Is it real,or is it memorex

Well ed,
You may be right, but both guys told me the same thing.
The Vulcan guy told me it didnt leak until he put MC synth in it, and hasn't since he went back. He thought it was so viscous that it went right by the gaskets

The former owner of mine had a similar story, except he put all new seals and a new clutch and sold me a sorted out bike that doesn't leak for a good price.

I think Both guys had good advice. So tell me what's so special about synthetic. Duke and i would like to know.....

Please see the link below. It contains a comprehensive motorcycle oil study/comparison of dino and synthetic flavors that was conducted by Amsoil. It gives good descriptions of each of the tests, test results, and the characteristics desired in motorcycle oil. It takes a while to go through the whole thing, so read it when you’re not in a hurry. I found it very informative even though I had switched to the synthetic oil I mentioned prior to reading the study. I hope it is helpful. Ed

Oil Study

gottmoore wrote:

So tell me what's so special about synthetic. Duke and i would like to know.....

1) Syns hold their viscosity (over temp) better without the use of viscosity increasers (which break down rapidly in motorcycles) so they hold stable viscosity better and longer over life.

2) Syns dont break down and oxidize away at high temp like dino oils do. Some parts of an air cooled MC engine can get REALLY hot and really stress the oil. Syn oils were originally developed for aircraft engines that stressed the oil so badly the engines kept blowing up (pretty quickly). Syn is better for severe service and some high performance bikes do stress the oil.

ok, you guys make good points. I got 3 k to think about it till the next round. How about in the forks?

All of the info here is good about oil break down at high temps and synthetic versus non synthetic. You do not have to slowly change over you can just switch to synthetic. But remember which ever route you go look at the back of the label (If its not specified to be MOTORCYLE oil)

If it says energy conserving in the bottom circle it means it has friction modifiers in it and these will perminatly damage your cluch! Again I must agree with will61310 If it aint broke why fix it?

gottmoore wrote:

ok, you guys make good points. I got 3 k to think about it till the next round. How about in the forks?

Use fork oil. 15W is best for street.

thanks.

PS sorry to jack the thread, but I figure out how to search here yet.

shhhhhh....my 34 yr old stock engine might hear you guys.....oil????
ahhh yeah.........change it......theres little bitty numbers right on the filler cap.....
they were put there by some little bitty japanese engine experts.....they still say the same numbers......the engine still runs great.....evrything else changes...but the numbers won't...........

gottmoore wrote:

ok, you guys make good points. I got 3 k to think about it till the next round. How about in the forks?

I've been using Bel Ray 15W Fork Oil since the 1st time I changed it on my bike in 1979. I change it every 2 years and have never had a fork leak or other problem. Let's say I'm convinced.

For motor oil I switched my little ninja over to full synthetic and it quit clunking into each gear and idles about 2-300 faster. Once I get the 650 back up I'll try it in her as well. It is motorcycle specific (about 40.00/gallon) and is what I'll use in the ninja from now on. There is a difference, just some bikes don't care what you put in them. Recently worked on a Honda Supersport 750 (1981) for a friend and we put in the 15.00/gallon Wal-Mart 10-40 and it works just fine with it. Smooth shifting, no clutch issues, just loves it. So it depends on the bike and the rider and what each prefers. Also, my seals haven't started puking oil, but it has only been 800 miles or so since I put in the synthetic oil so who knows.