I will always run synthetic as long as I can afford it ..yeah we ran non -synthetic yada yada yada for years. this is nothing new and not a new argument. I hope you didn't pay someone to write this article.
Most riders use what ever oil they like. if they notice synthetic makes a big difference (in my case my motor runs hot enough I don't want dino oil in it.), then they will stick with it. If not use dino no big deal. I want 100,000 miles out of my motor and also want to know that if Im stuck on the road and cant get to an oil change till 4500 or more miles that my motor wont melt down. I have used hd syn 3 and Amsoil. Amsoil is by far a better oil. Motor ran noticeably cooler with it. It also has non acidic properties to it which is preferable to dino oil for a 7 month storage period out of each year. Bottom line your bike your choice. Oil coolers btw only work well when your bike is moving. Doesn't do much stuck in traffic standing still when the motor gets to cooking temps.

 

duplicate post...sorry.

 

dino. i have heard about mixing 2 quarts 2-50 with 1 quart of synthetic. i have never tried it but am considering it. anyone run this mix?

 

Why would it run cooler? If it did that would mean the parts bind and heat due to friction. We all know that can't happen or the engine would immediately cease. The whole "it runs cooler on syn" is 100 percent baloney.

 

I just changed all of my fluids and when talking to the shop mechanics they said they put synthetic in everything because it's convenient. I would say if they use it on all the bikes that come in there, it's probably a safe choice.

 

I've never heard anything negative about real oil. I'm sticking with it.

 

Synthetic has a higher NOACK rating which means less oil evaporation. On an air cooled bike that is a huge deal as I am sure you have seen the threads asking where a half quart of oil went between oil changes. Synth lowers engine temps meaning the engine lasts longer. Synth also has the ability to go longer between changes,has less tendency to shear down to a lesser weight. That being said conventional is fine if changed often. Personally if all things were equal and the only difference was the engine temp reduction that alone would be enough to convince me to use it. Lower oil and engine temps mean a longer lasting engine. And they also have more detergent so the valvetrain will never suffer from sludge which on an air cooled motor is a huge deal due to the hot spots. For me it's a no brainer. Less time maintaining bike means more time riding it. And contrary to myth synthetic oil is not any slicker than conventional. But it does last longer,cleans better,cools better and evaporates less. Does that get you off the fence

 

I gotta disagree with you Zeus. A group 4 basestock oil(amsoil,red-line,royal purple) is a man made molecule without any impurities which dissipates heat better which means cooler engine temps. And when you engineer the molecule you can make it do whatever you like. I have a temp gauge on my v-star and it was always on yamalube before I bought it. This summer I switched to rotella and my first traffic jam the bike maxxed out at 235 degrees. Now I was used to seeing 245-270 in traffic and it was immediate. That alone is good enough reason for me to keep going with synthetic. Conventional has run vehicles for 100 years and that's great but we have the technology so why not take advantage of it. I have seen your bike. You have every gauge a bike can have(it's a really nice bike). Try running amsoil or red-line for just 1 oil change interval. If you see no change in temps at all I will ride out to cowtown and we will head out for a night on the town on me. But when you do see cooler oil temps please post in the oil section your experience. What have you got to loose. And if I'm wrong we get to go out for a **** up. Come on.

 

It cracks me up that guys run synthetic oil that costs twice as much as regular oil, in hopes it will make their motor last longer. Then sell their bikes three years later when the new models come out, with less the 20k on them. Where's the value there?

 

Last time I used synthetic in a twin was a bad experience. Same weight and everything...

I had an '05 RC51 that pushes about 120hp and 70 or so ft/lbs at the wheel I switched up to Synthectic and higher in the powerband the clutch would slip. This was on a bike with less than 5K miles one it. Didn't do it before running synthetic and didn't do it after. Went back to conventional oil after having the dealer tear the transmission apart and finding nothing. It got kind of hairy when merging on the interstate and hitting the throttle just to have it rev to redline and finally catch.