I have been weighing the pro's and con's of dino and synthetic oils. I have probably read close to a hundred posts here on the subject. Still I am no closer to figuring out if one is better than the other. From what I can gather it seems like the synthetic will handle summer temps better. Also it seems like everyone says stay away from Syn3 but no one says why??? I live in NW Pa and we only get about 5 months of good riding, 6 months if you want to push the cold weather issue. (I like to be warm). Hot temps here is usually not a factor. We only get into the 90's occasionally, most of the time its in the high 70's to low 80's. I have a 2002 Heritage Softail Classic with the Screaming Eagle stage 2 engine kit. It was 21000 miles on it. Not sure if that makes a difference between dino and synthetic but I figured I would throw it out there. Any thoughts would be appreciated......................

 

I personally use synthetic (Mobile1 V-twin 20/50) in my engine and primary. I do believe that Syn3 is not a good selection particularly in the transmission, to me gears need gear oil. With that being said, a buddy of mine uses dino oil in his bikes, one of which has 128,000+ miles on it with no engine problems. P.S. welcome to HDF!

 

I think the main reason so many here use a synthetic motor oil is for heat issues.
The temps you ride in are not bad.No reason to switch unless your in stopped traffic alot.
Just change the oil every 2500mi.
My 2 cents.

 

The syn3 bashing gets old. I run it. I have many friends who run it. We see 115 degrees and more here in Phoenix in the summer. No problems, as a matter of fact, I think the engine sounds pretty good when it's running god knows what kind of oil temperatures in the middle of summer.

I run syn3 for one simple reason. I have pre-paid maintenance. The dealer changes the oil for free every 2,500 miles. They want to use syn3. Why argue with the dealer who is gonna fix anything that fails in the engine for the next 3 years for free ?

If you're gonna bash syn3, post some facts rather than opinions.

 

I have been asking the same question. Live in Berwick,Pa. and love riding in the Alleghany Forest Area. Dealer here, Vreeland, recomended syn 3. Information learned is that it probably not the best for tranny or clutch. Regular dino will suffice in these. Now, all synthetic info has it running cooler, less engine friction. Even here in Pa. after a few hours engine wouldn't mind being a little cooler. The syn itself pours thinner and I think this will be helpful for cold weather starts.
I am under warranty and for now will pay the dealer his charge, and have limited options on oil. If and when I change my own I plan to use redline in tranny, dino in primary, and Mobile 1 in engine. Safe riding.

 

I have an 04 1200 sporty custom. I found that the SYN 3 was a big advantage over Dino oil.
Latter on I Used Amsoil. NO difference what so ever over the HD syn3

 

Wow! I bet some Amsoil people will dispute that.

 

Here ya go:

1) Syn3 is made by Citgo, a company wholly owned by the gooberment of Venezuela, butt-buddies with Castro, the head flake in charge of Iran, and a host of others who'd just as soon see us on our knees, recovering from another 9/11 style attack. Political reason? Yep!

2) Mobil 1 V/T is a Group IV synthetic vs Syn3 as a Group III synthetic. Group IV is built up molecule by molecule from scratch, so to speak. Group III is actually refined from "dino oil" by a special process. Generally, Group IV oils are superior base stocks compared to Group III oils.

3) Mobil 1 V/T has about 2650 ppm of calcium vs 1340 for Syn3. The more, the better.

4) Mobil 1 V/T has about 250 ppm of boron vs 270 ppm for Syn3. The more, the better.

5) Mobil 1 V/T has about 1675 ppm of phosphorous vs 1000 ppm for Syn3. The more, the better.

6) Mobil 1 V/T has about 1825 ppm of zinc vs 1100 ppm for Syn3. The more, the better.

7) Mobil 1 V/T viscosity is 19.9 vs 19.3 for Syn3. Both are well up in the 50 viscosity range. But the Mobil 1 V/T will retain its viscosity longer than the HD oil will, probably because it's made from a superior base stock.

8) Cost: Last time I looked, Mobil 1 V/T was available from AutoZone for about $7.50/qt here, and I've seen it in my local Wally World for less than $7/qt. The Syn3 was right at $9/qt.

