How soon before i should use synthetic
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
Break in
Droog's advice is good. I went 4k myself before switching to make sure the rings had seated and the other metal surfaces were bed in properly. Lot's of guys go way too easy breaking them in. Follow the book to 1000 miles , you can spin it up a little more than they say, just don't put a big load on the motor and hold it there long, and vary your rpms. A motors not truly broken in IMO until you've spun it up to redline in all gears numerous times. A friend of mine bought a like new 98' R-1 with 2500 miles on it. The origional owner was a Harley guy who only bought it cause his neighbor bought a new 748 Duc, but the R-1 scared him to death. The front and rear tires ( origionals that looked like NEW ) had an inch left to the sidewall casing tits and it was pretty obvious that the motor had probably never come close to redline in any gear, at any time. He had to finish breaking it in:yesnod
Droog's advice is good. I went 4k myself before switching to make sure the rings had seated and the other metal surfaces were bed in properly. Lot's of guys go way too easy breaking them in. Follow the book to 1000 miles , you can spin it up a little more than they say, just don't put a big load on the motor and hold it there long, and vary your rpms. A motors not truly broken in IMO until you've spun it up to redline in all gears numerous times. A friend of mine bought a like new 98' R-1 with 2500 miles on it. The origional owner was a Harley guy who only bought it cause his neighbor bought a new 748 Duc, but the R-1 scared him to death. The front and rear tires ( origionals that looked like NEW ) had an inch left to the sidewall casing tits and it was pretty obvious that the motor had probably never come close to redline in any gear, at any time. He had to finish breaking it in:yesnod
Joined
·
1,826 Posts
Some good information there. I would agree to wait slightly longer than the manufactures recommended break in mileage......... but chew on this. If you have any sort of engine trouble, it would be good for you to be able to produce receipts for OEM oil & filters changed at recommended intervals. It would be hard for them to walk away from a engine problem if you can show it had been maintained to their specifications.
I think it would be wise for a person to use the OEM oils & filters until your warranty period is over. Synthetics are far superior oils, but is it worth the hassle come a warranty issue?
I think it would be wise for a person to use the OEM oils & filters until your warranty period is over. Synthetics are far superior oils, but is it worth the hassle come a warranty issue?
Joined
·
43 Posts
Switch it to synthetic immediately - there is zero need to wait for anything.
I don't know why some folks think synthetic stops your break in? I have a friend who is a chemical engineer for a large oil company that creates and sells the base stock (that all oils are made from), and we have talked at length about this.
Synthetic oils are *not* more "slippery", they are just more consistent in quality. They don't have impurities like mineral oils do, and since it's the impurities that burn and clog up at high temperatures, synthetics can be used at higher temperatures than mineral oils.
I prefer to have a good synthetic in there as early as possible, because break-in is when the motor is going to see higher temperatures than usual.
Regarding not breaking in with Synthetic... well, I have 2 Vipers and they both came with synthetic from the factory. I have owned 2 Vettes in the past, both of which came with synthetic from the factory. Ferraris, Lambos, and many other high-performance cars come with synthetic. So if it was bad for break-in, why would all these expensive cars come with it?
But, it's your bike... do what you wanna do
I don't know why some folks think synthetic stops your break in? I have a friend who is a chemical engineer for a large oil company that creates and sells the base stock (that all oils are made from), and we have talked at length about this.
Synthetic oils are *not* more "slippery", they are just more consistent in quality. They don't have impurities like mineral oils do, and since it's the impurities that burn and clog up at high temperatures, synthetics can be used at higher temperatures than mineral oils.
I prefer to have a good synthetic in there as early as possible, because break-in is when the motor is going to see higher temperatures than usual.
Regarding not breaking in with Synthetic... well, I have 2 Vipers and they both came with synthetic from the factory. I have owned 2 Vettes in the past, both of which came with synthetic from the factory. Ferraris, Lambos, and many other high-performance cars come with synthetic. So if it was bad for break-in, why would all these expensive cars come with it?
But, it's your bike... do what you wanna do
you decide...
There's alot of advice going on, and thats great, it's good to have alot of different opinions. Personally, I DO subscribe to the belief the synthetic does actually impede proper break in, yes it is true ducatis and ferrari GP racers come from the factory with synthetic, but i've owned two ducs, and personally i have plenty of complaints (though they were great bikes, both) and a ferrari is a car, not a bike.
