Ooo... the oil question... An endless source of debate on every motorcycle/car forum ever created... My two cents... Syn: Free's up HP, engine runs cooler, longer service intervals, do not use on an engine that is not well and fully broken in (I've read anywhere from 1,500 to 3k miles before switching). Dino: Probably what your bike was designed to use. Cheap, works, cheap. Filters: Check out some of the cheap knock off's... many of them are made by the big names (ie. the same damn thing - sometimes.)... Fram and it's knock off's have always done me well. As far as the K&N nut... surely makes life easier, but I have never met an oil filter that I couldn't get off by pounding a screwdriver through and using that as a lever. Quick and dirty, but effective. That being said, once I hit around 3k miles I am switching to syn, just to free up a pony or two.