[bjay51d]

I was wondering how many miles other people ride before an oil change.I been changing my oil after 2000 miles for years.I dont do the synthetic ever since I tried it in my 95 900rr and the clutch slipped.So I just use regular 1040 honda oil....Do you thing I change it to soon?

[TGZ13]

Depending on how much riding I do in a season.. I do a change every 4-5k and before every winter give or take.

[bjay51d]

Originally Posted by TGZ13

Depending on how much riding I do in a season.. I do a change every 4-5k and before every winter give or take.

what kinda oil?

[Scratch]

Roughly every 3500 miles. First 3000 miles I use plain, cycle specific 10w40. After that I run Motul 5100 semi-synth.

[saf]

Originally Posted by bjay51d

I was wondering how many miles other people ride before an oil change.I been changing my oil after 2000 miles for years.I dont do the synthetic ever since I tried it in my 95 900rr and the clutch slipped.So I just use regular 1040 honda oil....Do you thing I change it to soon?

For your Q, as i dont ride my bikes as commuter transport, rather weekend riding, every 2000kms (1242miles). While thats quite a low figure you still can never change oils often enuf, especially with wet clutches and combined gearboxes/engines.

Out of curiosty what oil did you use that made your clutch clip ?. Synthetics for the most part will not do this, rather a moly based engine oil with internal friction modifiers will do this. Most motorcycle oils for late model bikes do not run such a addative as the effects are great on the engine and box, horrible for the clutch . Again, a great oil to use in a Duke.... where they run a dry clutch.

[bjay51d]

Originally Posted by saf

For your Q, as i dont ride my bikes as commuter transport, rather weekend riding, every 2000kms (1242miles). While thats quite a low figure you still can never change oils often enuf, especially with wet clutches and combined gearboxes/engines.

Out of curiosty what oil did you use that made your clutch clip ?. Synthetics for the most part will not do this, rather a moly based engine oil with internal friction modifiers will do this. Most motorcycle oils for late model bikes do not run such a addative as the effects are great on the engine and box, horrible for the clutch . Again, a great oil to use in a Duke.... where they run a dry clutch.

mobile1(may have been for car) after i went back to conventional motorcycle oil clutch was ok since then I never messed with synth again...

[saf]

Originally Posted by bjay51d

mobile1(may have been for car) after i went back to conventional motorcycle oil clutch was ok since then I never messed with synth again...

Thats the problem right there Engine oils have moly based friction modifying agents to reduce engine wear - these are not compatible with wet type clutch packs.

FWIW i use the 15w50 (will switch to 10w40 as the cooler months roll around in jun/jul/aug) PRO4 Silkolene synth and have no problems what so ever. Again no agents or strong detergents.

[jluu6r]

every 3000 miles with silkolene pro 4

[HondaGalToo]

With dino oil I changed every 3000 miles. I have a full synth in there now and I'll change it once per year (unless I approach 6k-10k miles). At approx 3k, I'll change the filter and top it off.
The moly in car synthetics is what will make your clutch slip. I use Amsoil full synth 10w40 motorcycle oil. Abtech swears by the Motul 300v, which I haven't been able to easily find locally. I see other variations, but not the 300v. If you do a search, you'll find that everyone has their favorite brands.

[sporky]

every 5.000k (that's approx 3.000m) the Motul 300V 15-50 (10-40 during winter time)... some people swear to the semisynthetics claiming that they perform better in general. Even Yamaha states that semis sould be used in any case in R's and the rest of the gang

s..

[saf]

Originally Posted by sporky

every 5.000k (that's approx 3.000m) the Motul 300V 15-50 (10-40 during winter time)... some people swear to the semisynthetics claiming that they perform better in general. Even Yamaha states that semis sould be used in any case in R's and the rest of the gang

s..

They do . Semi Synth WILL protect a engine more that fully synth. The only advantages full synth has is less internal drag = more power, better cold startup, and greater resistance to heat breakdown.

[TGZ13]

Originally Posted by bjay51d

what kinda oil?

Motul 5100 10w40 its a synthetic blend

[saf]

Out of curiosity, is Silkolene popular in the US ?

[trey]

You would think that you could go extended drains on our bikes with a good quality synthetic but it seems like in a wet sump motoryccle the oil goes through much more stress. That said i try to go 4-5k and thats on amsoil.
So i change my oil, in the spring, mid summer and in the fall again before storage.

[Scratch]

Originally Posted by saf

The only advantages full synth has is less internal drag = more power, better cold startup, and greater resistance to heat breakdown.

