new to me 2006: synthetic or standard oil

[bigdog]

With over 370,000 miles in five different (running) ST1300s, ('05-174,300 mi, '04 - 37,000 mi - [down last four + years due to waterpump], '10 - 88,000 mi, '04 - 50,000 mi and my '12 - 23,000 mi) with no faulures due to oil, I think as long as you use a good brand oil 15w-40 (I tried the T6 5w-30 and just didn't like it) I really don't think it matters with these engines. They are NEAR over heated/taxed like high rev'ing engines are and therefore will last forever, as long as they have oil in them. The only big concern you should have is that you DON'T using one of those "energy conserving" oils, your bike's engine WILL be fine!

Oh, and BTW, Justin informs me that the ole '05 now has 188,000 miles and is still running strong!

Run with whatever oil, you feel like running with!

Why didn't you like the 5w30? I just purchased a jug of the T6 5w/40. It'll be a bit cold riding this fall (glacier National Park, so I figured I would get the 5w instead of the 15. I guess it's fine either way.

 

[SupraSabre]

Why didn't you like the 5w30? I just purchased a jug of the T6 5w/40. It'll be a bit cold riding this fall (glacier National Park, so I figured I would get the 5w instead of the 15. I guess it's fine either way.

It just didn't feel right while riding around with it in the bike. It was probably the third or forth oil change I had done on the '05 (the one with over 188,000 mi now) so it didn't hurt it, I just didn't like the way the bike felt when running it. A lot of guys like it, you might and won't know until you try it.

And I corrected all the "type-Os" I made earlier...

 

[ad.hom]

Run with whatever oil, you feel like running with!

I like olive oil.... Not so sure about running with it though, sounds slippery...

 

[drtyrrel]

I like olive oil.... Not so sure about running with it though, sounds slippery...

Too skinny for me. I like my women a little thicker.

 

[T_C]

use a good brand (motorcycle or diesel) oil 15w-40

I wasn't thinking at the end if a summer a few years back and put 15w-40 in my bike, just like I was running all summer long. Come December, the starter was turning a little slower each morning when I fired up the bike.

 

[SupraSabre]

I like olive oil.... Not so sure about running with it though, sounds slippery...

Fixed it...

Besides, I don't think olive oil counts as "...(motorcycle or diesel) oil 15w-40..."

 

[SupraSabre]

I wasn't thinking at the end if a summer a few years back and put 15w-40 in my bike, just like I was running all summer long. Come December, the starter was turning a little slower each morning when I fired up the bike in December/January.

At least it was turning over!

 

[ad.hom]

Fixed it...

Now that's just cheating. We have to have some fun in an oil thread.

 

[ST Gui]

can't believe no one already noted how often you'll be doing changes following this rule!

Hm. I thought I corrected that after Dave's post. I assumed he saw it and just commented on the salient bit. All better now.

 

[Larry Fine]

Rather than type it all again, for those who aren't sure what the numbers mean:

Engine oil | Cleaning, Oil, Maint.

Also found out that the JASO MB rating in for motorcycles with automatic transmissions! The New Gold Wing DCT and The Africa Twin DCT come to mind. they have antifriction additives to help the trans. shift smoother ( probably not good in a wet clutch bike!) Ride Safe!

www.st-owners.com

 

[slmjim]

It just didn't feel right while riding around with it in the bike. ...

I agree. I don't like the shift feel with the 5w-40 T6. It just feels more clunky. I went back to the conventional 15w-40 T4.

Good Ridin'
slmjim

 

[Morguns1cam]

If you’re riding in very cold weather the 5-40 might be ok. I personally don’t ride when it’s below 40f so I stick with 15w-40.
In the words of my dear departed father “ the most important thing about oil is to change it regularly “
I sure do miss him!
Ride Safe!

 

[sirbike]

As far as providing a sufficient level of lubrication switching back and forth between mineral and synthetic oils is not an issue and will not cause any harm. As far as I recall from when full synthetic engine oil started becoming more widely used the main issue was the possible dislodging of dirt deposits in the engine. The synthetics at the time had a higher level of detergents and stronger detergents in them than did the mineral oils. Engines run on mineral oils were not as clean as ones run on synthetics. When switching an engine that had been run on mineral oils for considerable mileage to synthetic oil these deposits could be dislodged by the stronger detergents. Deposits could block oil galleries and cause oil starvation related failures. I even remember seeing advice that the switch be made gradually over several oil changes, adding increasing levels of synthetic with every oil change to allow the deposits to be gradually dissolved.

This was when vehicles were equipped with carburated engines and ran dirtier than modern engines do. There is no ST1300 that is old enough that it runs on technology that would result in the engine being dirty enough internally for this to even be a concern unless it was abused- e.g. oil, oil filter and air filter change intervals having been extended to irresponsible lengths for example. Fuel injected computer controlled engines run extremely efficiently and clean and any significant accumulation of deposits on properly running and maintained engines is just not a concern any longer.

At 20,000 miles your engine has not had enough time to accumulate any deposits. Put in your oil of choice that meets the specifications that Honda calls for and go and enjoy yourself accumulating enough miles to need another oil change.

Now edited to get to your point first and the ramble follows.
Like @SupraSabre said,
I should have run except for one thing I’d recommend, switch to synthetic no problem, maybe do a short interval change once after the switch just to be extra nice to your bike.

I switched a 130,000 94 Camry to synthetic and was aware of the potential problem. At 5000 miles I drained some of the darkest oil out that I’d ever seen. Not the worst but wow. Interestingly I went to 20,000 mile oil change intervals. Around 210,000 miles I switched to mineral thinking I’d be selling the car. Between 8000 and 9000 miles the gas mileage dropped by 3-4 mpg. That oil must have been losing its properties. Went back to synthetic and the mileage went right back up to normal. Ran that oil over 25,000 out to 235,000 miles with no loss of performance.
The only issue I had with 20,000 mile oil changes was that I missed a change once. Ran my 02 Camry 46,000 miles between changes starting from 95,000. Had not gone through a quart. No change in performance or mileage. All this was Mobile One.
For motorcycles I was a Mobil One 15w-50 fan. Not motorcycle specific. Change at 8000-10,000 miles. Shifting seamed a touch stiffer towards the end.
Then I read metric motorcycle specific oil are formulated to hand the shearing force experienced in the transmission. Also read test results showing Amzoil showed best in every performance test except for the one where the drain the oil and run the engine to death. So along with my acceptance that I would follow recommendations that 10w-40 is the correct viscosity, I switched to Amzoil 10w-40 a couple years ago. 10,000 mile oil changes, no change in shifter feel, however, not the same model bike as earlier.
Was that a hi-jack? Is this why I’ve never posted in an oil thread?
I should have run except for one thing I’d recommend, switch to synthetic no problem, maybe do a short interval change once after the switch just to be extra nice to your bike. In fact I’ll put that paragraph at the beginning so it has a chance to be read