Synthetic oil in XS11.

[BA80]

Nice article Greg. However that this is my point and proves my point exactly.

How did you come to that conclusion with what was pointed out here?.....

A full synthetic oil, as the name states, is "synthesized". By that, they mean it is made in a lab, it is a manufactured product.

Organic (Dino) oil is a product of nature.

So the big difference is the environment in which the oil is made in.

The main selling point on synthetic over organic is because it is manufactured, it is made in a controlled environment. That means far less impurities and a more consistent product.

Organic oil will be influenced by what it was made from, what was in the ground where it was extracted from, etc.

Another way to think about it is synthetic is an additive process. They start with nothing and add in the components they want until they get the end product.

Organic oil is a reductive process, they start with an unrefined product and filter out all the stuff they don't want until they have what they want left.

[Bonz]

Since the merger with Mobil Oil in 1999, ExxonMobil markets the Lubricants under the Mobil 1 brand.

Their definition of Synthetic is:
•Synthetic motor oils (such as Mobil 1) contain more highly refined base oils than those used in conventional mineral oils, which can offer you better protection and performance. Synthetic oils provide a variety of benefits, such as excellent high- and low-temperature performance, that can provide excellent engine protection.

Both types of engine oil are made from crude oil that comes from the ground. (What the article is referring to is nothing of the sort).

•The difference is that synthetic oils undergo numerous additional highly advanced distilling, refining, and purification processes - and therefore are of a higher purity and quality than conventional mineral oils. This not only removes more impurities from the original crude, it also enables the engineering (weeding out of inconsistent sized molecules is all this is) of the lubricant's individual molecules to be uniform and consistent, tailored to meet the specific high-performance demands of modern engines. These customized molecules (specifically selected from the oil that was already there, not made by man!) provide higher levels of protection and performance, even in extreme conditions.
•The performance of synthetic motor oil is more robust, especially in terms of low-temperature pumpability, high-temperature stability, and protection against deposits. These attributes translate directly into less engine wear and longer engine life.

It is what it is, and the modern understanding is clear.

In a nutshell, if anyone believes the synthetic oil made by the major companies is from a laboratory beaker by combining ingredients A+B+C, and not made from oil straight out of the ground, you are being duped.

[BA80]

Synthetic uses SOME components of dino oil......it isn't the base. Dino based synthetics are referred to as "synthetic blends".

Synthetic oil


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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For synthetic liquid hydrocarbons, see Synthetic fuel.





A sample of synthetic motor oil
Synthetic oil is a lubricant consisting of chemical compounds that are artificially made (synthesized). Synthetic lubricants can be manufactured using chemically modified petroleum components rather than whole crude oil, but can also be synthesized from other raw materials. Synthetic oil is used as a substitute for lubricant refined from petroleum when operating in extremes of temperature, because, in general, it provides superior mechanical and chemical properties to those found in traditional mineral oils[citation needed]. Aircraft jet engines, for example, require the use of synthetic oils[citation needed], whereas aircraft piston engines do not. Synthetic lubricants are also used in metal stamping to provide environmental and other benefits[citation needed] when compared to conventional petroleum and animal fat based products. These products are also referred to as "non-oil" or "oil free"[citation needed].


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

[ViperRon]

Earning the right

Ba
I think Bonz has earned the right to use his synthetic motor oil. He may be lucky. But if he is not he will be back bragging about the new friction plates he got. Then he can explain why! Me I had used synthetic in mine one time back in the 90's when I was told the new synthetic blends would not cause clutch slip and soon saw intermittent slip. Then had the situation where my bike was left running for hours and cooked. The frictions I had were cleaned soaked in fresh clean dino oil and measured to be fine and looked fine but they slipped and until I got my new fibers I did not have a solid locking clutch. So let Bonz go down that road maybe he will learn something.

Ron

[BA80]

Hey, if it works for him more power to him. I'm just laying down the FACTS as they are.

I have no animosity. Just believe in the facts.

I had issues with clutch slippage with Rotella T 15w40. I've used it in other bikes without a problem but the XS hated it. Clutch slipped like hell.

[Bonz]

I haven't earned the right to use anything! It is a fact in the industry what I say is 100% true.

Synthetic blends are simply the highly refined dino oil, Castrol Syntec "synthetic oil" and combining that in some amount with Castrol GTX "conventional oil", the standard grade not so highly refined oil from the same hole in the ground. That is all you are getting. You get NOTHING made in a lab other than the time it took to distill out the impurities which makes the base oil more consistent and therefore perform better. The only thing made in a Lab is the additive package, which synthetic and conventional oils use the exact same stuff.

The whole gist of this is to show what you guys think you are getting when you put today's synthetic oil in your engine isn't what you think it is, and the urban myth that current synthetic oils cause leaks and clutch slippage is as wrong as the day is long.

Ummm.... I have run M1 15W-50 syn in my 80SG... Works fine! I choose not to run it because I change it every 2500 miles and the cost factor wins out.

[BA80]

Why do I feel like I'm having a political discussion?

I present facts and they are dutifully ignored. I run into that a lot with certain groups of people.

Suit yourself.........

[IanDMacDonald]

It's gettin' good!

[Bonz]

You guys still believe the world is flat? Someone once said it was... Hundreds of years ago... Must still be true...

Greg, still considering the Colorado Rally? No oil discussion, promise!

[BA80]

You guys still believe the world is flat? Someone once said it was... Hundreds of years ago... Must still be true...

Greg, still considering the Colorado Rally? No oil discussion, promise!

Ha ha ha ha ha..............if the world was flat I would be afraid to come to Colorado. I might fall off the edge before I got there.

I'm thinking strongly of coming up. Bob and Bohn are going and I probably should come along so they don't get lost. well, so Bob doesn't anyway. His electronic stuff never works right. Not too worried about Bohn, he's got all the paper maps. Prehistoric GPS.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hey Howard!

FWIW, thought I'd pitch in my 2 centavos!

For many years, I worked as a fleet mechanic in Tulsa. My main job was maintenance, meaning oil changes.

The discussion of changing the fleet over from Castrol 20/W50 oil to synthetic came up a few times, (as a possible way to change oil less, and save money, in spite of synthetic's extra cost.)

It was voted down.

Then, when I got my Maxim, I asked about going that route, since Cody and I were planning on doing 4-5000 mile trips out to Oregon.
I was told the XS11 wasn't a good candidate for synthetic due to it's wet clutch design. Dry clutch- ok. Wet clutch- trouble.

So, my bike having stock clutch plates, I never tried it. I always ran Castrol 20-W50, and changed it at 3000 mile intervals, w/o issues.

If your 11 can tolerate synth, then that's cool! I know you can go many more miles on synth between changes. Great if you long-range tour a lot.

But, be advised... you may develope clutch problems somewhere down the road from it, too. Maybe not... who knows?

Looking forward to seeing you again at the rally!
Bob

[Bonz]

I don't run the synthetic oil because I change it every 2500 miles or so. Doesn't make cost sense to me. But I have run it in the XS for one oil change when I first got the bike and it worked fine. However, for the sake of my certainty (sanity) I will run it again for the rally this summer.

[mjpxs11sh]

+

Like i said on the first page, ppl are anal about oil lol

[Bonz]

Welcome back to the fourth page!

It's an old school understanding vs a new school knowledge. We all know we are right but since we know each other so well, it makes for good discussion without getting bent out of shape over it.