Oil issues.....

Ok... I know nothing about mechanics and stuff like this which is something Im not happy about and plan on changing... but I got told by a mate last night that by topping up with fully synthetic oil its not good for my engine.

Firstly whats the difference between fully synthetic and semi?
and why does it make a difference to the engine?

Hes got me convinced the engines going to blow up if I dont do an immediate oil change...

Semi synth is what is recommended in the manual. I use Castrol Semi Synth four stroke oil. Only my preference though.

I don't believe that a full synthetic oil will damage your engine
An Oil Specification of SF or SG is recommended - a full synthetic will be far in excess of that spec, but should not harm your engine.
The recommended viscosity is 10W-40, but again, a slightly lower viscosity in a full synthetic should do no harm during the wintertime.

You should also use the same spec to top up as was used in the service.

The only real impact of using a full synthetic will be in cost.
You might also use slightly more with a full synthetic.

[Viney]

Always top up like for like. So semi with semi synth, and fully with fully etc. Dont mix oils.

However, nothing wrong with using fully synth oils in bikes. i ran mine on Castrol, but it drank it like water, so went back to semi which is much better. Never run a bike or car for that matter, on syhth products before its 1st service. The basic minerla type oils are best for running engines in as they allow a small ammount of abbrasion which is good.

My mate ran his 300,000 bluebird on Mobil one. Changed the oil every 5k without fail. He brought the car from new, and at 300000 miles he decided to strip the engine, just becuse. I have never seen such an internaly clean engine, like ever! Very littel wear. Impressive stuff. The next owner still has the car, and its covered about another 100k since, and it still dont burn oil.

thanks guys...

I do try to keep to the same but last time I needed oil all I could find in the garage was fully synthetic so didnt have much choice...

I didnt even realise there was a difference until last night...

[embee]

Have a read through the Engine Oil Bible here
http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/

it's very readable, in straightforward language, and the guy knows his stuff. It will dispel some of the myths around about oils and hopefully answer a lot of your questions.

About your particular case, don't worry, a top up with synthetic isn't likely to cause any problems, it will mix OK with semi-synth (generally speaking anyway). It's nice in principle not to mix oils of different specs, but it's not a disaster.

One thing to be aware of is the issue of "bike oils", the main aspect of these is that they are specifically tested to be suitable for use with "wet clutches", which is what most bikes use (the clutch is inside the engine and runs exposed to the oil, unlike in a car where the clutch is in air and doesn't see oil). This wet clutch test is indicated by the term "JASO-MA" somewhere on the label.

The main advantages of fully synthetic oils is the high temperature stability and the ability to provide very long service intervals as specified for many cars nowadays.

The SV is perfectly happy with a semi-synthetic (I use Castrol GPS, but others have their own preferences).

Re. Mobil 1, I worked with someone who previously worked for an independent Oil laboratory, and he recommended Mobil 1 as being one of the best oils available. I use it in my Yaris.

fully synthetic oil is for race bikes and very high revving engines ie - most two strokes, also if this oil is used you should warm your bike up a lot more as if you try to ride it the clutch will consistently keep slipping until the engine is warm enough. most ducatis and some aprilias use fully synthetic oil but also tend to have very fragile engines.


semi - synthetic is for everything else and is also quite a lot cheaper.

(top grade agip oil as reccommended for ducatis can be over £40 for a 5 litres.

mark

ah this would possibly explain some of my clutch issues this week

still now have enough semi to do an oil change sat am...

thanks guys this infos been really helpful...
learning all the time with this bike...

Staying on the same subject but wandering a little.....What do you guys normal use to remove your oil filter? Do you use specific wrench for the job or the old screw driver driven through method? Is it acceptable to use the screw driver on the bike...I ask, as on a car I would not think twice.. just do it?

Originally Posted by Peter Henry

Staying on the same subject but wandering a little.....What do you guys normal use to remove your oil filter? Do you use specific wrench for the job or the old screw driver driven through method? Is it acceptable to use the screw driver on the bike...I ask, as on a car I would not think twice.. just do it?

What do you use to do up the new filter ?
It's supposed to do up 2 complete turns (720 degrees) once the rubber seal makes contact. A screwdriver through the filter isn't ideal.

I use a universal oil filter tool - it has 3 geared levers that grip the filter and undo / fit the filter. You can get specific tools which are a bit neater.