Clutch Longivity and Synthetic oil?

Island Hopper

Island Hopper

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I purchased a couple of cases of Maxima Ultra Synthetic 5w/40 for my 640 {not cheap}, and sold a half dozen bottles to my friend for his KLR. He put it in at about the milage your at and noticed improvement in power, shifting as well as engine smoothness with no effect on the clutch.
 
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klrman

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Thanks Island Hopper. That's the stuff I like to hear... real world testing.. getting tired of reading reports of when to make the switch on paper. Will try it with the KLR with 4800k first.
 
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BMWNut

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klrman wrote:
I just recieved my first order of Amsoil MCF 10W40. With delivery and the 1 year membership charge it cost me $11.96 per litre. Next time I order I don't need to pay the membership fee so it will cost only $9.98 per litre net, so that seems like a pretty good deal for the stuff. Can't wait to try it and see how if feels:hf: I worked the price out on the 4 gallons being US gallons at 15.14 litres.

I'm still not 100% sure if I should put it in my bike yet. My bike has 3600K on it and my brothers bike has 4800K on it. Anybody have solid thoughts on this? I read the report that the newer motorcycle engines can switch to synthetic after about 3200k, but the KLR is old metal old technology and my guess a rougher hone, so could take longer to seat anything. If any of you have thoughts please let me know. Thanks!
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It's just a "paper" recommendation but BMW says NOT to put full-synth oil in the new 168HP K1200 motors until at least 10,000KM. It comes with conventional oil from the factory. They say NOT to use full-synth in the F650s at all, I ran semi-synth Spectro from 5,000KM and noticed better shifting and smoother running.
 
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dstone

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This is close to heart because I'm breaking my DR650 in right now...

350 km - changed filter & oil for early wear (non-synth)
...I'm at 900 km now
1000 km - will change filter & oil (probably non-synth?)
...I'll be on an extended ride for a couple of weeks, likely ticking up to the 4000 km mark. So it may not be easy for me to change between the 1500 km mark and the 4000 km mark.

Does it make sense for me to put in semi-synth or synth early? As early as 1500 km? I have always run Motul 5100 or a full synth in my sport bikes post-break-in, but I'm not clear what to do about the DR.

Soliciting opinions...

-Darren.
 
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klrman

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After reading so much about synthetics, it seems that switching too early is a bad thing as the stuff is just too slippery and won't allow the engine to break in, so it looks like 5,000 to 10,000k before switching. Even the synthetic manufactures say dino oil is needed for proper breakin. I did notice on the Amsoil reports they did not compare apples to apples and go heads on with Maximas Synthetic Ultra as they must have know that stuff outdoes them all the way. Instead they chose Maximas Syn blend to show comparison and even that blend faired so high in all the tests.
 
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klrman

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I changed my oil now and put in the Amsoil MCF 10W40 full synthetic and was hoping for a big difference.... but I noticed nothing:shock: I thought I might notice the shifting being way smoother or the motor running cooler like I read everywhere, but not even that. Could not start my KLR without the choke either. Someone mentioned when they put in sythetic they did not need to use the choke. I wonder if that $3.50 castrol 10W40 motorcycle oil that I bought at Wal-Mart is worth using again as it felt just as good:D
 
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caribootom

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The point about using your choke is a function of engine and ambient temperature not your use of a particular oil. Synthetic oils are not as thick as a conventional oil at cooler temperatures which makes it easier on the battery and starter for starting your bike. As far as smoothness of the engine and transmission goes, the difference will be small if any,each engine is different.
 
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klrman

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That makes sense. So many forums talk about how synthetics makes your engines run cooler, but I tested this and nothing is running cooler on both bikes. Many people suggest using ok oil and changing often and that may not be a bad idea. I think one of the reasons I noticed no difference when I used the synthetic oil is that I did change my oil often on the KLR and it was so clean that it was impossible to notice anything.
 
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KLR Kid

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Pee Wee wrote:
Regular OIL as in Car oil , is for Cranks Bearings and Valve train lubing...

Motorcycles require the Oil be used for the Transmission and the Clutch as well....this oil is modified to work in transmissions. Regular oil will break down on a Molecular level and lose it's capacity to lubricate effectively, after it's been "Squished" through transmission gears and Clutch plates. If the OIL is TOO slippery, Full Synthetic...it may play Havoc with the Clutches on some bikes.

The manufactureres spend alot of money on R&D to find what works with their motors...so how does some backwoods hick think he knows more about Oils than them??? Never could figuer that one out.:shoot:
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Hey Pee Wee,

One of the guys at SG recommended the Kawasaki Full Synthetic 15W50 for my KLR which is what I'm running now.Just coming up to another oil change and was wondering what your thoughts are on this.

Can I/Should I now change to the Semi-Synthetic Motul 5100? Is the Kawi Full-Synthetic too slippery for the KLR? If I change oils, what viscosity do you recommend.:?

Thanks for your advice.
 
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klrman

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That was a great report. I wonder though how Mobil-1 would fair now that there are new rules in defining "synthetic". Mobil-1 now uses 100% petroleum base stock in stead of syntheitic but I read recently that because the petroleum is severly hydorcracked.. whatever that means... it is supposed to be as good as synthetic so I bet nearly everyone is using petroleum base stock again. I tested the Amsoil MCF 10W40 in 2 KLR's now and except for the great price increase per litre, have felt no difference whatsoever.
 
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TG6

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KLR Kid wrote:
TG6 wrote:
This is a good read and has some interesting facts in it regarding oil for motorcycles..

http://www.xs11.com/stories/mcnoil94.htm
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Does this mean you're using dinosaur oil in the GS and KLR?
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I am still using dino oil in the GS but using Amsoil 10x40 MC oil in the KLR. When I get more k's on the GS I'll switch to a semi -synthetic and then to a full synthetic. I like the Amsoil in the KLR, I find it shifts much smoother... My 2 cents
 
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klrman

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A friend of mine overseas asked me to try something so I did. I drained the synthetic oil, then put 2 litres of new synthetic oil in and drove for 10 minutes. Drained it again and then 2.2 litres of new synthetic oil again. WOW!!!!! This baby flies...ouch...hahahah... what a difference some good oil can make. My friend was trying to explain to me that when you switch to Synthetic for the first time on a KLR, doing a thorough cleaning of the internals makes quite a difference. He is not kidding. This bike revs freely almost like a 2 stroke now. It cost me $25.00 to waist the oil but so what. Just thought I would pass this on to anyone who is making the switch soon. The first time I put the synthetic in I was dissapointed, but this method has made quite a difference. I was actually thinking of doing that method the first time, but at $12.00 a bottle for the Amsoil, I didn't want to do it.
 
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