Mineral, Semi Synthetic or Full Synthetic for our machine?

[Capt]

I used to get some fully synthetic stuff called Amsoil MCF from Opei, supposed to be the best.  The old girl went through a litre roughly every 1000 miles.  Bike had done approx 10K so switched back to Yamalube semi, doesn't use anything now.

[Capt]

I used to get some fully synthetic stuff called Amsoil MCF from Opei, supposed to be the best.  The old girl went through a litre roughly every 1000 miles.  Bike had done approx 10K so switched back to Yamalube semi, doesn't use anything now.

Damned IPAD, meant to say that stuff was £20 a litre!

[VNA]

Dealer wanted £200 which included £78 for 4 litres of Shell Advance 4t fully synthetic.

Are you sure?  That's outrageous.  Name and shame.

http://www.opieoils.co.uk/pv-91507-shell...tAodqjQAtg

30 quid 48 pence, API SL too.

If anything you should be getting a discount on the retail price of oil and parts if you are putting your bike in for a service.

If I get work done on my car, for example, at my back street garage, he charges me his standard rate for labour but the parts are trade price. 

[pitternator]

hi driller, ducati dealers  are bandwagonning BMW I see....speccing the highest possible oil that only they sell for ones bike...but have to say oil for the GS is cheaper than ur MS... :lol ...same number of cylinders too ... :rolleyes

GS is supposed to only take 10/50 fully synthetic, about £50 per oil change. Why ?...as handbook allows literally almost any oil to go in it !

I too found an ebay supplier for GS oil, at £26 for 4 litres. Thats 50% savings.....

all my fazers have been fed castrol semi synthetic or yamalube , over 77k miles without any problems at all.If you are changing at 6k intervals or less I dont see why we need better oil tbh given the lack of engine wear from semi synthetic. For instance my latest fazer at 30k miles was dynoed giving nearly 140 bhp output at rear wheel.Its still a very silky powerful engine at 40k.

[jackojet]

I use Castrol power 1 racing fully synth in mine.
Last time I bought some from Halfords I had an argument with the staff.
On the shelf the same oil in semi synth was £34.99 yet the fully synth was £29.99. Go to till with fully synth and they try and charge me £34.99? Tell them they got price wrong and they let me go with the fully synth for £29.99.
How can they charge more for the lesser oil?
The bike does feel smoother on the fully synth.
I don't do loads of miles so paying more for an
a oil change don't bother me

[Slaninar]

I used to get some fully synthetic stuff called Amsoil MCF from Opei, supposed to be the best.  The old girl went through a litre roughly every 1000 miles.  Bike had done approx 10K so switched back to Yamalube semi, doesn't use anything now.

Semi synth and mineral oils leave a bit of gunk residue, so it creates a sort of a seal. That's probably why the bike doesn't consume any more oil. It does not mean the engine is better protected, or fixed. On the contrary.

Heard many people putting heavy (20w50) mineral oil in order to fix the engine oil consumption. Sounds like painting a rotten metal fuel tank without previously removing the rust.


Though most oils are decent and as long as they are changed in time and the bike is warmed up before riding hard, there should be no problems. Most problems occur from lack of oil, not from mineral, cheaper oil.

[VNA]

I used to get some fully synthetic stuff called Amsoil MCF from Opei, supposed to be the best.  The old girl went through a litre roughly every 1000 miles.  Bike had done approx 10K so switched back to Yamalube semi, doesn't use anything now.

Your problem was probably that the bike had only done 6000 miles and was not yet fully scrubbed in.  You did the right thing in switching back to a semi synthetic and fortunately for you no harm was done.

Apparently bikes run from new on top notch fully synth often don't bed in and burn oil.  Turns some bikes into permanent oil burners, other folks claim they have chucked some cheap and nasty mineral oil in, given the bike plenty of abuse for a couple of thousand miles, switched back to semi and all was well again.

The late Kevin Ash on running in - http://www.ashonbikes.com/content/running 

From the infamous oil thread  :lol

Peter Brett in that article from Castrol oils;

QuotePeter 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.”

[nick crisp]

 

From the infamous oil thread  :lol 

:lol

[pitternator]

talk to dek about how to bed an engine in .....

manufacturers detail a break in procedure which everyone can follow, but there are several theories about how best to do it.
My GS for example has almost no break in procedure, advice was just to avoid prolonged full throttle use ...ie thrash it , but not too much !  :lol

my local bmw service manager believes the harder you ride it in the first 600 miles, the better. Fully synthetic goes in at 600 miles.Hence why for first 600 ( mineral oil) it dont want to be mollycoddled) ...

[Slaninar]

talk to dek about how to bed an engine in .....

manufacturers detail a break in procedure which everyone can follow, but there are several theories about how best to do it.
My GS for example has almost no break in procedure, advice was just to avoid prolonged full throttle use ...ie thrash it , but not too much !  :lol

my local bmw service manager believes the harder you ride it in the first 600 miles, the better. Fully synthetic goes in at 600 miles.Hence why for first 600 ( mineral oil) it dont want to be mollycoddled) ...

What do you think of this, controversial, method?

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

[nick crisp]

I did thrash one bike I had right from new - an FZ750 back in about 1987/88. Red lined it in every gear in one memorable ding-dong with a 1st generation GSXR750, all whilst still supposedly running it in (less than 600 miles on the clock). That bike revved freely with no problems for all the rest of the time I owned it. So that's a bike with technology 25 years older than we have now. I can't say I remember what oil I had in it, but again, oil that is now 25 year old technology.

[cable tie]

talk to dek about how to bed an engine in .....

manufacturers detail a break in procedure which everyone can follow, but there are several theories about how best to do it.
My GS for example has almost no break in procedure, advice was just to avoid prolonged full throttle use ...ie thrash it , but not too much !  :lol

my local bmw service manager believes the harder you ride it in the first 600 miles, the better. Fully synthetic goes in at 600 miles.Hence why for first 600 ( mineral oil) it dont want to be mollycoddled) ...

Jon your bm ain't run in till 30k ! Now mine @ only 1000 miles on the clock, 137 mph on the autobahn and to this day it still ain't used a drop of oil.

I'm with Dek on the theory don't pussy foot around.

[JZS 600]

I was talking to a Beemer owner the other day and his mechanic was telling him that to run his GS in he needed to give it a thrashing.


The problem with them is the folk buying them are mostly fairly sensible and they don't normally ride that way anyway...