I never run full synthetic, I choose a synthetic blend by motul. You can run it without any worry after about 3500 miles. give or take, your choice. NEVER, however, run anything else than a motorcycle specific synth oil (blend or full) car synthetics contain molybdenum disulfide which is know to cause clutch slippage (the main reason for the alarmist belief in NEVER RUN SUNTHETIC EVER....Actually synthetics are quite good, for many of the reasons these guys mentioned - but i do beleive you should run regular oil to allow the cylinders and rings to properly break in.
The choice is yours - but whatever you do, don't skimp on oil changes durnig break in - 250, 600 and 1200 or so - good times to replace the oil and get that shavings crap out of the system...
good luck
There's alot of advice going on, and thats great, it's good to have alot of different opinions. Personally, I DO subscribe to the belief the synthetic does actually impede proper break in, yes it is true ducatis and ferrari GP racers come from the factory with synthetic, but i've owned two ducs, and personally i have plenty of complaints (though they were great bikes, both) and a ferrari is a car, not a bike.
I never run full synthetic, I choose a synthetic blend by motul. You can run it without any worry after about 3500 miles. give or take, your choice. NEVER, however, run anything else than a motorcycle specific synth oil (blend or full) car synthetics contain molybdenum disulfide which is know to cause clutch slippage (the main reason for the alarmist belief in NEVER RUN SUNTHETIC EVER....Actually synthetics are quite good, for many of the reasons these guys mentioned - but i do beleive you should run regular oil to allow the cylinders and rings to properly break in.
The choice is yours - but whatever you do, don't skimp on oil changes durnig break in - 250, 600 and 1200 or so - good times to replace the oil and get that shavings crap out of the system...
good luck
Joined
·
182 Posts
Oil is oil. If you have the right amount in the case and it isn't too old, you'll be fine. Car oil, bike oil, synthetic, nonsynthetic, petroleum, ester, it all works. Ever had an oil related failure? I thought not. I would use the cheapest shit I could find for break-in. Why? It's only gonna be in there for an hour or two, that's why. Oh, I run Motul 300v full synthetic in mine. Love the smell of that stuff. Reminds me of a GP paddock. Sniff, sniff.... schwing!
Expensive cars
My buddy just took delivery on an AMG Mercedes. I noticed as we peeked under the hood that it had a sticker that advised to run only mobil syn 1. I asked him about this, it seemed strange to have a new motor with syn already installed. He asked the same question to the Mercedes mechanic ( being about my age with about as many breakin sequences ). Seems that Mercedes ( probably Ferrari too I'd guess ) does extensive Dyno breakin on the motors to seat things, and with their cylinder coatings, they are ready to go once they reach the customer. I'm not really into :bs , just what I've experienced from an ongoing wealth of personal experience with and around motorbike motors.
EVERY bike that I've owned and broken in has been fast for the model, and I WAS sponsored by Kendall oils at one time and heard all the dissertations about bright stock qualities etc. that you'd want to hear. A syn/ mineral blend like Honda HP4 is OK to breakin with, but personally, I would NEVER break in a new motorbike engine in on Syn
My buddy just took delivery on an AMG Mercedes. I noticed as we peeked under the hood that it had a sticker that advised to run only mobil syn 1. I asked him about this, it seemed strange to have a new motor with syn already installed. He asked the same question to the Mercedes mechanic ( being about my age with about as many breakin sequences ). Seems that Mercedes ( probably Ferrari too I'd guess ) does extensive Dyno breakin on the motors to seat things, and with their cylinder coatings, they are ready to go once they reach the customer. I'm not really into :bs , just what I've experienced from an ongoing wealth of personal experience with and around motorbike motors.
EVERY bike that I've owned and broken in has been fast for the model, and I WAS sponsored by Kendall oils at one time and heard all the dissertations about bright stock qualities etc. that you'd want to hear. A syn/ mineral blend like Honda HP4 is OK to breakin with, but personally, I would NEVER break in a new motorbike engine in on Syn
Joined
·
20,295 Posts
First Service
I went to it at first service - from the shops technicans doing it - and just babied it for the next 3500 kilometers two weeks riding.....
Now I figure the shop I got it from did it, if it fucks up they can fix it........
I went to it at first service - from the shops technicans doing it - and just babied it for the next 3500 kilometers two weeks riding.....
Now I figure the shop I got it from did it, if it fucks up they can fix it........
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
