Quote:For me , there's never been any argument that car and motorcycle oils are, and need to be, different. I'm not so cynical that I disbelieve everything the oil companies say. I also wouldn't discount claims of improved fuel consumption and increased power output totally. But as Slaninar says, those benefits may be minimal. The oil companies make vast profits as we all know, but they also stand to lose a great deal if found to be making false claims.

(19-07-13, 06:27 PM)VNA link Wrote: I'd would suggest for new or low mileage bikes you avoid fully synthetic oil for a good while, as there is a small risk you polish the bores and end up with piston rings that won't scrub in.  (some may say that this is another internet myth - I dunno) 

Quote:For the first 10.000 kilometers it is good to run the bike on semi-synth. Except for bikes that come with full synth from the factory (most new ones do).

Quote:Peter Brett says that they’ve discovered synthetic oils actually interfere with running in, for reasons which go beyond their low friction properties - there also seems to be a chemical process happening which hinders it. “Although you can treat an engine as fully run in after 500 miles, surface stabilisation continues for at least the first 5,000 miles of an engine’s life,” he says. “Synthetic oils actively prevent this from happening, and not simply by holding friction surfaces apart, although we still don’t know exactly why and how this happens. But there’s no doubt they inhibit the process itself. So the consequence of using a synthetic too early is your engine will never run in properly. I would even suggest waiting until 10,000 miles (16,000km) before using it in most engines subjected to normal use. Until then, you’re best to use an inexpensive but branded mineral oil.”

Quote:I guess if you're an oil producer, you'd be thinking, well, we sell millions more litres of car oil than bike oil, so we'll invest more in research and improvement for the former, and as long as the latter more or less keeps up with engine technology, well it's unprofitable to spend too much time and resources on it?

Quote:For oil it says use motor oil of a certain spec. Now if i meet this spec, great, if I surpass this with a super
oil of the 21st century then also great.

(21-07-13, 10:17 PM)VNA link Wrote: Feel free to fill your bike with the latest super high tech API SM, but you might not feel so great once you find your clutch is wrecked and you need to get your bores honed and new rings fitted.

(21-07-13, 10:55 PM)chaz link Wrote: About 10 years ago I was doing some building work for someone who supplied oil to the F1 racing teams, what he told me was that the oil they used was different than what you buy, and cost much more something like 5 times as much, don't know if this is the same in bike racing, anyway on a ride out of say 150 miles how much of that is your engine revving at over 12,000 rpm, not that much or if it is I want to know that ride 8)

Quote:I go higher: API SL. No problems with clutch, or engine. It is BETTER, not worse, you know?

Quote:What is important to note is this: Just as 10W-40 and 20W-50 weight oils are exempt from the
zinc/phosphorus limits put in place by API SJ specifications, these same grade oils are exempt from the
fuel efficiency mandates that the SJ rating requires. Thus, it is not necessary for motor oil
manufacturers to add friction modifiers to their 40 and 50 weight motor oils.
Therefore, it cannot be assumed that just because an oil meets API SJ specs it must contain friction
modifiers. It doesn't have to. Some automotive 10W-40 and 20W-50 motor oils may contain no friction
modifiers whatsoever. This could only be determined by speaking with the manufacturer themselves.
Unfortunately, if that manufacturer also carries a motorcycle specific brand of oil, it is likely that they
would point you that direction and avoid answering the question. This is because their motorcycle
specific oil generally costs more and makes them a better profit.