Going by what you said, it would seem that full synthetics will protect the engine better than semi-synth's? Unless I'm reading that wrong

[saf]

Originally Posted by Scratch

Going by what you said, it would seem that full synthetics will protect the engine better than semi-synth's? Unless I'm reading that wrong

Scratch, Other way around. Semi synth will have better protection and reduced engine wear. I dont really understand why it would (then again i dont wear a coat and work in a lab testing oils or making them up) , but it seems people in the industry seem to know so. I do know that Web cams will not advise to use Synth , and will strictly advise to not go beyond a semi syth (synth fortified). In my Honda EX-400 atv, i have their largest cam (deep sand tracks here with high rpm) and hard welded rockers and STILL they say no go on synth as it wont protect - yet this cama nd rocker combo is many times stronger than the OEM setup. Its downsiders are it doesnt like extreme heat, as in turbocharging or endurance racing and will expire sooner, or even worse in the most extreme cases cause engine failure (somewhat also related to the flashpoint figure)

Synth oils are better on your engine on startup flows, reduce internal drag in gearboxes, what translates to less drivleine % loss, or greater economy and more power (commonly a contradiction, as to make power you need more fuel hence you have less economy) and a greater ability to resist the forming efforts of "cokeing" (where oil caramelizes onto very hot engine parts and builds up) , or a buildup of deposits.

[Scratch]

Saf yeah that gets confusing for me. From Motul reps I've heard that a mixture of semi and full synth is best. I can't recall the ratio of the top of my head, but something along the lines of 3 quarts of 300v(full synth) topped off w/ 5100(semi). Might be the other way around, it's been a while. Most people are convinced that full synth is the only way to go, and on paper it looks as if it's superior in every way. But as you've mentioned sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. I've heard of many bikes getting 100k+ miles on regular old dyno oil (gn4, yamalube, etc.) changed frequently.

I guess the old saying stays true, doesn't matter what you use as long as you change it often. I'm the type of person that doesn't go more than 3k-3.5k miles w/o changing my oil, no matter what I use. So for me a semi-synth just makes sense, and I've had great success w/ the Motul 5100. When I switched to Amsoil I noticed the bike "eating" more oil, I would have to top it off much more often.

On a related note, my buddy w/ the F4 changed his oil today (sort of, see other thread about his Fram debacle), short of removing the filter (couldn't). He's been running Amsoil 10w40 since last year. He was told that by running the full synth he should be able to go for longer intervals before changing oil, so he did. Anyway today, when we finally change his oil (4-5k miles and sat all winter) the Amsoil that came pouring out of his bike was shocking to see. It looked like literally MUD! It wasn't even pouring out evenly, kind of "gobbing" out. We looked at each other in amazement. While he will be sticking with Amsoil, we agreed that he should be changing his oil more frequently.

It could have been the shitty fram that was installed for him by a mechanic, or it could have been the fact that it sat all winter (only a few rides in so far), but still I never like to see oil that dirty.

PS- Changed my oil/filter today and primed the oil filter per your recommendation I only filled it up once and let it soak up by rotating at 45 degree angle. It was still 1/4 full when I spun it on.

[saf]

Originally Posted by Scratch

I guess the old saying stays true, doesn't matter what you use as long as you change it often.

BINGO !. No amount or expence of oil can replace frequent servicing. The 929 i bought not long ago had oil so filty, that you had to use a Maglite to look into the window, move the bike and only then notice a tiny slosh of oil in the window. . I flushed it twice with Shell Semi Synth and a new OEM filter, filled it up the 3rd time with PRO4 Silkolene and swapped out the filter again, and only now its coming clean. What came out originally was black mettalic paint .

Originally Posted by Scratch

When I switched to Amsoil I noticed the bike "eating" more oil, I would have to top it off much more often.

Really ?. What was the cold and how viscosity on the oils ?. Both the same ? ... or was the Amsoil thinner ?

Originally Posted by Scratch

It looked like literally MUD! It wasn't even pouring out evenly, kind of "gobbing" out. We looked at each other in amazement. While he will be sticking with Amsoil, we agreed that he should be changing his oil more frequently.

Hmm ... not good. Oils arent meant to be run or sat for a long time, and buildup acids from the cleaning agents they contain over time .... they should be swapped out ... riding or not. I guess synthetics can be pricey, Silkolene PRO4 costs $74aud here for 4 litres ($57.76 for 4.22quarts) but bikes were never meant to be cheap, and motors arent either. I am a beilver that if one wants low running cost, they should look towards a low perf small car, where you can go 20,000miles between servicing and not really care. But your right ... it sounds like a little sooner is the go.

