Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Most of the 600's claim about 110hp, and the 1000's are in the 160-180 range depending on which one you're looking at.

Fact is that most bikes use a higher viscosity oil than cars and therefore don't use the same friction modifiers that you would find in, say a 10w/30 or 5w/30 oil. I have used Mobil 1 15/50 auto oil in my Triumph for years and never had a problem. If I am correct I think this oil is slightly different from McD's french fry oil though judging from the taste I am not so sure.........
Last year I had to tear the motor down to replace a starter sprag clutch that failed after 11 years of use and there were no signs of wear on any components. The bike had approximately 65,000 kms on it.

I work at a truck lube place, drivers sometimes ask me which oil is the best. Some times I tell them that it is all good, that it comes out of the same hole in the ground. However, I know that the addetives make all oils just a bit different from each other, but not that different. A lot of it has to do with personal preference, or what dad used.

I never said AMSOIL, there are many other brands of synthetic motorcycle oil out there. One of the best advantages of synthetic oil that nobody talks about is how high heat and extreme cold has no effect on how the oil flows and protects. Take a quart of reg motor oil and a quart of synthetic and put it in ur freezer for a day, then take it out and pour it, the synthetic will pour out the same way if its 80 degrees, the reg motor oil will pour like tar, next take both oils and boil them in a pot over a hot flame and have something to measure the temerature, you will find out the synthetic has a higher boil and flash point than the reg motor oil. When I start my bike up when its 32 degrees I know my oil is flowing quickly as if its 80 degrees outside, and if my bike blows a radiator hose and starts to overheat I can still ride it home knowing the breakdown, flashpoint of my oil is 450 degrees. Thats a Fact----- JACK!

Dear Miss Blues2cruise. An air cooled bike its even more important and better to use a synthetic oil, it will run cooler and you will notice a big difference. All the HD guys are using synthetic

All the HD guys also use DOT5 brake fluid and have recently switched to Three Phase Alternators. Not to mention more and more of the Harley's are switching to FI and liquid cooling. Harley has its own way that works well for it, and does the job that it needs too, however this does not make it the standard to hold bikes too.

By way of example. DOT5 is race level brake fluid, however it isn't hygroscopic, and to make matters worse it's lighter then water. So over time you have water settle to the bottom of your calipers. The water then starts to rust the caliper or boils and makes air pockets that lead to squishy brakes.

This means that the brake fluid needs to be changed more often. Not better, not worse... but when you think about it, I don't really think Harleys do enough stopping to make it worthwhile to run race temp fuel. Hell no street bikes do.

Sorry if anyone thinks this is Harley bashing, it's not intended to be, just trying to make a point.

In other words, if dino oil works keep using it, the only difference is that you need to change it more often. You'll note Moto that both Dino and Synthetic come with a range be it 10-30 or 5W40 (The 'W' stands for winter). This means that the oil out of the carton should behave the same in both the cold and the heat.

So at cold start up temps a dino oil 10-30 would have a 10 weight/viscosity this allows it to get to the top of the engine easily, but as the engine warms it would become thicker and work its way up to a 30 weight oil meaning it would stick up top easier and have enough viscosity to lubricate plain bearings without damage (for example).

Synthetic 10-30 on the other hand would start out at a 10 weight/viscosity in cold weather and as it warms work its way up to a 30 weight oil.




What is the major major difference? Synthetic takes longer to break down and as such will prevent premature engine wear if you skip the "manufacturers recommended oil change intervals." And these intervals are not conservative.

Then again you've got a wet clutch, so you have little pieces of the clutch breaking oil/being sanded away that end up in your engine oil along with all the standard wear in the engine, so that floats around longer with synthetic oil.

What's the best? Depends what you want to do with it.

MotoF150 wrote:Dear Miss Blues2cruise. An air cooled bike its even more important and better to use a synthetic oil, it will run cooler and you will notice a big difference. All the HD guys are using synthetic

So far my bike has been serviced at regular intervals by the dealer. It has whatever the Yamaha dealer puts in. Yamalube.

It is said that if you buy a new bike to use a petroleum based or a mix of petroleum and synthetic to let the engine heat up enough to ensure that the seals expand properly in order for them to do their job for a long period. After a certain mileage then you can go about using synthetic (if you want longer change intervals and/or cooler running with less engine wear) or petroleum (if you plan on changing your oil every 2500 - 3000 miles).

Then the issue with car oil vs. engine oil is that car oils with certain API ratings along with the "Energy Saving" or "efficient" moniker can cause a motorcycle clutch to slip due to less friction. The so-called "enhanced" formulas specifically for bikes mean nothing most of the time.

I gathered a lot of this info from various sources, mostly from Mark Zimmerman articles and his "Motorcycle Maintenance" book.

Just follow your manual and you'll be fine.

I like you guys and girls of this forum, ur my friends and I wanta share a good product with a friend and thats why I recommend synthethic oil. Once I too was a non-believer, then a friend turned me on to synthetic oil, and I was addicted. There is just too much information to explain about motorcycle oil, its endless, if you would go to www.amsoil.com and read the white pages on motorcycle oil you too can be an expert about the subject as I am, Thank You

MotoF150 wrote:I like you guys and girls of this forum, ur my friends and I wanta share a good product with a friend and thats why I recommend synthethic oil. Once I too was a non-believer, then a friend turned me on to synthetic oil, and I was addicted. There is just too much information to explain about motorcycle oil, its endless, if you would go to www.amsoil.com and read the white pages on motorcycle oil you too can be an expert about the subject as I am, Thank You

We appreciate the effort, but with your posting history in mind, I would prefer solid evidence instead of anecdotal, absurd claims.

Personally, I drop in a teaspoon of sand into my crankcase at oil changes. Polishes up the internals and gives me a good 230 MPH on the top end.