Another oil Question .. I live in a place that makes hell look cool

[Guest]

I thought full synthetic oil was a no-no for the GSes. Am I mistaken? Thought it was bad for the clutch plates.

Yep, you are mistaken. Synthetic is OK, any oil with friction modifiers is not OK. Most any of the auto oils with the high temp weight over 30 (ie - 10W40, 5W50, etc.) and all the diesel oils (that I have looked at) will not have the modifiers and are fine. Personally I have used Mobil 1 15W50 and 5W50, conventional 10W40 and Rotella T5 semi-synthetic diesel oil 10W30 with no problems in my 1100E.

I think you will find more problems with synthetic causing old seals to leak than any effect on the clutch.


Mark

 

[Who Dat?]

I thought full synthetic oil was a no-no for the GSes. Am I mistaken? Thought it was bad for the clutch plates.

No, it does not do anything to the clutch, if you use the proper viscosity.

What kills the clutch is using an oil with a "friction modifier", and the only ones I have seen with them have been 30w oil or thinner. Since you are supposed to use 10w-40 or 20w-50, that should not be a problem. The easiest way to ensure that you do not have any of the 'bad' oil is to look in the API donut on the rear. It should NOT say "Energy Conserving" or anything similar to that.

 

[alke46]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. My brain needs to absorb more of what I read.

 

[Boriqua]

I think I may change back sooner rather than later. Since switching to the 20w50 castrol I have developed quite a bit of noise from the area of the cam chain. I have read all about rebuilding and adjusting the cam chain tensioner but am Soooooooooooooo not into pulling my valve cover again or removing my carbs that I slaved to finally get right.

It could simply be coincidence that the noise coincides with the oil change.

It happens when I start with choke and the bike is set at about 3000rpm. Doesnt happen below or above and I cant pick it up when riding or taking off. I know I didnt hear it when I was using the Mobile 1 10w40 but the highs when I was using the 10w40 were staying a touch under 100.

I just recently changed my dash to mini gauges so I don't have the temp gauge anymore but I was reaching the same temps, needle between 210 and 320, on the gauge with the 20w50 as I was with the 10w40 although it took a little longer to get there. So it seems warm up temp was the only thing that actually changed and operating temp stayed the same. Keep in mind I regularly ride in 100F +. Early morning temps are dropping to about 80f but by the time I head out it is upper 90's and better than 100 by the time I get back.

I am going to see if they make a temp gauge that goes in the filler hole for my gs750. If you know of one please chime in.

I have never had a temp gauge on any air cooled bike until this one and just rode em. My gut says there is no aircooled engine without an oil cooler that is going to run significantly cooler than mine when you ride in 100f + and I just have to deal with that.

Alex

 

[bodine99]

Syn Motorcycle oil works fine for the clutch pac. NO CAR OIL

 

[Guest]

I think you will find more problems with synthetic causing old seals to leak than any effect on the clutch.


Mark

You can't make generalizations about synthetics because they aren't the same. Generally, PAO [polyalphaolefin] synthetic will shrink rubber and Ester will swell it. Given a budget to work with, well blended synthetics can actually resuscitate old seals that petroleum base oils generally harden and shrink over time. I say budget because PAOs are less expensive to make; the high end synthetics will often boast about 'ester base' which won't be 100% ester but, well, it gets complicated.

I'm a fan of Maxima Pro Plus motorcycle oil. It is an interesting company; rather a rarity these days. They ride?. and I don't mind making my donation to the cause.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I am using that oil in my 1150 currently.

 

[Boriqua]

I do not like all the new sounds coming from my engine at start up using the 20w50. I think I am willing to bite the bullet and go back to 10w40 but .. I really dont want to spend yet another 50 bucks. I see that rotella is a fan favorite. I want to stick with synthetic. Do any of the gurus here think the 5w40 t6 will be to thin for my current temps. Its going to be about 105f for the next 4 weeks or so then it starts to cool down in the morning. Right now its only cooling down to about 80 at night.

I can get Rotella T6 at walmart for some $21.

 

[Nessism]

You are just wasting money.