Dino, Semi or 100% Synthetic

T

Two Wheels

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Gents:

Could have sworn I saw oil recommendations on this site, but just did a search and didn't find it again.

In any case, dealer said DO NOT USE 100% Synthetic (even after break in). AT best use semi. They recommend pure petro/dino oil. SAid pur synthetic will eat up the clutch. That didn't make sense to me.

Thoughts ... ? Are you all using synthetic or a blend of, or is it truly not needed ?

thank you
 
I know many guys use synthetic oil in their bikes but I use the Yamalube Semi from the dealer. I know I could probably use something much cheaper and just as good, but when it comes to my bikes and oil changes, I much rather go and get actual Yamaha parts, even if I am spending 5 or 6 dollars more in total. Some guys will say that I am just paying more for the same old stuff, but I don't care. I would rather use Yamaha brand fluids and parts.
 
I've been running full synthetic since 600 miles. I'd say your dealer is full of it. Whether it's needed or not.... well... of course it's not needed... it's all about preference... Plenty of guys are running Rotella Synthetic.... made for Diesels.... and they've got over 100k on their bikes... so... pour something slippery into the crankcase. then go ride. It doesn't matter what kind of slippery it is.
 
I haven't seen a bike forum yet where the oil subject hasn't been beaten to death on the debate about synthetic vs non-synthetic. For years Harley said to absolutely not use synthetic (because they said they hadn't tested it). then all of a sudden they came out with their own synthetic and said it was the cat's meow. Most synthetic manufacturers will advise using a non-synthetic for the initial break-in period to ensure that the rough spots get ground off correctly but after that my buck is on the synthetic stuff and even my lawn mower gets the stuff. Like the old saying goes, you can replace your oil or replace your engine. I'm sure if you change the oil at the recomended intervals you'll be fine, I just try to make sure I'm geting as much life out of the thing as I can. I've got a 12.5 h.p. Sears rider I've had for over eighteen years and it's cut a hell of a lot of grass and still does't smoke.
 
;)I wouldn't use fully synthetic oil in a bike engine with a wet clutch. It will and does eventually cause clutch slip, unless you are running an exotic friction plate material. Only bikes like Ducati's with dry clutches have fully synthetic oil specified. You will find that the 'Yamaha oil' will be semi - synthetic.
This was a major problem in the early days of fully synthetic oils arriving on the shelf. Nowadays the oils are much better and this problem doesn't seem to appear straight away as it previously did.

Bikes are delivered from the factory with cheap semi-synthetic oil to stop the bores glazing during running in. Remember a v. high % of new bikes have already done a full load dyno run in the factory before they are shipped.

The compressive loads on the oil in a street engine can easily be coped with by semi-synthetic oils - save yer beer money and run it on semi-synthetic !!
 
When looking at synthetic oil for an FZ1, it must have the motorcycle MA, MA1 or MA2 rating. This is an industry friction test for wet clutches. Amsoil claim that wet clutch discs don't varnish up from heat with their bike synthetic. I put my trust in service products like Yamaha, Castrol and Motorex but am sure most others are fine too.
 
jordie said:
;)I wouldn't use fully synthetic oil in a bike engine with a wet clutch. It will and does eventually cause clutch slip, unless you are running an exotic friction plate material. Only bikes like Ducati's with dry clutches have fully synthetic oil specified. You will find that the 'Yamaha oil' will be semi - synthetic.
Click to expand...

Thats the same thing I was thinking. I was concerned with the clutch so I just use the Yamalube and play it safe.
 
Rotella full synthetic, 10,000 miles and no clutch slip issues. ;) I know many guys who run this oil and other full syns and have no issues with the wet clutch system.
 
Not yet an FZ1 rider, but might be. I just bought a new 08' leftover FZ6 less than 2 months ago. It's not working so out well for me. Should have spent the extra $$ on the FZ1, I guess. But, I digress...

Use a good synthetic oil. Seriously, nowadays anyone who says you can't is just plain out of touch. I've used Rotella T synthetic in a few bikes now, mor miles into the 5 digits, and I've not had to replace a clutch yet, not have I had any problems whatsoever. Shell has said their Rotella T dinot & synthetic are both excellent motorcycle oils and will not harm the wet clutch. I got that in writing. It has to do with similar additive packages to what motorcycles need. At any rate, I've even used dino 10w-30 on bikes with wet clutch for almost 20k miles also, and never a clutch slip or replacement. Synthetic is widely known now as far superior to dino oil, and many cars and motorcycles have been using these oils for some time. There's an overkill amount of info out there on this stuff.
 
I can tell you know nothing about Michigan. We cut from April till October. And in the middle of the summer when we're getting rain we cut two to three times a week. For twleve of those years I was cuting over an acre. Beat that! And, by the by I've got over 800,000 miles with synthetic in my bikes.
 
I use Amsoil but If I'm away from home and need a change I'll use whatever full synthetic I can get. The biggest advantage to a full synthetic is that it doesn't break down as fast as a non-synthetic. If you change every 3000 miles or less, you probably won't notice any difference. I don't change until at least 4000 and sometimes go to 5000 before a change. It costs a little more to run synthetic or semi-synthetic (ever ask anyone what that means?) but I feel the protection is worth it and if you figure in the added miles I get, it's pretty much a wash
 
Just changed the oil today. I change every 3,000 miles or sooner if I've been running the bike hard. I usually use Yamalube 20/50w but they didn't have it this time so I used the Honda Brand oil with the factory Yamaha filter. It's true that you can tell when your ready for a change. My shifts were getting clunky the last couple of rides but now it's smooth as silk. I also swapped out that last flat washer on the rear sets and the difference is amazing. Being that it was the bottom washer, there was still a little movement, but now they are rock solid and my shifting is great. I just came back from a 30 mile sprint before the rain gets here and the bike ran flawlessly.
 
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