synthetic oil

[v-man1]

can anyone school me on syn. oil? I currently run honda 10-40 synthetic blend[gold bottle],but would like to run a full syn. oil,but have been told by local dealership not to run the honda full syn. w/moly[silver bottle] because of the wet clutch slippage issue,but i have heard of others doing so with no problems.Which is correct?Is there a full syn.without moly ? Or any suggestions of another brand such as amsoil ,mobil 1,etc that will cause no clutch problems ?Thanks

[Red Diamond]

Mobil 1 15W-50

[98valk]

do a search, been addressed approx 1k times.

moly is not a problem until 500 ppm and then only to the starter clutch. I have posted before about this and provided the SAE report # about this.
for example mobil mc oil has almost 100 ppm of moly.
checkout oil anyalsis on bobistheoilguy.com

[MP]

Full synthetic, OK with NO Moly.

with moly, any oil, NOT OK.

MP

[1fastbob]

If you are looking for oil for a Valk try 5w40 Rotella Synthetic in the blue jug.  Great oil and resonably priced.

[Dave Weaver]

Look on the back of the bottle for the little circle.  Make sure it does NOT have energy conserving stated there.

[Farther]

My last change (this past Sunday) I went with Shell Rotella 6T and used a hondaline car filter.  All was a little more than 1/2 the price of motorcycle specific oil and filter.  Bike runs great so far.

[Hoser]

Mobil 1 15W-50

+1

[Jess from VA]

Shell Rotella full syn T6 5-40, $19 a gallon at Walmart, probably four changes in each of two '99 Interstates every 5-6K miles...... quiet, cool running.  Why pay more?



Plug it into a search engine and read hundreds of threads on satisfied users with power-stroke diesels to various motorcycles.

[2qmedic]

Rotella T or Mobile SUV either one depending on your oil weight ya need. Neither have the energy saving sign.

[Doc809]

I have always run Shell Rotella but tried the Mobil 1 15/50 with the last change.  The fat lady likes the new oil.  Much quieter, shifts much smoother. L

[Paul-M]

This is what I use: Mobile 1 Racing 4T 10W-40

And here is the reason why:
http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Oils_FAQs.aspx#Motorcycle_Oil_FAQs4

Hope that helps.

Paul Martin
2000 Valkyrie Tourer
2001 Valkyrie Standard sadly retired

[CB1]

my 98 Tourer runs really smooth on the Mobil 1 v-twin oil (20/50). It is awful hot these days in Texas and the bike still runs smooth.

[John U.]

An "old school" Harley guy once told me he used 90 weight gear oil in his bikes. I'm still not sure if he was kidding. Though that was in south Florida, so he might have been serious.
Anyway, now for my 2 cents. Get some name brand diesel motor oil 15w40. It's cheap, has no moly to screw up your wet clutch, is thick enough to quiet the fat lady and is all you really need.
Needless to say, it's your money and your bike, and after much research, reflection and a final decision, you can weigh in on threads like this. 

[98valk]

My latest Used oil analysis (UOA)

OIL REPORT from Blackstone Labs

MAKE/MODEL:      Honda Motorcycle GL 1500 6-cyl   
FUEL TYPE:
ADDITIONAL INFO:   OEM Air Filter
OIL TYPE & GRADE:   Amsoil 10w30/30HD Diesel Oil
OIL USE INTERVAL:   08/12/09 to 08/06/10 Temps 25F to 100F in that time. Pure1 oil filter PL14459
BLACKSTONE COMMENTS: Universal averages show typical wear metals for an oil from this Honda GL 1500 after about 6,100 miles on the oil. Your oil was run 4,258 miles and wear metals read around those averages. All metals were in correct balance, which is a good indication that internal parts are wearing normally. This viscosity read on target for 10W/30 and was free of any contaminants. The TBN was still strong at 7.1, lots of active additive left. A TBN of 1.0 is low. Insolubles, which are solids formed by heat and use, were good at 0.4%.
Try going 6,000 miles next time.