[JakeT]

I think it depends on the usage. If you do low speed touring, you can go pretty far with one change. If you spend your time clutching that front up at your 'spot', you should change it often.

Some race drivers change the oil after every practice day or raceday.

I have been changing oils sometimes before trackdays. If I know I have like 2000miles already driven and I'm gonna do 2-3hours at the track. It's better to change.

JT

[jaim]

I find it hard to believe that a synth/dyno oil blend protects better than straight synthetic. Granted I am not a chemist and there may be heating factors involved that adversly effect synthetic oil over time. But I do agree with changing the oil often regardless of type of oil.

I would like to mention a synthetic oil I recently discovered. The name on the jug is Moto. But is is produced by ELF. It is 10W50 full synthetic oil. This stuff is nice. It seems seems keep its properties after being used much better than other synthetic oils I have tried. Although I usually don't keep oil in my bike more than 1000 miles before I change it.

[bjay51d]

Originally Posted by jaim

I find it hard to believe that a synth/dyno oil blend protects better than straight synthetic. Granted I am not a chemist and there may be heating factors involved that adversly effect synthetic oil over time. But I do agree with changing the oil often regardless of type of oil.

I would like to mention a synthetic oil I recently discovered. The name on the jug is Moto. But is is produced by ELF. It is 10W50 full synthetic oil. This stuff is nice. It seems seems keep its properties after being used much better than other synthetic oils I have tried. Although I usually don't keep oil in my bike more than 1000 miles before I change it.

I thought I was changing my oil to soon

[saf]

Well, i yanked off the cam cover tonight to do some clearance checks and check the tensioner , and this is what i saw when i popped the cover off.

Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

Last week the oil was filthy, and black. I did a couple of flushes with Shell Semi Synth, followed by the blood red Silkolene PRO4 synthetic oil. As one can see it REALLY gave it a good flush, its very clean and hasnt gone brown from contamination.

[Scratch]

Originally Posted by saf

Really ?. What was the cold and how viscosity on the oils ?. Both the same ? ... or was the Amsoil thinner ?

Yes both were the same, 10w40. Went from the Motul 5100 to the Amsoil at like 10k miles on the bike. The Amsoil did appear to the naked eye and on the finger to be a little thinner, but that's almost expected from full synths.

Hmm ... not good. Oils arent meant to be run or sat for a long time, and buildup acids from the cleaning agents they contain over time .... they should be swapped out ... riding or not.

Well after a more in depth conversation with my friend it turns out that he had over 6k miles on that oil. It also sat the entire winter with it, and of course it's been run that whole time with a FRAM oil filter I think this eplains a little better why his oil looked like syrup!

[Scratch]

Originally Posted by jaim

Although I usually don't keep oil in my bike more than 1000 miles before I change it.

Seems to be alot of us here I'm not that bad, once broken in I go about 2-3k miles depending on the kind of riding. That will of course change once the track gets factored in.

[jaim]

Originally Posted by Scratch

Seems to be alot of us here I'm not that bad, once broken in I go about 2-3k miles depending on the kind of riding. That will of course change once the track gets factored in.

My bike is almost exlusively a track bike now. So every couple of track days I change my oil. It is kind of expensive but its my hobby don't spend money on much else but my bike.

[02FBlade]

When I was streeting every 2k. Now after every 3-4 races. As stated better oil can't replace frequent changes...IMHO.

I typically run mobil1mx4t or castrol superbike...both full syn. I've ran motul but it didn't do anything special for me.

[abtech]

Originally Posted by 02FBlade

When I was streeting every 2k. Now after every 3-4 races. As stated better oil can't replace frequent changes...IMHO.

I typically run mobil1mx4t or castrol superbike...both full syn. I've ran motul but it didn't do anything special for me.

Which Motul and what viscosity?

[Scratch]

Originally Posted by abtech

Which Motul and what viscosity?

Hey abtech while we're on the subject, where can one get a good price on 300v? And is there a difference between 300v"4t" and 300v or are they identical? I'm assuming 4t is four stroke? Some of the ads are confusing... I liked the motul 5100 semi-synth but would love to run the 300, only thing is the price is kinda high..

[K9inAZ]

Originally Posted by jaim

My bike is almost exlusively a track bike now. So every couple of track days I change my oil. It is kind of expensive but its my hobby don't spend money on much else but my bike.

Ditto! I change the oil after every second trackday.

[ReaperAZ]

I tend to change mine between every 2500-3000 miles. I was using Motorex but am now using Amsoil.