8) Used oil analyses (UOA) on an HD with nearly 5k miles on the oil showed that the Mobil 1 V/T was in nearly new condition, and the viscosity was well within the normal range.

9) UOA on an HD with 4k miles on the oil showed the M1 V/T oil was in the 60 viscosity range, with a recommendation to go 5k miles on the next oil change interval (OCI). The increase from 50 to 60 viscosity indicates the oil was thickening due to aging, and I'd probably change it rather than go with the 5k mile OCI recommendation. The additive package had values that were equivalent to nearly new.

(Note: I have no references to UOAs on the Syn3 oil to compare with the Mobil 1 V/T oil. I am fairly confident they would be relatively good, but I would expect the Syn3 to shear more than the Mobil 1 V/T because of the less robust base stock the Syn3 is brewed from.)

There's some facts for all y'all to chew on. The Mobil 1 V/T is a better base stock, has an overall better additive package, and usually costs less than the Syn3. Seems a no-brainer to me!

 

Syn 3 Bashing. I never get tired of it.

It failed horribly in my Low Rider. I'll never let my Dyna come anywhere near it.

Mobile V-Twin for the engine and primary.

Mobile synthetic 75/90 in the transmission.

Even if I had to pay $10 a quart, I think its damn cheap insurance.

 

There is so much misinformation out about oil that it is really hard for the average person to know what is going on.

As long as you run an oil that meets the requirements of the engine, you will not have a problem. The base stock used to produce the oil will have very little effect on how well your engine is protected. I know the synthetic oil sales machine tells you have to use a Group IV synthetic base oil. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

The Practical Handbook of Machinery Lubrication states: “A synthetic oil’s use can only be justified if it solves an operational problem which the use of petroleum oils cannot, such as an extreme temperature, or compatibility requirement.

Are you solving an operational problem that conventional oil cannot? I don’t think you are. Temperature is probably the biggest fear you have. Thermal breakdown is a problem that occurs over time and results in the loss of viscosity in multi-grade oils. The mechanism of failure for the oil is deterioration of the VI improvers. Synthetic oils have less or no VI imporvers so they are more resistant to thermal break down. This is good, right? It is but in the big picture it really doesn’t matter.

The reason that you change oil in an internal combustion engine is due to contamination. The contamination is the result of combustion byproducts that go past the rings. This is the primary reason engine oil has a much shorter oil change interval than oils used in other areas. Because the oil is not left in long enough for thermal breakdown to occur, this won’t be a problem that you need to worry about.

Another trick the synthetic oil marketeers use is to say that you have areas in your engine that can reach 1000 degrees so you have to have a synthetic to protect your engine from certain death. This would be a problem if the oil didn’t circulate through the engine. The oil passes through these hot areas and does reach a critical temperature before it moves past the area and is cooled in the sump.

A good analogy is coolant in a liquid cooled engine. It boils at 260 degrees, this is its critical temperature. The water is exposed to a much higher temperature but does not boil because it is circulated through the engine and cooled by the radiator.

As the term “breakdown” indicates, these changes in the oil due to high temperatures occur over time. If you change your oil as recommended and use a good quality oil, you will not have a problem no matter which base stock the oil is produced from. If I could prevent contamination of the oil, I could leave it in long enough for breakdown to be a problem. The fact is that the oil is never in the engine long enough for this to be a problem.

The additive package is what prevents contaminates from doing damage in the engine. As far as the additive package goes, the same additive package can be put in a conventional oil as can be put in a synthetic so there is no gain provided both oils have a good additive package.

Another issue that is not told to the consumer is how close conventionally refined base stocks that are produced using modern refining processes come to synthetic base stocks. The real difference in synthetics and convention oil is the purity of the base oil. Refining processes have developed to the point where conventionally refined oils can be produced very close to synthetics in purity.

So what is the "operational need" that requires a synthetic oil?

The “you have to have synthetic oil” marketing machine is the reason that most people think they have to have synthetic oil. But in reality, in an internal combustion engine, whether it is made from a good quality conventionally refined base oil or synthetic base oil is going to have very little effect the oil's performance.

Doug