Miles on Oil   4258      Universal
Miles on Unit   26247      Avgs
Sample Date   08/06/10

ALUMINUM   6      5
CHROMIUM   1      1
IRON      18      22
COPPER      11      8
LEAD      4      4
TIN      1      1
MOLYBDENUM   3      59
NICKEL      0      1
MANGANESE   1      0
SILVER      0      0
TITANIUM   0      0
POTASSIUM   3      2
BORON      51      68
SILICON      13      9
SODIUM      5      7
CALCIUM    3457      2293
MAGNESIUM   27      193
PHOSPHORUS   1080      940
ZINC      1279      1131
BARIUM      0      0

SUS Viscosity @ 210̊F   58.8
cSt Viscosity @ 100̊C   9.89
Flashpoint in ̊F      375
Fuel %         <0.5
Antifreeze %      0.0
Water %         0.0
Insolubles %      0.4
TBN         7.1


My Comments: Very happy with this oil. Especially how it performed considering the wide temperature range and being in service for 1 yr.
During colder temperatures radiator was blocked 95% to maintain 180F water temperature and 185-195F oil temperatures.
This is my number one oil choice now.

[98valk]

An "old school" Harley guy once told me he used 90 weight gear oil in his bikes. I'm still not sure if he was kidding. Though that was in south Florida, so he might have been serious.
Anyway, now for my 2 cents. Get some name brand diesel motor oil 15w40. It's cheap, has no moly to screw up your wet clutch, is thick enough to quiet the fat lady and is all you really need.
Needless to say, it's your money and your bike, and after much research, reflection and a final decision, you can weigh in on threads like this. 

moly does not screw up clutchs. Mobil 1 mc oil has moly in it as does other mc oils. its the ppm that will cause problems, usually near 500 ppm. last time I checked OA of diesel oils, delo has 300-400 ppm.  moly in mc oil is an internet scare like seafoam is the one.
agree, any 15w40 oil is better than any mc oil UOAs have proven this and at a lower cost.

[John U.]

I'm with you on the moly question CA ExhaustCoatings. I have used Mobil 15w50 synthetic car oil without problems. It has a fairly low moly content.
However, for those concerned about using an oil with an excessive amount of moly, you can't go wrong with a good diesel motor oil.
Lately I have been using a mixture of diesel oil and Mobil one 15w50.
I don't go longer than 5,000 miles between changes on two Valks so I decided that a reduced cost blend would make sense. So far so good.

[98valk]

I don't go longer than 5,000 miles between changes on two Valks so I decided that a reduced cost blend would make sense. So far so good.

JohnU
checkout the UOA I posted. These engines are easy on oil. Reason honda specifies 8k oil changes and that is with their cheap low performing oil.
there was a post before of 10k oil changes with rotella 5w40 and has over 100k miles.

[Rio Wil]

There are a couple of us that have had clutch slippage in 4th gear on hard acceleration after using Mobile 1 20-50 for 50K miles or more.  I switched to Rotella 5-40 syn and the slippage stopped.   I'm just saying......

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

I've been running mobil 1 15w50 automotive old in both my valks for over 100k combined. No problems what so ever. If you look at the circle on the back of the bottle there is nothing in the lower part of the circle. No fiction fighters at all. I think the bike runs smoother and less whine from the gears.

[X Ring]

I have always run Shell Rotella but tried the Mobil 1 15/50 with the last change.  The fat lady likes the new oil.  Much quieter, shifts much smoother. L

My results are the same and a 5 qt jug at Wallyworld is about $22.

Marty

[Red Diamond]

There are a couple of us that have had clutch slippage in 4th gear on hard acceleration after using Mobile 1 20-50 for 50K miles or more.  I switched to Rotella 5-40 syn and the slippage stopped.   I'm just saying......

You sure bout that 20-50 Mobil 1? Last I checked, Mobil 1 15W-50 was a diesel oil.

[FLAVALK]

              

This board is a hoot

[2qmedic]

Yep, ya just gotta love it!!!

[TomT]

Ummmm.....Am I the only one on here that uses Amsoil??? It's a little pricey, but I love it!
TomT

[Farther]

I had Amsoil before the last oil change to Rotella T6.  There is still a four quart jug of Amsoil in my barn waiting to replace the Rotella if it doen't work out.  I really havn't seen any significant difference between Mobil 1 motorcycle oil, Amsoil motorcycle oil and Rotella T6 except for price.

[98valk]

Ummmm.....Am I the only one on here that uses Amsoil??? It's a little pricey, but I love it!
TomT

have u seen my UOA posted above? basically the Amsoil 10w30 diesel oil didn't shear for over 4k miles.
So much for the trans gears shear the oil, so I have to change my oil every 2-3k miles myth.

[joefromperry]

Hey, Tom. No, you're not the only one using Amsoil. We use Amsoil in all our cars and nine bikes, including a Valk, ST1300, and Wing. We use the m/c 10w40 for the bikes. We signed up for Amsoil's "preferred customer" program, so it's not very expensive compared to stores.

