What oil should I use?

This is a snip from the factory Kawasaki KZ1000 manual, as hosted on KZR...

 

There was plenty of zinc in auto oils in 1970. Todays car oils have lower zinc levels to protect catalyic converters. I use Rotella T4 or Mobil 1 15-50. Both have high zinc levels.

MLMG wrote:

Hi everyone, my A1 has a newly assembled engine.
All seals and clutch discs are modern.
For the first use, I used mineral oil, which I plan to change after a few kilometers. My question is, should I stick with mineral oil or switch to synthetic oil?
Thank you.

Not exactly.  Many of the new oils have friction modifiers that are harmful to wet clutches.  You want an oil that is certified for wet clutch engines.  The JASO (Japan Automobile Standards Organization) standard is T903.  There are two versions.  The one for wet clutches is designated as "MA". Look for this on the oil container.  If you decide to go with Shell Rotella M4....it has the correct certification.

Synthetic or not?

I say definitely synthetic, other folks do not. The main point of synthetics is to reduce the speed of oil degradation. An air cooled engine with a wet clutch and a transmission in the sump is brutal on oil. Add heavy stop and go traffic on a hot summer day, or a two-up, full-luggage summer tour, or an aggressive ride through steep mountains, and the engine can turn some beautiful 20w-50 into something that looks like dirty water in no time. Big bore, high compression pistons add more heat, accelerating the destruction.

Many newer automotive engines require fully synthetic oil, and oil change intervals have increased dramatically. Assuming I have not been doing much heavy hauling, my 2014 F150 can go more than 10,000 miles before the oil monitor says it is time for a change. If I had tried that with my 1977 F150 with the non-synthetic oils available then, what would have drained out of the pan would have been black and about the same consistency as 0w-3.

ymmv

Agreed Texas, modern European cars (even diesel) use specific "low ash" synthetic oils and run to 20k mls or 24 months between changes (still with 100k mls warranty)

PS: I'm not suggesting you try this with our air cooled motors 

In the car world, "cost of ownership" has become a factor that's closely monitored by some, and extended oil change intervals feed into lowering cost.  It's understood that modern synthetic oils breakdown very slowly, but viscosity breakdown is just one factor in oil life.  There is the ability of the oil to neutralize acid byproducts that accumulate in the oil, and also the oil's detergents ability to ward off sludge.  Lastly, direct injection gas engines can lead to gasoline accumulation in the oil, leading to dilution.  Honda turbo engines, like the extremely popular 1.5T, can have this happen when driving in cold temperatures on short trips.  Bottom line, I don't have any factual data proving 10k change intervals are bad, but I definitely think there is "more to the story" than what you may think from reading your owner's manual or following the car's maintenance computer.

For air cooled bikes, I think the main advantage of synthetic oils is for those scorching hot days when the oil thins out and can even vaporize if the temperatures get too hot.  Synthetic oils have a higher vaporization temp, so they protect better in those situations.  I've read a post on the Suzuki GS forum where a guy got stuck in traffic one day, and after some time his bike started puking out tons of oil vapor smoke/steam from his crankcase breather.  Conclusion being, the oil was flashing off and vaporizing.  Nothing good happens when that occurs.

I am certainly not recommending 10,000 mile oil changes on a KZ. The reason I mentioned that was to point out how much better new synthetic oils are at resisting breakdown. Yes, there is more to the story, but I was not intending to drag this thread any farther in that direction.

I believe in changing my oil often .  One of the cheapest ways to keep your motor running  for a long time.
Modern oils  are wonderful , but  oil collects  combustion biproducts . The oil may still be lubricating  fine , but circulating dirt thru your bearings  can't be a good thing .
Rotella  for me 
DD

I LOVE oil threads...

Bob Is The Oil Guy is a great resource to learn about oil.  One might think that guys over there would be all about high end Amsoil and Royal Purple, but there are at least as many guys there expounding on the value of Warren oils like Amazon/Costco/Supertech.  The oil analysis results don't lie!  In the motorcycle oil sub forum, there are tons of guys recommending Rotella and similar.  I've also read postings about experienced riders using car oil, and even energy conserving oils, in their bikes with a wet clutch.  One Goldwing dude, with over 100k miles on his bike, is using EC 5W-30, basically daring the bike's clutch to act up, which it doesn't.  

This has certainly been one of the most tame oil threads I’ve seen.

Synthetic or non-synthetic?
We don't have enough information about you and your bike in Uruguay.
Too many unknown variables.

F64 wrote:

Synthetic or non-synthetic?
We don't have enough information about you and your bike in Uruguay.
Too many unknown variables.


The motorcycle is a Kawasaki KZ1000 A1 with a newly assembled engine. The climate here is temperate and January is the warmest month.