does anyone know how to tell what kind of oil is in a bike, either regular or synthetic?? i bought a used bike and its time for an oil change but im not sure if the previous owner ran synthetic in it?? i dont want to put the wrong oil in, i hear thats really bad for the engine??

thanks

 

Theres no written rule saying you have to use the exact same oil the last owner did. I'm switching to amsoil 10-40 synthetic as I have no idea what the previous owner used, I think it was honda oil which is decent. But I ran amsoil in my previous bikes and its good stuff.

 

well i bought some regular 10-40 motorcycle oil, but i didnt want to put that in the bike if the previous owner ran synthetic in it. i hear thats really bad for it?

 

I ran semi-synthetic. No clue why, the dudes at the dealership told me to use it, so I did.

 

This is a bit of a touchy subject when anyone speaks of oils or synthtic oils. As a technicianI tell everyone the samething...................higher mileageengines that have been runnin synthtics should stay runnin synthtic. Higher milage engines that haven't been runnin synthtic shouldn't run them. Low mileage engines Ushouldn't switch back and fouth stick w/one. Now for motorcycle engines and transmissions they share one oil. PersonalyI run Repsol 4T full synthtic 10w-50 and change it every 2,5K miles. One oil lubricates the engine and transmission and if U ride hard, stop/go, or in high heat/dusty environments I would run sythtics. I live in N.Y. so the seasons can be extreme. I try to ride 340 days a year. But that's just me.
If the owner before U put in regular U can run synthtic as long as the engine doesn't have above 60-70K miles. 10-20K miles is just broken in and is perfect time to start.
I hope this bable helped ya.

 

I worked at a dealership for 4 years in parts dept., what we were told to recommend was regular for the break-in period and a few changes after. Then switch to synthetic. As if it was detrimental to the bike to break it in with synthetic. I'm no chemical engineer but I plan on doing the same technique.