[sugerbear]

if you used 20-50 mobil 1 and had clutch slippage, contact mobil about that

that is motorcycle specific oil

http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/MotorOil/Oils/Mobil_1_V-Twin_20W-50.aspx

[Hotrodwing]

DITO on the AMSOIL

[Ricky-D]

I've been using Schaeffer Oil, a blended oil with moly from day one. 20w-50 and have never had a problem with the clutch.

I don't like synthetic oil ever since the rollers in a lifter went south on my v-twin.

Synthetic oil is a misnomer anyways. It is not synthetic. Just a different refining process.

***

[2qmedic]

Synthetic oil is a lubricant consisting of chemical compounds which are artificially made (synthesized) using chemically modified petroleum components rather than whole crude oil. Synthetic oil is used as a substitute for lubricant refined from petroleum when operating in extremes of temperature, because it generally provides superior mechanical and chemical properties than those found in traditional mineral oils. Aircraft turbines, for example, require the use of synthetic oils, whereas aircraft piston engines don't.

Synthetic motor oils are blended to prevent the build up of sludge, even under the worst engine conditions. The difference between synthetic motor oils and conventional or regular motor oils is that the synthetic oils are injected and blended with artificial chemical compounds that were not present in the natural crude oil; this synthesizing creates a uniform weight and size of the molecules in the oil. Conventional motor oils consist of molecules that vary in size and weight and several impurities that are not removed during a synthesizing process; therefore, regular motor oils are not as pure and do not assist the viscosity level of the oil.

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5003052_how-synthetic-motor-oil-made.html#ixzz0whYxIrAy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

[98valk]

I've been using Schaeffer Oil, a blended oil with moly from day one. 20w-50 and have never had a problem with the clutch.

I don't like synthetic oil ever since the rollers in a lifter went south on my v-twin.

Synthetic oil is a misnomer anyways. It is not synthetic. Just a different refining process.

***

u are correct and the law says that just about any oil can be called syn now. rotella T is actually a dino oil base stock but is refined enough that by law they can call it syn.  the wiki is out of date sorry 2q.
search court case of a few yrs ago btwn castrol and mobil regarding syn oils.

[buffalo11]

Was on Honda Directline shopping for Valk engine oil, just now, and got a little confused cuz they have listings for Honda's syn's/blend with moly for the gl 1500 goldwing,valk and a Honda syn's/blend without moly for gl1800, vtx, plus some new full syn for?- what gives?

[daytona]

M1 15W50 here too! but there is no way a true ester base syn can be sold for $22.00 a 5 qt jug! I did my 950 KTM 600 mi change with true super snake oil (10w50 Super syn motorex) that stuff is close to $22 per ltr. "got it with the bike" U can feel the diff! That stuff won't wipe off your hand! Its got to wear off. The next change maybe M1, closest to syn for the $. The rest are nothing but crack oil with alot of hype! I find M1 to be beneficial in all my bikes except the valk, It don't need help with smooth shifting etc!

[v-man1]

thanks for all the info guys.I seem to be leaning toward rotella t6 or mobil 1.Tie breaker anyone ?

[2qmedic]

CA,

Do you have any reference reading on the subject? I've seen it mentioned in the past, but I've not come accross any material my self.

[98valk]

CA,

Do you have any reference reading on the subject? I've seen it mentioned in the past, but I've not come accross any material my self.

not sure what subject u mean however, see www.bobistheoilguy.com   search there been addressed in detail syn vs non-syn case and also what rotella 5w40 really is and why it is so good.

[franco6]

before the Inzane ride I switched from mobil 1 15-50  to royal -purple  max cycle 20-50 mc oil  to get better gaz mielage and cooler temperatures as reported.
no diff. in operating temp(i do run red dot water weter) and gaz mielage improvement inconclusive
the f6 seems louder at iddle . so was it worth $14.00 a quart? perhaps not . for the soon coming change ,5k, i m going back to M-1 ???

[98valk]

before the Inzane ride I switched from mobil 1 15-50  to royal -purple  max cycle 20-50 mc oil  to get better gaz mielage and cooler temperatures as reported.
no diff. in operating temp(i do run red dot water weter) and gaz mielage improvement inconclusive
the f6 seems louder at iddle . so was it worth $14.00 a quart? perhaps not . for the soon coming change ,5k, i m going back to M-1 ???

a thicker oil than needed such as 20w50 will actually run a few degrees hotter and tenths of mpg lower due to increased friction thru the bearings. using amsoil 10w30 diesel oil lowered my oil temps at higher speeds 5-10 degrees depending on conditions than when I had amsoil 10w40.