---A 2007 Ford study found 12,000 mile old oil actually lubricated better than fresh oil;---
yeah, a study done by folks who sell cars. anyone who follows these guidelines is foolish. but do it how you wish. i ran my honda del sol to 212K miles and it was still running very well. i have a 62 chev pu that i've had for 39 years. runs fantastic.
---This is the part were you should concede as court really, I mean really knows his stuff.---
y'all can do as you wish. there's no fricking way i'm leaving the oil in my motor for that long.
Would be interesting to see a poll of who uses which oils in their bikes. I myself (previous owner as well) have used 20/50 and sport trans since purchase. Pondered going to synthetic but just not quite sure. The cost doesnt bother me as much as what may happen when using a thinner oil. Also, if i put 2k miles on it a year, when i store it for the winter (5months) the manual says to change the fluids. Think this is necessary? Especially when using synthetic?
I just purchased my 2000 X1 this last June and I plan on only running "Mobil 1™ V-Twin 20W-50 synthetic motorcycle oil". My cousin built his Harley Road King and on a chassis dyno it pulled 96 or 98 hp at the wheel like 5 or 6 years ago. They ONLY oil he has ran is Mobil 1 Synthetic and this last year at a bike meet he ran it again on the dyno and it still pulled like 96 horse. Now how much does he ride you ask. He is with Freedom Seekers in Washington State and has ridden to Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona I have no idea how many miles he has put on it but I'm willing to bet a lot. So based on his experience and dyno numbers I'm running Mobil 1 syn 20w-50
There is no harm in using very nice oil in your engine and changing it early. That having been said, I have only used non-synth in my engine since day one and changed it every 5000 miles. I use the H-D tranny juice.
Hasn't worn out yet with 90,000 + some odd miles on the X1.
20W50 is 20W50, synthetic or not. Synthetic may appear "thinner", at very low temperatures, than non-synthetic, but that's only because non-synthetic oil loses its ability to flow at those temperatures. Synthetic continues to flow, retaining its rated viscosity, and is able to protect the metal parts in the engine much better than conventional oil.
Myth. There's also a myth that synthetic oil eats your seals. This was because people had, for years, run really crappy (by today's standard) oil in their cars. The oil left deposits all over the engine, and around the leaky seals. The deposits sealed the leaking seals. When synthetic oils were introduced, they included detergents that cleaned off those deposits, resulting in the already bad seal leaking. Conventional oils soon came with these same detergents,but synthetics took the blame. These days, there really isn't any bad oil. Just use the weight and API rating the manufacture recommends. You very likely are not riding your bike in low enough temperatures to cause issues with conventional oil. I use synthetic in my Buells because they are air cooled, and I like the fact that synthetic oils don't break down/scorch at high temperatures like conventional oils do. If I had a water cooled bike, I probably wouldn't bother. Actually, I probably would.
