Synthetic or Blend??

[Condor]

So stopped by the new Auto Zone store and see that they are carrying Rotella T-6 in 5-40, and a Rotella Blend in 10-30?40. I've been giving some thought to trying out a synthetic. The concern is the '07 has 79K on the odo, and it might be a little worn to go to a straight syn, and maybe the blend might be a better choice. The '99 has 50k on it and wonder the same for it.

 

I hope this thread won't go south into a 'less filling..tastes great' debate on the best oil to use. We've had enough of those already....

[dingy]

So stopped by the new Auto Zone store and see that they are carrying Rotella T-6 in 5-40, and a Rotella Blend in 10-30?40. I've been giving some thought to trying out a synthetic. The concern is the '07 has 79K on the odo, and it might be a little worn to go to a straight syn, and maybe the blend might be a better choice. The '99 has 50k on it and wonder the same for it.

 

I hope this thread won't go south into a 'less filling..tastes great' debate on the best oil to use. We've had enough of those already....

 

I have seen that going to synthetic on an older bike may affect the gasket seals, and be a possible cause of oil leaks. Been a while since I recall seeing this though.

 

Other than that I would think synthetic would be fine. Tweety has had it for 2 years, but it was basically a new motor when I started using it.

 

Eck posted a link to get $5 back on a gallon of Rotella T6 a week or two ago, I think it was good through the end of this May.

 

Gary

[cabreco]

So stopped by the new Auto Zone store and see that they are carrying Rotella T-6 in 5-40, and a Rotella Blend in 10-30?40. I've been giving some thought to trying out a synthetic. The concern is the '07 has 79K on the odo, and it might be a little worn to go to a straight syn, and maybe the blend might be a better choice. The '99 has 50k on it and wonder the same for it.

 

 

Since one of the big benefits of synth (in a car) is that you can go a lot more miles between oil changes but on a bike basically it's every 3000 miles regardless, is it worth spending the significant extra money on full synth? If you could double the miles between changes to 6K intervals I would say it's worth it...unless full synth has other benefits that I am not aware of.

[Yammer Dan]

Tastes Great.....

[usedcyclesales]

When I had a 92 Sportster A Harley Master mechanic told me NOT to switch to synthetic.

Reason was that the gaskets that Harley used were PAPER gaskets. According to him synthetic oil is so fine that it will eventually seep and or soak through a paper gasket and leak, NOT MAJOR but eventually you'll see it consistently on motor. Of course on most bikes paper gaskets are no longer used. He did however tell me that with higher mileage there tends to be more "slop in the cylinders" from wear and in his opinion would not switch. Now in a a car my son bought, a 1999 Trans Am with 99K on it(has 5.7 vette engine). He switched to Mobil 1 full synthetic and there has been no issues at all and it now has 150K on it. So there's some more info to confuse you further (just kidding ) I hope it helps.

[darthandy]

Since one of the big benefits of synth (in a car) is that you can go a lot more miles between oil changes but on a bike basically it's every 3000 miles regardless, is it worth spending the significant extra money on full synth? If you could double the miles between changes to 6K intervals I would say it's worth it...unless full synth has other benefits that I am not aware of.

 

I have read that synthetic oil is better when you will be doing a lot of riding in very hot climates. It will stand more heat without breaking down. This problem, however, seems more prevalent with air cooled motors rather than liquid cooled motors. As far as price is concerned, the Rotella is quite a bit less expensive than the other synthetics on the market and is only a bit more expensive than the good quality dino oils, so for those operating in high heat conditions, it may well be worth he extra expense. I too have heard that using synthetic oil in a higher mileage motor can lead to leaks but I've never run across anyone who had the experience.

 

Andy