OIL...The Good Stuff
So, back in 2003 I purchased a new Honda Hornet/CB919. The first time it came to do an oil change I took it back to the dealer for the 600 mile break-in service. After that I started doing my own servicing to the bike. I went to a Non-Dealer shop to pick up an oil filter and 4L of oil. The owner turned me on to K&N filters and Silkolene full syn oil. He promised me that I would notice a difference in smoother shifting (yes, even for a Honda) and an increase in idle speed. If I didn't, he said drain the oil out and bring it back for a full refund. I thought, "What the hell..." After changing the oil, I was absolutely amazed. The idle picked up almost 100 rpms and, yes, even a Honda could shift even smoother after using this oil. I followed this regiment of using Silkolene Pro 4 for the duration of the time and 35,000 miles later the bike still doesn't burn a drop of oil. It is even still on it's first clutch.
I had the first service on my BMW done by the dealer and now have 2200 miles on the bike. After reading all of the posts about people finding decent size metal shavings on their drain plugs I became very curious. I decided to pick up Motul 300V (which is a double ester full synthetic oil) from my good friends at Washington Cycle Works in Washington NJ, which is what all of their race teams are now using. Not cheap! 65 bucks retail. He recommended that I stay with the BMW filters for the time being...so I did. So, I drained out the old oil and sure enough I had the same metal slivers that everyone else seems to have as well. Although, mine seemed pretty insignificant. However, I did notice that even with only 1600 miles on the new oil it was pretty dark in color and extremely thin. I'm not sure if the dealers are putting in full synthetic or a blend, but even after 10K miles on the Silkolene oil out of my Honda it looked as though I had just put it in. After doing some research, I found that BMW is now in bed with Castrol. So, I can only assume that's what the dealer put in. Never the less, I put the new filter on and filled the case with the Motul and WOW! The BMW is shifting a lot smoother and the RPM's are up again. Not as much as the Honda, but they are up a little.
This brings up the whole oil debate. I can only say this: I have used all kinds of oil in about 30 different bikes over the years and nothing, nothing at all beats a good quality oil. It is the life blood of your engine. Why would you not run the best oil possible? I can say this about you guys running Mobil1 for motorcycles: That stuff is JUNK. I have used the stuff and the only thing it's good for is lawn equipment and door hinges. My friend used it in his GSXR and actually had to replace his clutch afterwards. His bike was missing shifts and clunking in and out of the gears when he tried going the cheap route. After he changed the clutches he went back to running Motul and it's all better now. I can also say from experience, that no matter if you're the type who rides 1K miles or 10K miles a year, you only have to change your oil once a year when you run the good stuff. Get THE GOOD STUFF. When I change my oil again, I will update this post and show my findings to see if I still am getting the metal slivers.
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