A good synthetic oil to use in a 2004 Honda Shadow VT750

[Shandley]

I am just north of the boarder. It get's cold here but not that cold (from about -5 deg. C. I am looking to switch over to a synthetic oil. What would you recomend for my engine?

[TechMarine]

Read the "Oilology" in the Technical Section (sticky - right at the top). It contains great information for coming to your own conclusion.

[tubes_rock]

yeah, everyone's going to tell you to use a different oil. I did my reading, made my choice and chose Amsoil. Others will tell you I was wrong to do that.

Some bikes like certain oils more than others. My bike loves Amsoil. MarkC's bike chatters like mad with it, so he uses something else.

Remember this though: any oil that is rated for the service level required will not hurt your bike. Try one and feel the engine out. if it doesn't seem to like it, try a different one.

I was telling someone else today to to be sure that they choose synthetic oil for the right reasons though. It's not going to extend the lifespan of your engine. The life of the engine is not extended with synthetic oil. You will get extended drain intervals, less volatility, arguably better cleansing action and detergent performance, as a handful of other bonuses, but lifetime of the engine is not one of them.

If you're buying it primarily for the reason of "it's better for the engine," save your money and stick with the conventional oil. But if you want extended drain intervals or live in a very cold (or very hot) climate, then it makes sense to use synthetic for those reasons.

--Justin

[CPTRICK3]

I recently switched to Amsoil. I had always used Mobile 1 in the past.
Well the first day my bike hated the new oil. Ran quiet but sluggish, (I probably over filled a little.) The second hundred miles the power came back but with a lot of top end noise. I now have 1,500 miles on this oil change and the bike runs quiet again. I may go back to Mobile 1.

I do think that an engine will last longer with synthetic oil. If your engine runs cleaner, with more consistent heat dispersement, how can it not run longer? Longer may be 300,000 miles instead of 250,000 miles, but still longer.

[tubes_rock]

Right, synthetic is *better* for an engine, but there's a difference between "useable" better and just plain better. If I can get 50,000 miles extra out of my engine using synthetic and that's the difference between 50,000 miles and 100,000 miles, then set me up with synthetic. But if that's the difference between 600,000 and 650,000 miles, then the gain is zero because I'd figure that less than 1% of the bikes ever made even break 50,000 miles.

What I did notice was a bit more power (could just be in my head) and slightly (5% or so) better fuel mileage.

--Justin

[litnin]

Originally Posted by CPTRICK3

I do think that an engine will last longer with synthetic oil. If your engine runs cleaner, with more consistent heat dispersement, how can it not run longer? Longer may be 300,000 miles instead of 250,000 miles, but still longer.

Well, I'm with Justin in the fact that if it makes you feel better, use it.
But, he's definitely correct, in that, all oils that meet specification will work just fine.

There really is no valid test that can be done to say whether or not
a synethic oil extends engine life.

I have three vehicles.
All three vehicles have over 250,000 miles on them with one of the three
in excess of 270,000 miles.
None of them have ever missed an oil change and none of them have
ever seen a drop of synthetic oil.
All three run just as good as they day they came off the showroom floor.
But their maintainence has been meticulous and they've been cared for...

I don't believe and have never once seen any proof that synthetic
makes an engine last longer than conventional.

The oil is not what makes for the longevity of the engine.
The proper care and timely maintanence is what makes for the engines life.

But again, run what makes you feel good.
No one but you pays for your oil so no one but you should make
the decision on what you run and what makes you feel better about
having in your engine.

[CPTRICK3]

I love this. I actually agree with both of you guys. I use synthetic for three reasons. 1. It makes me feel better. 2. I can afford it, 3 it makes me feel better. I put 6 to 8 thousand miles a year on my bike; I change my oil twice a year. If I used the cheapest dino oil I could find that met specks the bike would still last longer than me. Did I mention that it makes me feel better?

[tubes_rock]

And that's why I use synthetic: I put about 8,000 miles a year on my bike (short New Hampshire riding season...) and I change the oil twice. If I was using conventional oil, that's be three or four oil changes, and with the season being short enough, that's an afternoon that I could have been riding. My time is worth more to me than paying an extra $12 and getting synthetic oil. If it takes me an hour to change the oil (prep time, the coil change, and cleanup, since I don't have an auto garage) that works out to me getting paid $12/hour and at that point, it's a no-brainer.

But I do this knowing that the synthetic oil isn't making my bike last longer, it's just saving me time.

--Justin

[tubes_rock]

Gee, litnin! You and I have agreed on two things today. I'll have have to mark this in my calendar!

--Justin

[thunderglass]

I use it for the extended service life since I have about 25 engines to service. Bikes and cars get it twice a year, all others get it one time.