Posted by Frank on September 14, 1999 at 23:19:58:
Greetings all Savage bikers,
Cruising home in the twighlight hours from work last night, enjoying the cool air at 65 mph, I began pondering the "what type of oil should I use?" question. I thought about it for a while and I think I've come up with a way to sort through the confusion and contradictions. Let me assure all of you, I'm no chemical engineer, this is just a humble biker's opinion.
Engines wear is normal. When metal parts move against each other it causes friction. This friction causes heat and wear, so naturally parts eventually wear out. No engine can last forever. The ultimate job of engine oil is to reduce friction and slow down the wear process. This is called normal engine wear. Abnornal engine wear is caused by two things:
1) Insufficient amout of lubrication
2) lubrication breakdown due to prolonged use oil past service life (not changing the oil) or thermal breakdown of oil due to engine overheat)
Abnormal engine wear of course leads to shortened life of the engine. The trick is to never allow abnormal engine wear. This brings us to the oil question. Here's my opinion on this:
Automotive oils vrs motorcycle oils:
I don't really beleive that mororcycle oils are any better that car oil. I think there has been enough evidence kicked around (see previous post on this subject) on the web to suggest this. There is an issue that has come up recently here is the U.S about additives being put into car oil recdntly that could hurt motorcycle engines but I have seen no proof of this. If this were the case, I think you would here a huge outcry from the motorcyclist that have used these new car oils. The oil companies don't want lawsuits. If your going to use non-synthetic oil I would use the cheaper automotive oils.
Synthetic oils:
There is nothing magic about synthetic blend motorcycle oils. They are no more lubricating than normal oils. The difference (and this is big and why I use the stuff myself), that synthetic oil maintains it's lubrication longer than normal engine oil and resists thermal breakdown at higher temperatures. I know this because I have touched this stuff while draining my engine and it is still slippery between my thumb and forefinger after 2500 miles. This means less chance of overheating in hot city traffic in the summer time. Overheating can kill motorcycle engines especially an air cooled engine like the Savage that tends to run hot anyways. Running synthetic also means your less likely to run it past it's service life. (synthetic will break down, only it will take longer than normal oil).
So here is the bottom line. The idea is to never let your engine wear prematurely. If you let it happen even once, it has now worn faster than before thus shortening the life by that much. If you are just a seasonal rider and live in cooler climates, regular auto/motorcycle oil will do. Regular oil/filter changes and maintaining proper oil level is more critical than what brand you use. If your ride is your year round transportation and/or you live in hotter climates, I think synthetic is the way to go. Again, synthetics are not magic. You still have to maintain proper levels and change the oil on a longer but regular basis. The name of the game is constant lubrication of the engine. Neglecting your engine oil is worse than using cheap automotive oil any day.
That is this biker's humble opinion. I could be full of s--t.
Ride safe, but do ride.