With all due respect, those high end manufacturers have less tolerance in their manufacturing. A production Honda has a much greater chance of having an engine component which does not seal completely from the factory. It is no myth that the mineral oil will allow it to do so, synthetic oil CAN lubricate the part so well that it does not wear in. Whether this will cause any real problems or happen in real life is debatable, but personally I see no reason to not run the mineral oil for a while.

 

You're kidding right... less tolerance. Engines today are built with much tighter tolerances than they have at anytime in history. Manufacturing processes are very precisely controlled. That type of precision gives us reliability, performance, fuel economy, and better emissions.

 

I read threads like this and laugh! Synthitic, non synthetic what's better and why! Really if your just a street rider and your lack of knowledge suggests you are, just use what the manufacturer recomends. Torque your oil plug and throw in a new crush washer now and then and call it good! It's not a bugatti its a damn motorcycle!

 

The slipperier thing is amusing to me. The motorcycle oil specs (JASO MA and MB), although almost intolerably skimpy, specify dynamic friction coefficients for the lubes. Any MA or MB rated oil is _less_ 'slippery' than your average Quaker State automotive 5W30. So, with that in mind, one couldn't reasonbly claim that 'synthetic' MA-rated oil is 'too slippery,' could one?

 

@rjgrave- haha, thanks for the tip. yeah, all this knowledge floating around is going to make my head explode.

it's amazing how much ppl know about such detail and the debate. i think it's great, i actually enjoy reading all this. if the goal is to save money and convenience (which being a busy novice, it sort of is for me when doing my own maint) but i'd like to eventually be a pro like some of the others here. i love listening to all these opinions and facts, and stories from experience, its all pretty interesting.... but it does get a little overwhelming and confusing as H pointed out, lol.

 

I wouldn't use synthetic the first oil change. The reason being, I don't want to waste money on synthetic oil that I'm only going to run a short time before I change it again. It doesn't make much sense to me to swap out conventional oil and replace it with synthetic, just to use it as break in oil.

There is a lot of components that are "seating in" which creates a lot of metal particles inside the engine and transmission within the first few hundred miles. It doesn't make sense to me to use expensive oil that will just get tossed.

So you can use sythetic oil for break in.... but why would you?

Personally, I'd wait till 1,000 miles or so before you swap it. but thats just me. I ran 300 miles, changed the oil. then ran 1,000 miles and changed to synthetic.

Yeah, you gotta be careful with what you read on the internet. Just keep in mind that nothing you read is fact, its all opinion. Just like the above is my opinion. thats it... only an opinion.

 

At least someone hit on it. It's just cheaper to use non-synth for the first couple of oil changes - assuming you follow the owner's manual recommendation. Most Honda manuals recommend the first oil change @ ~600miles. Why waste the extra cash on synthetic for that short period - that's like 3-4 tanks of gas.

Also - most drain plugs should be torqed int he 20-25ft-lb range - the crush/compression washer is important for sealing at those relatively low torque ratings.

(this being said I've changed oil several times and never had a leak reusing the washer every couple of times - YMMV)

 

After reading my post I think i came on a little strong and I apologize for that! I love my bikes and want to do everything I can to keep them running as long as I can. It's a learning process you'll make mistakes and learn new tricks. I tried switching to synthetic on my first bike and didn't see the benefit. So I just run manufacturer recommend oil. I think ive maybe replaced my crush washer twice since I bought it in 06 never had a leak. Not saying its right just my experience! Good luck and don't believe everything you hear!

 

I wish there was a program to autolock all threads that were about oil. Only then could a mod come in an unlock it if it were and oil leak issue or something. haha

 

How are people who are just now learning about oils, supposed to learn anything then?
The horse is dead only to those who have seen the carcass before.