OK guys, what's the best motorcycle synthetic?

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well you are flat out wrong. not ALL oil shears out of grade. period. only the [censored] ones do. period.

try the 5w40 and test it. run it once. dump it. run it again and THEN do the uoa.
 
time is the factor then. what the oem says is the oci for the engine in question. if honda says a crf250 has an oci of 15hrs (along with its piston btw) and an oil is in grade at that point. it passed. if another is not in grade, it fails. now those same 2 oils may have different oci's in say a cummins 6.0l diesel or a harley 1200.

and, btw, oil sitting on the self does not shear out of grade. so, no it does not. a bottle never opened, never shears out of grade.
 
Engines that have combustion gases, a clutch and trans gears put a lot of load on the oil, as far as shearing.......

If the trans is separate that would be a little easier on the oil.
 
Sunruh,
I like your brutal honesty. That's what I'm after here. The truth and facts.
Could you please describe the procedure you mentioned. What do you mean test it, run it once, dump it, test it again... ?

Also, what do you think would be a better choice? Motul 5w-40 full synthetic versus Mobil 1 10w-40? BMW specifies a 10w-40 and hints that a "mineral" oil should be used, but doesn't prohibit synthetics specifically.

Any help is much appreciated.
 
If you are not totally hung up on syn oil I would try Rotella 15w40. If you want a syn oil then I would use Mobil1Vtwin 10w40 until you have 3-5000 miles of wear and switch to Redline 10w40

BUT: I would contact Redline tech support to be sure they recommend their 10w40 for your bike. If they say no then go M-1Vtwin or Amsoil.
 
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Whatever you do, don't try to break it in on synthetic oil. I would go until at least you second or third oil change before using synthetic. No one has mentioned Schaeffers oil yet, and while they do not make a synthetic 10W-40, they do make an excellent full-syn 5W-40 and a 15W-40 blend. Either of these would be a low-wearing, clean running SAE 40 oil for your BMW. See the site sponsor for Schaeffers here or you could try to find it locally, which can be iffy.

That reminds me, I never did send any Schaeffers to Sunruh for his torture-testing. Next time I order some, I will send a few quarts if he is still up to testing.
 
Sunruh, sorry to ask but have you tested Motorex 10W-60 and Elf 10W-50?

I'm asking because I'm considering either for my Guzzi as I noticed that the oil temp got to 130º C quite often in the summer. The former has been recommended by one of the best dealerships, and the new Guzzi engines require 10W 60 anyway. There are very few oil in this grade range, and Motorex synthetic apparently is not group III but the "real" thing. Also it's important that the additive package be up to the task to protect the "flat" tappets from fast wear.
 
When I ran the previous formula AMSOIL MC 10W40, it had sheared out of grade after 500 miles. Have not used the newer formula.
 
Originally Posted By: sunruh
Originally Posted By: Johnny
All that's in your YZ250F. It might work just fine in his BMW.
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exactly johnny!!!

you either take the data given OR you create your own.

and along the way you either learn or not. and what you learn, may not be what is usually said to be "fact" (ie synth better than dino in all cases).
Seems that an oil that works in the 250 will standup well in most other M/C engines. Uoas do tell how an oil holds up in use.
 
Best Oil? Without regard to cost? My vote is Maxima oils or Motul, They have Group V basestocks and a massive add packs for motorcycle application. Best for the price? Rotella Synth or Amsoil. Most expensive, least value? Mobil 1.
 
Just adding that Sunruh knows what he is talking about, he has tested just about every oil on the market in his YZ250 (WR250?) and those little oil grinders can chew up oil faster than anything else. I used to run RTS in my WR250 until I read his UOAs and now I use Maxima. If it holds up for Sunruh, its good oil for any other motorcycle. I trust him completely.
 
Most any modern liquid-coold Japanese or German street-bike engine will pretty much last forever with any quality oil of the proper viscosity, changed at reasonable intervals.

The bikes will be junked, wrecked or parked behind a barn with a tree growing through them long before the engine ever wears out.

But, hey if the oil costs $12 a quart and has a cool motorcycle graphic on the front it must be better!
 
Oil threads are a source of arguments and misinformation on the M/C sites I frequent. It can get pretty amusing. I agree with Drew. You could use just about any quality oil if you change it at 3 to 5,000 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: Redline955
Oil threads are a source of arguments and misinformation on the M/C sites I frequent. It can get pretty amusing. I agree with Drew. You could use just about any quality oil if you change it at 3 to 5,000 miles.


Yep.
 
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