Don't need to change syn oil as regularly as mineral oil, but how much longer can it be left?
I do 6,000km a month, which is the manual's suggestion at changing mineral oil. Manual also says to change the oil filter every other oil change.
I currently change the filter with every time, but I'm wondering if I can get away with every other time if I'm looking at monthly oil changes.
I've heard people changing their syn oil from 2,500 right up to 8,000. The guy's at 2,500 say they are more concerned about dirty oil than the break down in oil viscousity.
I was gonna change it every two months, (12,000) along with the filter.
What do you reckon?
I do mine every 6000 kays,but then i use mineral oil,and i always do the filter as well.Why would you run nice clean oil through a dirty filter,doesn't make sense to me. There was a good article some months back on the wear and tear of oil and basically it said that after about 4000 kays any oil will have lost about 1/2 of its protection qualities,regardless of weather its mineral or synthetic.So there is some food for thought.
mineral oil is better for the bike for running in the engine, assisting the bedding in process. synthetic is only of benefit after the bedding in process has been done properly. BUT, frequency of oil change really depends on how hard you work the engine. I'm with Rod on this, every 6 thou kms and why run clean oil thru a dirty filter? If you do it yourself it doesn't cost as much as getting it done at a workshop. And the savings can go on double point sparkies and new air filters.
syntehtic oil gives off half the engine deposits as mineral oil, allows cooler engine running, viscosity change per run is less (thickens more slowly). This means you get less wear on the engine which means a cleaner oil filter. TWO things come from this - change oil less often OR change oil at normal freq and (contrary to what I wrote above) keep oil filter for two oil changes. I have heard that some synthetic oil users go up to 6 times the normal usage (around the 30,000 km mark for one oil change!) My old CBR 600 did 15,000 km without and oil change and the oil was still good. Then again, it was me who was the cheesecake back then.
OIL rankings:-
1st SYNTHETIC - base fluid is synthesized using a reaction
(uniform molecular size)
2nd MINERAL - base fluid is synthesized using distillation
(non-uniform molecular size)
3rd PETROLEUM - base fluid is derived from petroleum crude
(vastly non-uniform molecular size and large quantity of harmful impurities and oxidation chemicals)
Matching the oil filter with the quality of oil used, a fine enough oil filter with synthetic oil may remove any oil change requirements all together (unless you plan to go over 2,000 RPM ).
G'day Throwdown,
Put a group of motorcyclists in a room, you would be flat out getting 2 of them to agree on this subject.
I use the Shell VSX full synthetic and change it every 5000 with a filter change every 10000.
That makes me happy that I am offering my engine, gearbox etc. good all round protection.
My Suzuki dealer here in Brissy put in full synthetic at the 1000 klm service. In my opinion this is too early. I would have liked the engine to have covered 10000 klm before making the change.
In your case, travelling 6000klm a month I would be tempted to keep the cost down and run a good synthetic fortified oil and change the filter every 2 months. I hope you get reimbursed for your travelling time, that sure is excessive.
I think we should be coming to you for advice if you are doing that mileage and your bike runs reliably and has good longevity.
I seem to remember that you are on your 2nd Busa. If that is the case you sure are doing something right.
I respect anyone that travels 6000klm a month on any bike.
Regards
Chopper
What the f*** are you doing to travel 6000 klm a month....?
Geez, I ride to work everyday and on w'ends and I still don't travel that much...!!!!!!!!
I would have to travel to Phillip Is twice a month to clock up those sort of klms....
Paul....
Thanks for input fellas. This is my first busa, but I'm thinking of getting another as a second bike. Looking for something different as a second bike, but for the money...I keep coming back to the busa.
I travel 250km to and from work Monday to Friday, (along some cool Blue Mountains roads), then about 200km round trip twice a week to work in Liverpool, (hey, that's 1650km a week), which means I do 6600km a month.
I'm going with what my brother has said here. He rides his Aprilla at 175mph regularly, has many industry contacts and he takes the time to be informed by the right people. It worth a read.
He says:
Don't believe the hype.
You can't leave synthetic for much longer than mineral. It does have better lubrication properties than mineral oil but It actually gets dirtier quicker than mineral oil... mainly because, as a synthetic lubricant, it clings on to metal parts more (especially at temperature, as it should) and therefore clings to all the microfragments that are wearing off your engine (but particularly your clutchplates and gearbox) more... making it look fairly dirty after only a few hundred miles.
It sounds terrible, I know(!) but there's absolutely nothing to worry about. The fact is, the Busa engine and gearbox are very tough... and your type of usage isn't exactly stressing the engine... but leave it in there too long and you may find you'll start experiencing faster clutchplate wear or clutch slip (you might not... depends on how hard you ride).
If I were you doing those sorts of milages, at a stretch, I'd change the oil AND filter every two months and no more than 6000 miles. And try and stick to the same brand and grade of synthetic oil (I'm not sure what grade is recommended on Busa's... my guess is 10W/40).
Your guys leaving the same oil in for 8,000 miles at a time is pushing the envelope a bit...! And the guys that are changing the oil every 2,500 miles are either fanatical... panic when they see synthetic getting dirty so soon... or they're track day monsters and change the oil and filters the same time they change their rear tyres...
Quote:it clings on to metal parts more
which means less metal to metal contact resulting in less wear and less fragments.
Quote:clings to all the microfragments that are wearing off your engine (but particularly your clutchplates and gearbox) more... making it look fairly dirty after only a few hundred miles
which is what an oil filter is for, removing the fragments.
Quote  on't believe the hype
The hype is that oil drain periods haven't changed, not that extended oil drains are ok. Why would an oil company, mechanic want to sell less oil?
My 3 bucks.
G'day,
Bike serviced from day one by the dealer, due to lack of expertise by rider, and oils etc as per manual. That is every 6000 but I also stipulate new filter ( why put new oil thru old filter etc).
Bus goes better than rider still!
David
Ressac: I get what you're hinting at, but...
...syn oil doesn't cause zero wear, just less wear, (as you say), that's why the oil changes can be further apart. The question is 'How far apart'?
Also the filter can't catch everything, if it did the oil would be clear all the time, and it would be easy to tell when it needed changing, (when the filter could no longer keep it clean). Some people do change their oil when it gets dirty, but I don't fancy changing the stuff every 2,500. (I don't drag race - it's a good idea that they do change it this frequently, but for us lesser mortals this is surely to often.
The manufacturers always understate what you can get away with in terms of service intervals. I thnk 6,000 to 9,000kms, or even more would probably not hurt your machine. People just get into a routine they are happy with, but the scope of what is OK probably means none of us are really hurting our machines. I just don't want to do more than I have to.
For those of you not using it, BIG thumb up for syn oil. Give it a try.
Throwdown
Sorry I can't help you with my contribution. My busa is just over 2 years old and I have just clocked 8,000 km(about 333 km per month). In summary agree with your views, I think oil ratings and change periods are typically underrated.
Redards
Mano
If you stick to manufacturers specs then you cant go wrong,especially if there is a warranty involved down the track.Dont you think they do thougher tests on these things. However who knows when there is cheesecake involved?
I use Cracker Barrel Fully Synthetic Rocketman.
Cheers, Philadelphia.
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