SV oil: fully or semi synthetic?

[Irish ek]

Want to service my K5 with 4k miles before putting it back on the road. I have been offered fuchs silkolene super 4 10w 40 semi synthetic as part of a service kit. Also been offered castrol power 1 10w 40 fully senthetic. Which is better? I heard fully synthetic can cause the clutch to slip. Both meet jap requirements. Thanks.

[MJC-DEV]

Misinformation I afraid, certain (non-JAP approved) brands may affect the clutch but not Fully Synthetic as an oil type. I use Halfords Fully Synthetic Motorbike oil for example.

[Spanner Man]

Good morning all.


At the risk of starting the .org 'semi or fully great oil debate' (Which usually starts an argument).:D I'd go with the fully synthetic.

I've used Castrol since God was a boy. My own 900 Divvy has been on fully synth Castrol since nearly new. It's still on it's original clutch at 172k. Ok, it slips a bit now if I welly it, but after that mileage it's got every right to methinks.


Cheers.

[NTECUK]

Semi halffords motor cycle oil :P

[hardhat_harry]

I use semi on the road SV and full on the track SV

[larssonn]

I've used both. currently on fully-snyth as I got a deal. As long as its bike oil then its ok. Car oil may have additives which cause your clutch to slip like a bast@rd.

[NedSVS]

This is all very debateable. I run semi synthetic in known motorcycle brands, such as Fuchs or Motul. The SV is not that highly stressed and doesn't rev as hard as a IL4, so personally I'd save the extra pennies. It's much more important you change it regularly and, of course, keep it topped up. I've racked up 40 odd thousand miles (including some track days) on my 2001 model using semi, with no problems - doesn't even require a top up between service intervals.

[dizzyblonde]

.....or you could just read the sticky thread at the top of the tweeaking section ;)

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=125457

[aaron020873]

Good morning all.


At the risk of starting the .org 'semi or fully great oil debate' (Which usually starts an argument).:D I'd go with the fully synthetic.

I've used Castrol since God was a boy. My own 900 Divvy has been on fully synth Castrol since nearly new. It's still on it's original clutch at 172k. Ok, it slips a bit now if I welly it, but after that mileage it's got every right to methinks.


Cheers.

172k is some mileage to get out of a bike engine isn't it?

[Spanner Man]

This is all very debateable.


Is this the start of a 5 minute argument, or the full half an hour? (Monty Python).:D

172k is some mileage to get out of a bike engine isn't it?


It certainly isn't bad going eh. It rattles a touch when starting from cold, but once warm it runs pretty smoothly.
It's my mate's old despatch bike. It's been carefully ridden, & extremely well maintained. It had 9k on it when he bought it, & has been on fully synthetic Castrol since then. The only work the engine's had was a cam chain & tensioner at around 130k.
Mind you, we managed to get his previous two XJ900F's to 200k, & 215k respectively. Now that was high mileage! Both were still on the original clutches, & the 215k one hadn't had a cam chain either.
Both were run on fully synthetic Castrol.

Obviously a despatch bike, that spends a lot of time on the motorway, & only does one cold start per day, is going to have an easier time than a commuter bike, that is often used for short journeys, & may not get fully warmed up every time the engine is started.

The problem when assessing an oil's performance, is that any shortcomings that come from using a lesser oil, will not be apparent for many thousands of miles, & as a lot of people change their bikes regularly, & don't do that many miles on each bike, engine longevity isn't really an issue for most owners.
However, as the difference between fully synthetic, & semi synthetic amounts to only around £6 per oil change on an SV. I think the extra is worth paying.

Lastly, all the bikes that I have serviced regularly over the years, that have done 'telephone number' mileage (over 150k). Have all been run on fully synthetic.


Cheers.

[-Ralph-]

Can? Check! Worms? Check! Can Opener? Check!

Use what you like so long as it's approved for use in your bike.

It's debatable if there is any benefit at all in an engine where oil which is changed every 4000 miles. The type of bike use that Sid describes is very rare and almost certainly not what the OP is going to be doing with his SV, and is there any evidence to suggest the same bikes, with the same riders, the same usage pattern and the same service intervals, wouldn't still be running had they been on semi?

Clutch slip problems comes from oils which contain friction modifiers, but I've never in approaching 6 years on this forum read of somebody having problems with it on an SV. (EDIT: probably because nobody's been daft enough to use a car oil in their SV).

Just use an approved oil for the SV which is JASO MA or MA2. If it makes you feel better to spend the extra money on fully synth, then it's your money, go for it.

[SV650Racer]

Aslong as the oil is to JASO MA MA2 specification you wont have an issue with your clutch.

We have run full blown race engines on both semi and fully synth oils (silkolene Comp4 and Pro 4 both ester based oils) with no wear issues whatsoever. Its all down to budget with the high grade oils whether you go for the semi or fully.

Mineral based semi's wont be quite as good as the ester based semi's..and the fully synths wont shear down as quickly and therefore will last longer and withstand very prolonged hot use better.

At the end of the day no matter what oil you use checking the level is more important, have seen too many bikes recently that have been "run" out of oil. Scarey for what is a simple check.