 10Kmi on regular oil.

I always parked it on the center stand when done riding so it never sat overnight on the side stand. Except once the first and very last time. I started it up and left the garage for just a couple of minutes. When I came back it looked like someone had popped smoke. I caught some heat for that and never made that mistake again. I stuck with Mobil 1.
 
That is probably one of the main reasons BMW discontinued their flying brick K75 and K100 motors in the late 80's. When parked on the side stand oil would cause them to smoke very badly, and no matter how many times the customers complained about it, BMW said it was normal. :shrug1:
 
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