The Great Oil Debate (Part I)

Few things generate more debate in the automotive/motorcycle world than the subject of oil.  In this series, we’ll clear up some of the bad information floating around, break down oil in technical terms, and talk about maintenance.

Many moons ago, oil selection with regards to quality, varied greatly.  Anything from real cheap non-detergent oil to the more expensive synthetics and everything in between made selection a little more complicated.  These days, there’s no shortage of choices, but most name brand oils are of excellent quality.  As long as you are using the right oil for the application, you’ll be in good shape.

Let’s start by clarifying some of the “facts” and rumors.  First, there’s the synthetic vs. fossil oil argument.  Here’s my take. Synthetic is superior, hands down.  It’s also twice the cost, give or take.  So is it worth the extra cost for the better oil?  I tell folks that if they follow their recommended factory drain intervals, and ride in mostly average riding conditions (mainly speaking to extreme temperatures), a good fossil oil will do just fine.  Have a tendency to overshoot that 5,000 mile service?  Live in Phoenix?  Wrestling with heat management issues like so many new Harley Twin Cam owners (thanks EPA)?  Try switching to a synthetic.  In most cases, synthetic will drop your oil temps 10-15 degrees.  If you’re not on a real tight budget and just want to run the top of the line stuff, that’s OK too.  There are many to choose from.  Some of most well known in the V-Twin world are AMSOIL, Mobile-1, and Harley’s SYN3 to name a few. 

This is a good merge into some of the industry’s best hum dingers.  Synthetic IS NOT TOO SLIPPERY!  Your bearings WILL NOT SKID.  This was a favorite back before Harley started selling………synthetic oil.  Slippery oil is good.  It’s what oil does. Nuff said!  My other favorite is “once you start running synthetic, you can’t go back.”  I don’t know what chemistry major came up with that one, but here’s the deal.  You can go back and forth all day long.  Not only that, there is no analysis that we have seen that indicates the two can’t be mixed.  Synthetic oil is designed to chemically duplicate fossil oil.  Would I recommend mixing fossil with synthetic?  Not as a routine, just because there’s no reason to.  In a pinch, however, it’s not going to hurt your bike to run what’s available to get you off the side of the road and back home.

In conclusion, today’s modern oils are excellent.  If you’re brand loyal, run with it.  Shopping for the best price, go for it!  Get the right oil for the application and you’ll do just fine.  Next month we’ll dive into that (applications) and explain some of the other technical aspects (viscosity, additive packages, etc.).  Ride safe!