Mobil 1, 10W40 tryout?

For years I ran Penzoil 10W 40 conventional oil in my 1979 KZ1000E Mods include, 4 into 1 header, old style Kerker muffler with no baffle, (real) K&N air filter pods, K&N oil filter, Dyna 3.0 coils, Dyna ignition, VM 28 carbs with stage 3 jet kit. Im not a speed demon and rarely ride my motorcycle (maybe 3 times a month for 5-10 miles each ride) I have 51,000 miles and have never had the motor rebuilt. It has not needed to be. I'm sure the time is coming soon for it's first rebuild but I am trying to prolong the inevitable. I hear that Synthetic oil will make your clutch slip, but I have yet to experience it? Mind you, I have maybe 3 miles on the synthetic oil change. I'd like your opinion on switching over to Synthetic oils... Do you believe its a good idea? If not, please state why, or why not?

Thanks,

Synthetic oil is not a problem for the clutch. The problem lies in the anti-friction additives in automotive oil. The clutch will be much happier with an oil that meets JASO-MA standards.

Mobile 1 Racing 4T is fine. The auto version M1 is a little risky though due to possible clutch issues. Mind you it may be fine, but there is no guarantee. I do know that there are lots of folks using auto type 20W-50 with fine results, but I'm not sure about other grades.

Synthetic is fine, but make SURE the container has "JASO-MA" marked on it, otherwise you may experience clutch problems (I did). Oil marked JASO-MA has been tested and approved for use with wet clutches such as those in the Kawasaki. Other oils that do not have that designation may contain friction modifiers that are intended to play nice with modern car exhaust systems, and these can make the bike's clutch slip. Mobile 1 Racing 4T is motorcycle oil. It works fine and has the JASO-MA designation; Mobil1 car oil is not for motorcycle use because of the bike's wet clutch. Ed

See: mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1-4t-motorcycle-oil

Good info and thank you all! I'll be switching it this weekend to Rotella T6 15w40 synthetic. It states on the bottle it is JASO-MA

Serpent7 wrote: Good info and thank you all! I'll be switching it this weekend to Rotella T6 15w40 synthetic. It states on the bottle it is JASO-MA

The 5W-40 is synthetic. 15W-40 is mineral oil. Both good.

Nessism wrote:

Serpent7 wrote: Good info and thank you all! I'll be switching it this weekend to Rotella T6 15w40 synthetic. It states on the bottle it is JASO-MA

The 5W-40 is synthetic. 15W-40 is mineral oil. Both good.

The Rotella T6 15w-40 is synthetic. Ed

650ed wrote: The Rotella T6 15w-40 is synthetic. Ed

Hum, I stand corrected. That must be new for this year.

I may try the 5w-40 then in Synthetic! thanks fellas!

UPDATE: I purchased Rotella 5w-40 full synthetic and will be installing it tonight!