oil use

[bikerphil]

I believe conventional protection is the same as synthetic blend. Just another thing becoming obsolete that we need to keep our bikes running.

[cajun31]

Howard is quite involved on the Bobistheoilguy.com site and I for sure respect everything he has to say about oil in general. I agree with you Phil that like everything else things constantly change over time and continues to make our bikes more obsolete. Keeping them serviced is becoming more of a challenge.

Conventional versus synthetic oils and their use in our bikes always causes quite the stir in discussion. I was not aware for some time that most of the oil that you see on store shelves in the USA are basically just highly processed conventional oil. All of the oils sold and handled by Walmart that they regularly stock on their shelves contain no PAO's which would classify them as group 4 or 5 true synthetic oil. They are all just highly processed conventional oil with about 30% additives added to them so they are classified as synthetic oil. Maybe Howard can expand on this a bit. My real question here is the use of what are deemed synthetic oil in our wet clutch bikes. It seems that if the oil has the JASO MA or JASO MA2 certification label on them they should be safe for use in UJM's. I know for years now Howard has stated that he has used synthetic oil with no problems with slippage. The debate really becomes more about how long before oil changes and are these oils really beneficial for use in our bikes. Can they be used for longer durations in our bikes without having to worry about oil break down? Many have stated oil is oil and can be used with no problems in our bikes. Seems that folks like LAB and Deebs have proven this through real world examples.
Really just trying to open up a good discussion here so that everyone can get real answers as things get harder to find to keep our bikes on the road without having to pay an arm and a leg to do so.

[Bonz]

I appreciate what you're sharing. Yes I am active on Bob is the oil guy. Lots of good information and I've gained a lot of knowledge through my own use and analysis.

I go conventional in the 80's UJM's because the oil is contaminated from blow by and by-products of combustion in the loose tolerance air cooled engines. With my 1100, false neutrals started to show up toward the end of each 2500 mile oil change interval. It was not mechanical per se, it was the oil not holding grade and/or being contaminated that degraded shift quality and feel. Others that have gone before, on XS11.com, would profess the same thing from their decades of experience.

I'd be curious if Supertech oil that is labeled "conventional protection" is verified as a semi-synthetic. I would put semi-synthetic on the oil instead of "conventional protection" if I was selling it. JAT.

Yamaha recommended 2500 Mi oil changes for the 1100 back in the day. I no longer have my 1100, however the Seca 750 and Nighthawk 550 I have fall in the same realm.

I don't use synthetic because I'm changing the oil at a relatively short interval. A synthetic is a better oil overall, no doubt. It's the other elements that synthetic can't control such as contamination that lead me to choose conventional.

By all means, use a synthetic, it's a good choice. Conventional is a choice that I've made based upon those factors above. It's not bad to run synthetic but synthetic benefits are not realized over 2,500 miles when the oil begins to say it's time to be changed.

I go 5,000 mi in my liquid cooled 2001 ZRX 1200 because Kawasaki recommended 5,000 miles back then, and I said what the heck, how about I try it. With high quality synthetic oil it more than succeeds with respect to wear analysis and shift feel and staying in grade which has a lot to do with positive shifting.

I ran Castrol conventional 20w50 motorcycle oil in the ZRX for, if I recall, 2,700 mi. It had fallen into 40 grade territory already. The flashpoint of the oil was over 400° F which means fuel dilution was not an issue with respect to causing it to fall out of grade. The oil wasn't able to hold up based on its own merits.

Think about an air-cooled engine that goes through tremendous heat cycles and how the oil would hold up. Then factor in contamination from the loose tolerances, and the oil is ready to be changed at 2500 miles in that type of engine.

Good synthetic 20w-50 all except for one occasion has stayed in grade to over 5,000 miles in the ZRX. I haven't pushed it longer to find out where the break point is but I'm sure I could have left them in longer.

[jetmechmarty]

What is Yamalube most lately? Recently, I’ve been using whatever JASO MA2 is available locally at the auto parts store be it conventional or synthetic. I’ve had no negative effects with synthetic. My XS650 bikes don’t have an oil filter, but screens. I don’t believe I get the same benefit from using synthetic oil because the oil change interval is reduced due to the lack of oil filter.