Regular or Synthetic?

[FocusDave01]

So even tho my bike has a fresh oil change, I was talking to the service manager and asked him what kind of oil they use when they do tune-ups and what not. He says just normal motorcylce oil. I asked him why ot synthetic and he stated normal oil is fine and synthetic is even sometimes bad on bike motors, clutches. Now coming from a car world synthetic oil is a must for any decent sports car, are bikes that different to where synthetic oil is no different than normal oil? I find it odd that synthetic oil can harm a motorcycle engine..any thoughts on this matter?

[APCh8r]

How many miles are on your bike to start off?

[that dude]

do yourself a favor run rotella t syn with stock filter..it can harm if brand new to some degree..how many miles on her ass

[RC51 John]

I use a Synth\Petro blend

[Dweezel]

You must use oil that meets the specifications set in your owners manual. these are usually two letters. If you put an oil not made for the high pressures and speeds a sport bike engine can acheive you can do damage. also the oil in your bike is engine oil, transmission oil, and clutch oil. Your not riding some POS Hardley Daverson that uses 3 different types of oil where anything short of warm crisco will work.

Synthetics would actually be more suited to a Sport Bike that lives the majority of it's life at or above 4k rpms, they have higher resistance to thermal break down, and are longer lasting. Again, just be sure your getting the correct stuff for your bike.

Yes you can switch between the two, you can go from Dino juice, to Syn, and back to Dyno Juice with no worries, You can even mix them together with no problems.

[FocusDave01]

she has 7400 miles on her...and im not a nut on the bike i mean i have fun with it, and the powerband on the r6 (from what i read) is very high rpms anyways but that doesnt mean im always pushing the limits on her lol

[that dude]

you can switch to full no problems bro- rotella t bro ftw

[FocusDave01]

thanks man ill check into it i really need to get a damn service manual for my bike bought it used so go figure didnt come with one.

[APCh8r]

yea you are safe to switch to synthetic.

[RC51 John]

Stay away from the oils with moly added.

[Disclaimer]

JASO MA\MB\MA1\MA2 spec oil.

Look for it, use it, you'll be fine. Dinosaur sauce or the $$$ synthetic.

[mrmako777]

amsoil ftmfw!

[APCh8r]

Everyone is going to have a particular opinion on what brand to run so there is no right or wrong. I prefer the Repsol oil just because that is what I have been suggested as being one of the better fully synthetics. Also that is what the previous owner ran so I decided to stick with that.

[12oclocker]

after the engine break in period you can use synthetic without molly additive.

using synthetic before break in period is over can glaze your cylinder wall, and cause the piston and rings to not propery mate with the cylinder wall.

[natedogg624]

is rotella that cheap walmart synthetic oil that a lot of peeps use?

[Kosmo]

Go synth...... expensive but Mobil1 Racing 4T is by far the best

[APCh8r]

is rotella that cheap walmart synthetic oil that a lot of peeps use?

yes it is. It is a car synthetic oil from shell.

[that dude]

many many many many racers and street guys including myself use rotella t- i say this- buy anything else your wasting your monies..we run it in our 500,000 dozers, so i think its ok for my motor..do your homework

[Disclaimer]

many many many many racers and street guys including myself use rotella t- i say this- buy anything else your wasting your monies..we run it in our 500,000 dozers, so i think its ok for my motor..do your homework

Run whatever brand you prefer, but the logic "it works ok in (this), so it's gotta be good enough for (that)" is wrong.

A diesel bulldozer cranking at 3000rpms max isn't the same as an R6 turning 15,000rpm. Totally different applications, totally different environments.

This is also the reason motorcycles have tires instead of tracks like dozers - better suited for the application.

[that dude]

Run whatever brand you prefer, but the logic "it works ok in (this), so it's gotta be good enough for (that)" is wrong.

A diesel bulldozer cranking at 3000rpms max isn't the same as an R6 turning 15,000rpm. Totally different applications, totally different environments.

This is also the reason motorcycles have tires instead of tracks like dozers - better suited for the application.

great but rpms arent everything in a motor..

[Disclaimer]

Not really sure what you're trying to refute there?

[jbot]

shell rotella synthetic is very widely used by many MANY riders everywhere. it meets all the specs of a large variety of bikes (twins and inlines, alike) and probably the most attractive thing about it is that they are widely available and relatively economical.

i've used that, and used amsoil MC oils, repsol, and a couple others. can't say i noticed a difference between the switches. i don't think anyone really could unless samples were sent to labs.

in any case, use what you want as long as it meets the specs listed in your manual. don't beat this thoroughly dead horse.

[MattKatz]

Last I checked...I havent HEard you could RUn Synthetics .....They do not have additives in them needed for the CLutch.

[exSRAaron]

i havent done any research on the rotella, other than from hearsay, but it seems like its made for heavy-duty trucks...i was gonna put some in my car the other day but i opted not too this time around..

if ur just the average rider you can get between 4-5k on a synthetic oil change, less if ur doing trackdays or racing..dont listen to the ppl that tell you to change it every 2k with synthetic, complete waste of money! (unless ur at the track) Oh and go with a Pure1 filter, half the price of OEM.

Edited April 1, 2009 by exSRAaron

[ReconRat]

There are so many mistakes here, I don't know what to say...

Do what JRMIII says, and use JASO MA/MB/MA1/MA2 rated oil.

Do use whatever your owner's manual or service manual says to use.

JASO MA is the standard for motorcycle oil.

JASO MB is for engines with a dry clutch, not wet clutch.

JASO MB is for light duty engines.

JASO MA1 and MA2 are for newer bikes with catalytic converters.

JASO MA1 has some friction modifiers making it easier to shift, but might make the clutch slip on some bikes. Yamaha appears to be recommending JASO MA1 for some of it's newer bikes, to make them easier to shift.

JASO MA2 is the newer rating for the older JASO MA rating.

So basically almost every bike needs to be using the JASO MA or MA2 oil.

Why: Friction modifiers in oils newer than the old SG rating can cause motorcycle wet clutches to slip. So JASO ratings were created. Good SG basic oil is perfectly ok to use in older design engines, but it's getting hard to find. JASO MA oil can have additive content too high for catalytic converters on the newer bikes, so JASO MA1 and MA2 were created.

Note that Harley recommends Harley oil, and if you can't find it, they recommend Rotella engine oil as an acceptable substitute. (engines with a dry clutch, not a wet clutch)

Rotella engine oil is not recommended by Rotella for aircraft engines.

Rotella engine oil does not have a recommendation by Rotella for or against motorcycle engines.

Because of the changes in both car and motorcycle engine designs, there are many engine oils that will create an abnormal amount of sulfated ash in the engine oil. Sulfated ash is sludge. It looks like little chunks of carbon, but it's much softer than carbon deposits. Watch for it, and if you see it, you need to change the type of oil you are using.