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Oils

What brand of oil do you use in your machine? And do you use conventional oil or synthetic? any pro & cons what do you think

Permalink Reply by Dion Liphart on May 16, 2009 at 6:54am: Thanks for the reply Mike; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Larry Walther on May 18, 2009 at 3:32pm: I think this thread was as useful as anything I've read ~ on oils, or any other subject. Thanks, Dion for asking the question that started it. I found no absolutes, but certainly enough discussion to warrant a thoughtful approach to my next bike oil change. The issue of wet clutch setups is an especially interesting one, because the wrong oil in a wet-clutch machine can easily result in damage including early replacement or at least heavy wear on a clutch that might otherwise have lasted thousands more miles.

In a nutshell, if our bikes have that (wet-clutch) format, if you are a "quart low", do NOT automatically add a quart of 10W30 off your garage shelf. You may be inadvertently costing yourself $300 - $400 for replacing your clutch-discs. Ride Safe!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by tom mullen on June 27, 2010 at 9:37am: i own a suziki intruder 1400 and switched to mobil 1 synthetic motorcycle oil at the first oil change after purchasing. the bike has a wet clutch and from what i have read auotmotive motor oil of standard or synthetic could contain detergents and agents that could cause a wet clutch system to slip.
i use synthetic in everything, including compressor pumps,pressure washer pump, auto transmission, lawn mowers,etc. my 1996 ford taurus has just hit the 225,000 mile mark and i have been running quaker state synthetic in it since 90,000. the motor is still running strong. a 5 quart jug and oil filter is $28. my bike on the other hand is 5 quarts @ $8.50/qt, plus a wix filter. it is well worth it to me as i want to see 200,000 out of my bike.; ▶ Reply to This