i'm sure most already know that the gap between the oils is almost non existant if not. But heres a link to a good article that will save you some cash.

Motorcycle Oils vs. Automotive Oils

 

schweet! straight from 1994! muahahhaha...

you trying to start another flame war on this board or what? [sm=badbadbad.gif]

 

lol dude i know how to pick em....just dont start raggin on me or twistin my words on me lol

 

Tahoe here is another smiley for you!!
-you like stirring up sh*t,dont you/???

 

another good oil testing

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/all/misc/all_oilfaq.html

 

-there is nothing from a bmw engine that i would putinto my 54 engine!!!

 

tis the interanet...good for starting schiznit...
pssss....i use both motorcycle and auto oil, dino and synthetic...

 

I use K-Y to lube up my thing........ Oh! We are talking about bikes arent we? My bad!

 

Sadly, I use the "car" and "bike" oil terms loosely...and I shouldn't. When I say "car" oil....its simply going along with the marketing labels.

You could really group oils in to anything that isXw40 or Xw50 as being a bike safe oil....in general.

Anything thats Xw20 or Xw30 is probably an energy conserving oil blend with friction modifiers or viscosity improvers that are unsuitable for wet clutches/gear boxes. The author's research neglects to say what weights of "car" oilhe chose, except in the case of the Castrol (which I've used a lot by the way)....I trust he picked a 10w40, but this point can't be neglected in your own selections.

Gear boxes do create special oil demands over just plain bearings....I designed gear boxes for heavy military trucks and contruction equipment for part of my career....and after the testing work we did, I will say synthetics have real advantages.

As manufactuers continue to trim weight from their bikes, you'll see higher stressed parts (narrower gears and plain bearings for example) and this same stress gets to the oil.

I chose synthetics for their higher temperature stability and improved film strength. Do I run synthetics in my wifes grocery getter...no...because short trips, lots of idling, makes contamination the enemy. But, I run synthetic in my air cooled lawn tractor (granted itsdrain oil from my bike with two track days).

 

+1...thats basically what i've picked up so far with everything, i put 15w50 mobil 1 full synthetic in my bike and it ran great. im happy with it and well see around 4k-5k range what the gearbox feels like.