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what kind of oil do you use?

9K views 20 replies 16 participants last post by  jetmonkey 
#1 ·
i got a '92 seca ii and wanna put synthetic oil in it what kind do you reccomend ive heard amsoil was a good route and i use royal purple in all my vehicles but bike are different so i need some more opinions. And also i was told to stay away from K&N air filters i love K&N so i need you guys to comment on that and tell me whats the best route taken for air filters because i go with K&N for everything and im confused on that one.
 
#2 ·
My issue with K&N is the amount of **** it allows into the intake. I've seen several used-oil analyses done by guys on various car forums where silicon levels in their oil went through the roof after they installed a K&N. Any extra (and barely noticable) power you gain isn't worth the extra engine wear, and I can't imagine why you'd want to hassle with washing / oiling when you can just pop out / pop in, and go for a ride.

I'm somewhat on the fence about synthetic oils in my bike at the moment, as I recently switched to Rotella T in my Ninja. The synthetics have made all my bikes shift loud and rough, but the Rotella really smoothed it out. Any small amount of shear or thermal breakdown I'm experiencing by using a conventional oil is worth not hearing my gears crashing together every time I shift. I change my oil often enough that I doubt I'm doing any harm.
 
#5 ·
I'm somewhat on the fence about synthetic oils in my bike at the moment, as I recently switched to Rotella T in my Ninja. The synthetics have made all my bikes shift loud and rough, but the Rotella really smoothed it out. Any small amount of shear or thermal breakdown I'm experiencing by using a conventional oil is worth not hearing my gears crashing together every time I shift. I change my oil often enough that I doubt I'm doing any harm.
Have you put Amsoil in? I never heard my gears when shifting with that in my 09 ninja 250. I always use Amsoil, it's expensive, but worth it IMO.
 
#3 ·
i got a '92 seca ii and wanna put synthetic oil in it

because i go with K&N for everything and im confused on that one.
My first question always is: WHY ??

There is really no good reason that I can see for doing EITHER of the things you propose.......except it might make you feel good somehow.

Switching to synthetic in a ~19 year old bike is probably a waste of time and money.
Same for the hyped K&N filters.....unless maybe you own a machine shop are are going to do a complete performance rebuild. A K&N alone on a bike often makes the performance worse, not better......and the filtering is not as good.

My personal opinion: Just ride it and enjoy it for what it IS. If it ain't broke, don't F*** with it. :thumbsup:
 
#13 ·
Don't bother with synthetic on a bike that old, waste of
money, if you use something like amsoil
it will clean the gunk out of your gaskets and make you have leaks, run some cheap conventional oil and change it regularly. I commend you on wanting to run the best but it's not worth it in your case
 
#4 ·
I concur with everything said above about K&N. K&N filters allow to much dust through. This has been proven numerous times on car forums. If you'd like, I can point to the one on TDIClub were oil was sent out to a 3rd party for testing.

Synthetic oil, I use Elf / Total. But on your bike I think Easy is correct about it being a waste of money. It would be like me putting synthetic in my 92 Ford truck.
 
#6 ·
I don't run K&N especially on the dual sport because of dusty conditions in which I ride. The street bike has a foam Uni in it due to price.

I simply run motorcycle oil from the local motorcycle shop, running whichever 10W-40 is least costly. If I wasn't close to a shop I'd do the same at another source. I may pay a bit more, but there is never any question about friction modifiers or anything else, besides I'm usually in the shop for the OEM oil filter too. Same could be done for synthetics too. Again no issues with the filter when it's OEM. I've seen where one company made a mistake in the O-ring on a canister that cost a guy an engine.

Actually as long as there are no additives that could affect anything, any oil can work in a bike, especially if you go with the ridiculously conservative 1950s change intervals most riders do. I run about 5000 miles and actually would go more, but if I use that generality I usually have the oil changed by at least 6000. I don't short hop my bike, it nearly always gets up to full operating temperatures, especially since I started using the bicycle for short hop stuff around town (better for the legs and wind). That cooks off any moisture and the oil will stay in good shape longer.

One thing I will say is that in 22 years in and around a shop I've never seen an oil failure. I've seen filters put in 250 Honda singles backward and aftermarket misfits, along with running oil too low, but never a true oil failure. So I'd never say Amsoil, Rotella, Castrol, or any other oils for cars won't work well. They probably will. I just play it absolutely safe, relying on the manufacturers and oil engineers to make the best call with their motorcycle product.
 
#14 ·
What kind of oil

I belong to the XJbikes.com group and there we all agree that using synthetic oil is not a good idea as the friction modifiers plays h$ll with the wet clutch. I swear by Shell Rotella. Good basic oil at a reasonable price.
 
#19 ·
My comments on the oil. A close friend was senior reserce tech in the fuel and emmisions lab at the shell reserce center in Houston. We were questioning oil because of the clutch. he got some engeneers to do some tests on it and they determined that automotive oil today had so many friction reducing additives to get gas mileage up that it was best to run diesel truck oil in the bikes. so the guys up there that was sugesting Rotella are right on track. this is also why the man said his bike shifted better with Rotella.
 
#20 ·
You are 100% correct. I have a Vstar 1300-

Rotella 15/40 (also Jaso MA rated) or Delo LE 400 15/40 (my favorate for silky smooth shifts) or Vavoline blue 15/40 or Mobile 15/40

The bottom line is they are oils that are made to withstand the tortures of the world biggest and baddest diesel engines with an API commercial rating of CJ-4 and also API automobile rated SM. Best of all, they will keep your engine super clean, made to withstand shearing and right in the viscosity range recommended by Suzuki for your V Star 1300.
Anyone who never tried Rotella or Delo 15/40 is in for a treat when it comes to shifting ...
 
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