Synthetic Oil Pros and Cons

[Nibblet99]

I agree with CORSCO. Though one thing to consider with a blended oil is that you can top up with regular oil in a pinch, ie. while touring and require oil in Smalltown, Nowhere. With a pure synthetic (not as readily available), obviously you should not mix it with standard oil.

Why?

Because theres no point paying up the £, $ or € buying a pure synthetic (its pure because it has no dino oil in it) and then mixing it with dino oil (so its no longer pure)

[Sicko]

I agree with CORSCO. Though one thing to consider with a blended oil is that you can top up with regular oil in a pinch, ie. while touring and require oil in Smalltown, Nowhere. With a pure synthetic (not as readily available), obviously you should not mix it with standard oil.

Why?

Because theres no point paying up the £, $ or € buying a pure synthetic (its pure because it has no dino oil in it) and then mixing it with dino oil (so its no longer pure)

Then you have a blend, right?

[Nibblet99]

I agree with CORSCO. Though one thing to consider with a blended oil is that you can top up with regular oil in a pinch, ie. while touring and require oil in Smalltown, Nowhere. With a pure synthetic (not as readily available), obviously you should not mix it with standard oil.

Why?

Because theres no point paying up the £, $ or € buying a pure synthetic (its pure because it has no dino oil in it) and then mixing it with dino oil (so its no longer pure)

Then you have a blend, right?

Yep, better to just buy the blend off the shelf in the first place if thats what you have planned, probably a lot cheaper than a pure synthetic

[Shorts]

I agree with CORSCO. Though one thing to consider with a blended oil is that you can top up with regular oil in a pinch, ie. while touring and require oil in Smalltown, Nowhere. With a pure synthetic (not as readily available), obviously you should not mix it with standard oil.

Why?

Because theres no point paying up the £, $ or € buying a pure synthetic (its pure because it has no dino oil in it) and then mixing it with dino oil (so its no longer pure)

Then you have a blend, right?

Yep, better to just buy the blend off the shelf in the first place if thats what you have planned, probably a lot cheaper than a pure synthetic

Well sure I was asking "why?" since I was under the impression from that response of "you should never mix" that it was somehow harmful to the bike


I would think (and I would do) if you're caught out in a spot where your bike NEEDED oil but refused to put any dino because it <gasp!> mix with the synthetic, that's just dumb. You put oil that you need in there to get you home, then change it when you have all your normal supplies.

I'd rather run the bike on a mixed batch then let the whole thing burn up to a boat anchor.

[DivideOverflow]

Something else to consider, some bikes' clutches slip under full synthetic. I don't think it is as much of a problem anymore, but I tried full synthetic in my 84 Interceptor, and the clutch didn't like it at all. It ran fine with a mixed blend. Might have been a clutch problem waiting to show its ugly face, but I know that it caused problems.

I also tried it in the 94 VFR, and it did a similiar thing, it would slip under hard acceleration. So I switched to durablend, and it solved the problem. On the other hand, I know people running full synthetic in their VFRs with no problems, but they might be more "leisurely" riders. I've also heard of other VFR riders and bandit riders, specifically, having clutch slippage under hard acceleration with full synthetic.

Now, in my Ducati, I have no problem running full synthetic due to my dry clutch... heh. But I would be hard pressed to put full synthetic in another one of my wet-clutched motorcycles.

[MicheleZ]

Amsoil has a synthetic motorcycle oil and it states specifically that it won't harm the clutch.

Wet Clutch Compatibility
Some scooters utilize a frictional clutch to engage and disengage the engine from the drivetrain. In many cases, this clutch is immersed in the same oil used in the engine and transmission. Formula 4-Stroke Synthetic Scooter Oil contains no friction modifiers and is wet clutch compatible, offering smooth clutch operation and increased clutch life.

I plan on changing my oil to Amsoil at 6,000 miles - BMW F650GS.

[Skier]

Something else to consider, some bikes' clutches slip under full synthetic. I don't think it is as much of a problem anymore, but I tried full synthetic in my 84 Interceptor, and the clutch didn't like it at all. It ran fine with a mixed blend. Might have been a clutch problem waiting to show its ugly face, but I know that it caused problems.

I also tried it in the 94 VFR, and it did a similiar thing, it would slip under hard acceleration. So I switched to durablend, and it solved the problem. On the other hand, I know people running full synthetic in their VFRs with no problems, but they might be more "leisurely" riders. I've also heard of other VFR riders and bandit riders, specifically, having clutch slippage under hard acceleration with full synthetic.

Now, in my Ducati, I have no problem running full synthetic due to my dry clutch... heh. But I would be hard pressed to put full synthetic in another one of my wet-clutched motorcycles.

Which oil caused the slipping and what year was the oil made (oils are reformulated over the years)?

[flynrider]

Synthetic or non-synthetic refers to the base stock oil, before the additive package goes in. Sythetic base stocks are formulated to have the same basic properties as the dino stock. The plus you get from using a synthetic base stock is that it won't degrade as quickly under high temperatures and pressures.

The problem with slipping clutches has to do with the additive package. In addition to the multi-weight polymers that allow an oil to have different viscosity at different temperatures, some manufacturers also add friction modifiers to (supposedly) make the metal parts in the engine slide more smoothly. It's the friction modifiers that cause the clutch to slip. You can find them in both dino and synthetic brands.

In the old days before oil companies got fancy, you could add your own friction modifiers by dumping a can of STP in your crankcase. This may have worked well with dry-clutch cars, but it had the same effect on bike wet clutches that the friction modified oils do today.

[DivideOverflow]

It was mobile 1, just like a year and a half ago. No friction modifiers, none of that energy saving crap to my knowledge. So I don't know what the deal was. I know it should have the same properties as the dino stock... but in practice, it didn't turn out that way.

[Skier]

It was mobile 1, just like a year and a half ago. No friction modifiers, none of that energy saving "crumb" to my knowledge. So I don't know what the deal was. I know it should have the same properties as the dino stock... but in practice, it didn't turn out that way.

Truth is it was dino oil. Mobil 1 was reformulated in the 90s to be dino oil, not true, only-from-laboratories synthetic.