Oil Question

[BoarderBry]

My '04 Kat-600 is the first bike I have owned (not a bad way to start in my mind )
The previous owner said to run conventional oil in it and stay away from a full synthetic. He stated that the synthetic causes the clutch to slip after a while.
Is this true? I am almost due for an oil change an want to know the best type to use.

Bike has just under 17k miles on it.

[primal]

The only time it will make the clutch slip is if you use a synthetic with friction modifiers. My bike has Suzuki-branded synthetic (from the previous owner) in it now, and I've got a gallon of Rotella-T synthetic ready for the next oil change.

[thetable]

http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/motorcycle/how_to/mc_oil.html

I always used Amsoil MCF on my Kat.

[HexKrak]

http://www.motorcycleanchor.com/moto...to/mc_oil.html

Lots of good accurate information there (thanks CP), but let me make sure you get the basics.
Conventional car oil = no good for motorcycles in general due to, amongst other things, higher heat and rpm's.
I use Mobile 1 4t motorcycle racing oil, not that I race, but sometimes I drive like it

to quote the article

The most important thing is that you use a motorcycle oil with the specific ratings and weight that the engine manufacturer calls for (e.g. - API SF/SG, JASO MA, 10w40).

[40something]

Any good rated oil for your Kat will work. I personally use a synth blend Castrol ACT-EVO 4T and like it.

Just as important is a good quality oil filter. I use Purolator ML16818 filters on my 06 750 Kat and change the filter everytime you change the oil (I know many disagree with this so no flames please) the cleaner the oil the better

[scottynoface]

I use Purolator ML16818 filters on my 06 750 Kat and change the filter everytime you change the oil

No flames, but many OEM filters are good for 5000+ miles. My OEM Kawasaki filters are good for 10k miles. Just saying.

[BoarderBry]

thanks for the insight everyone and putting me on the right track

gonna make this bike run like a rapped ape!

[katman05]

Rotella 5W 40 synthetic here.

[The CyberPoet]

First, thanks to everyone who posted up my webpage info!

The previous owner said to run conventional oil in it and stay away from a full synthetic. He stated that the synthetic causes the clutch to slip after a while.
Is this true?

Depends on whether he used a properly rated motorcycle oil or used a car oil instead. If the oil was JASO-MA rated (i.e. - intended for wet-clutch motorcycles), it is not the basis for any clutch slip, irrelevant of whether it was synthetic or dino oil. A glazed clutch however (from bad clutch habits, such as slipping the clutch a lot for high-RPM launches, or a mal-adjusted clutch) can be an issue here.

If you think of oil as a bunch of molecules of a specific type, the only real basic differences between dino and synthetic motorcycle oils [given the same brand, weight, group basis, etc.] is how many of these chains are the ideal length at the outset. Synthetic, as a term, means "not found in nature", and dino oils start out with lots of different length chains by definition (with a fairly high percentage the ideal length); synthetics start out with typically all the chains the ideal length.
There are other differences based on the group basis (what kind of crude or plant oils they started with) that affect temp ranges & vapor-temps, and detergent loads & additives that are good for the engine (ZDDP for example), that help differentiate one brand from the next, but that's not what I'm talking about here.

The only time that synthetic JASO-MA rated oils are likely to cause any issues is if the engine has a lot of sludge build-up masking a bad/failed oil gasket somewhere in the engine; most synthetics have high detergent loads that will liquify off sludge build-up particularly well, and in the process, can expose a bad gasket, leading to a leak. This is not to say that the synthetic caused the leak -- the dino oil sludging up deprived the seal of fresh oil, the seal subsequently broke down, and the fresh oil subsequently re-exposed the problem.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Zepp]

Rotella 5W 40 synthetic here.

Same here!!!! Run it in both bikes