synthetic oils?

[jonnyp]

hey kat fans, quick question im thinking about changing oils to mobil 1 mx4t4 from reqular quakerstate. bikes an 05 and ridden hard from may to nov (approx 12005) on numerous road trips. does anyone know if the clutch acts up with this synthetic.

[The CyberPoet]

Since the synthetic oil in question is JASO-MA rated, it won't affect your clutch negatively. Matter of fact, I think your engine will thank you.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Jax]

Second question on this topic...if you use synthetic oil do you have to still change the oil every 3k or can you go 5kor 6k?

[Knucklehead]

Second question on this topic...if you use synthetic oil do you have to still change the oil every 3k or can you go 5kor 6k?

A lot of that too depends on what type of filter you are using. Suzuki says you can get 2 or 3 oil changes out of the OEM filter but I'd be inclined to use a new one each oil change.

[bobs]

if you use synthetic oil do you have to still change the oil every 3k or can you go 5kor 6k?

Seems like a false economy, unless you plan to flip (resell) your bike after only a few oil changes. I know when I consider buying a vehicle, I check for logs and receipts of regular oil and filter changes, and done on the short end of the mileage range too.

[The CyberPoet]

Second question on this topic...if you use synthetic oil do you have to still change the oil every 3k or can you go 5kor 6k?

The honest answer on the oil is it depends...
You have to remember that a ton of factors play into oil life, including:
How hot the oil gets (obviously oil than runs at 150 degrees C is going to last longer than oil running at 250 degrees C) -- the hotter the engine environment, the sooner the oil should be changed. Stop and go traffic tends to run the oil hot, which is why they say city drivers should change the oil in their cars & bikes more frequently;
how long the typical ride is (I'd feel a lot better doing 5 each 1000 mile days back to back than 500 each ten mile trips on the same oil);
how much condensation forms out of the air and into the oil while it's parked (water + oil + combustion byproducts = sulfuric acid, which breaks down the oil and eats into the tranny metals), and how often the oil comes all the way up to temp (over 100 degree C) to boil off any water in it;
how much the oil is being sheared (lot of shifting increases the shear rate);
how much time it takes you to do 3k or 5k of riding. Oil oxidizes when exposed to air, and that heat also increase the oxidation rate. Oxidized oil wants to sludge (forming a heat barrier against effect heat exchange) and can also be a source of rusting (since the extra electrons lost during oxidation can start dielectric rusting).

Personally, I feel 3500 miles on any decent oil is a more than reasonably duty cycle for the oil, and will change it. Oil is far cheaper than the possible havoc and repairs (or just accelerated engine wear) that can come with not changing it. Financial issues? Use more cost-effective oils and change it more often...

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Jax]

Cool that's what I was looking for...now I gotta change my oil sometime soon...Thanks...

[illinoiskat]

My stock clutch slipped on synthetic oil. Put a Barnett in it and know its fine.

[The CyberPoet]

My stock clutch slipped on synthetic oil. Put a Barnett in it and know its fine.

Three things there:

(A) Was it synthetic motorcycle oil or synthetic car oil? Modern car oils (API SJ, SL and SM rated oils) all contain friction modifiers that can cause wet clutches to slip and are specifically NOT recommended for use with wet-clutch motorcycles unless called for by the manufacturer. Unfortunately, Suzuki pulled a fast one around the end of 04 and started shipping SL rated oil as their Suzuki-brand oil, which is just stupid (guess they sell more through their car dealerships and ignored their bike market).

(B) No JASO-MA rated oil will make your clutch slip by definition. It's part of the full JASO-MA spec.

(C) Do you know whether your clutch was on it's way out anyway? How thick were the friction plates you took out compared to the ones you put in to replace them?

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[illinoiskat]

My stock clutch slipped on synthetic oil. Put a Barnett in it and know its fine.

(C) Do you know whether your clutch was on it's way out anyway? How thick were the friction plates you took out compared to the ones you put in to replace them?

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

IDK It was over a year ago. Stock clutch was fine with dino oil and I switched to mobil 1, which agrees with point a and it slipped then. But I wanted synthetic and switched plates out at a $100.

[Jbird2200]

I was thinking of switching oils as well, I've been using the suzuki brand oil, kinda cheap it seems. I was looking at the mobil one Mxt4, or the Amsoil AFF forumula 4 stroke? anyone have comparisons with these two? I saw a dyno sheet that stated 2hp increase with use of amsoil over the mobil, but of course that was on the amsoil dealer's site.

[The CyberPoet]

I'll honestly say I know zero about Amsoil other than their self-published claims.
On the other hand, even in Amsoil's claims, Mobil 1 MX4T is very highly rated, and I know that MX4T is a superior oil for your Kat with the highest vaporization temp of any 10w40 on the market (makes it particularly good for hot weather riding, start-and-stop city driving and long touring).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[trinc]

the kat runs really well on synth oil. i was running act-evo and thought it was a good but was really suprised when i went to full synthetic.

well worth the money.

tim

[katcurvincorners]

In my experience, with some of my other bikes, it seems that synthetic oil by nature, is thinner than regular petroleum based oils... synthetic has always caused more engine noise for me.. and also, since it is thinner, it seems to find any little gaps you may have and leak itself right on out.

[The CyberPoet]

In my experience, with some of my other bikes, it seems that synthetic oil by nature, is thinner than regular petroleum based oils... synthetic has always caused more engine noise for me.. and also, since it is thinner, it seems to find any little gaps you may have and leak itself right on out.

Actually, standard oil is both thinner and thicker, because it's less consistent in molecule length (synthetic by definition is pretty much uniform when new -- or why else bother?). When you developed leaks, it's because the high detergent load in the synthetic oil you switched to washed away places where oil gunk had formed against gaskets (and the gasket under the oil gunk had dried out as a result) -- any high detergent oil of either sort (dino or synthetic) would have done the same thing...

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet