I just purchased a new V Star 950:). Haven't rode it much but a few miles to my storage. I need to know if using Mobil 1 synthetic oil would be recommended after the break-in period. A salesman at the dealer told to me to stay away from any synthetic oil and just stick with YamaLube. I used synthetic in the C50 that I traded with great results. Does he know what he's talking about? :confused: He didn't/couldn't give me any specific reasons as to why he advised against it. Thanks.

I just purchased a new V Star 950:). Haven't rode it much but a few miles to my storage. I need to know if using Mobil 1 synthetic oil would be recommended after the break-in period. A salesman at the dealer told to me to stay away from any synthetic oil and just stick with YamaLube. I used synthetic in the C50 that I traded with great results. Does he know what he's talking about? :confused: He didn't/couldn't give me any specific reasons as to why he advised against it. Thanks.


Congtratulations on the new bike. I just picked my new Start950 up at the dealer as we. I put about 60 miles on it today and can tell you it is one sweet ride, I got mine with a full touring package and a taller wind screen. AS far as the oil. I have been riding bikes for 32 years and have never used a synthetic oil but then I change my oil every 2k miles as well. I'm sure synthetic oils have there advantages but every motorcycle mechanic that I have talked to over the years has been an advocate of good oil, checking your oil and changing it often.

Hey Sgt_Mike, do you use synthetic oil in your bike now? Synthetic was recommended to me by a veteran rider (father-in-law) who tracks ALL his bike information (rides a Wing), including mileage w/type of oil, mileage w/type of gasoline and such. I'd like to know how your bikes runs on that type of oil if you use it. Thanks!

Hi,
I've used Amsoil & Mobil1 motorcycle oil for over 20,000 combined miles with no problems, quieter engine running & a tiny bit better gas mileage (even used synthetic rear drive gear oil). I have put 1000 miles on my V-Star 650 with Mobile1 20-50 motorcycle oil with no problems.
johnb

Hey Sgt_Mike, do you use synthetic oil in your bike now? Synthetic was recommended to me by a veteran rider (father-in-law) who tracks ALL his bike information (rides a Wing), including mileage w/type of oil, mileage w/type of gasoline and such. I'd like to know how your bikes runs on that type of oil if you use it. Thanks!


I use Mobil 1, 15W50 synthetic. I burn 87 or 89 octane gas.
Trans and clutch operate much smoother with synthetic oil than on conventional oil.

I use Mobil 1, 15W50 synthetic. I burn 87 or 89 octane gas.
Trans and clutch operate much smoother with synthetic oil than on conventional oil.


Thank you Mike and First. I appreciate the responses. I'm at 1k miles now, so 3 more to go!

does it really matter which oil to use, synthetic vs. conventional? does anyone know any pros/cons for each? does it make a difference if your bike is fuel injected vs. carburated? how many miles are on it, etc?

Thank you Mike and First. I appreciate the responses. I'm at 1k miles now, so 3 more to go!

Why wait? I changed oil and filter at 700 miles and put in Mobil1 15W50 at that time. There's no advantage for waiting and alot to gain by getting rid of the original oil & filter.

does it really matter which oil to use, synthetic vs. conventional? does anyone know any pros/cons for each? does it make a difference if your bike is fuel injected vs. carburated? how many miles are on it, etc?

What makes synthetic oil superior to conventional oil?

Historically, conventional oils lack the performance of synthetic oils in the areas of low-temperature performance and high-temperature oxidation stability. Conventional motor oil is made up of an inconsistent mixture of long and short chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms. In the extreme heat of an engine, short-chain molecules can evaporate, and unstable molecules can oxidize and break down. Conventional oils also contain much greater amounts of impurities, such as sulfur, reactive and unstable hydrocarbons, and other undesirable contaminants that cannot be completely removed by conventional refining of crude oil.

Mobil 1 uses high-performance fluids, including polyalphaolefins (PAOs), along with a proprietary system of additives. Each Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 Extended Performance viscosity grade use a unique combination of synthetic fluids and selected additives in order to tailor the viscosity grade to its specific application.

Yes, synthetic oil can be safely used in carbureted engines and mileage doesn't matter. Change it. :)

I use Mobil 1 oil but I'm not suggesting the Mobil 1 is superior to other synthetic oils, it just that I can get it at a super low price.

Why wait? I changed oil and filter at 700 miles and put in Mobil1 15W50 at that time. There's no advantage for waiting and alot to gain by getting rid of the original oil & filter.

I'm waiting because I just had the oil changed at about 700 miles. The bike runs fine and I'm sure it won't fall apart before it's next oil change. :)

synthetic FTW!!!!!

I'm waiting because I just had the oil changed at about 700 miles. The bike runs fine and I'm sure it won't fall apart before it's next oil change. :)

Ok,, my bad:o. I thought that you still had the original o & f in the crankcase. You'll be fine until your next change:cool:.

Ok,, my bad:o. I thought that you still had the original o & f in the crankcase. You'll be fine until your next change:cool:.

No worries. :)

Fully synthetic oils can cause some clutch issues in the Yamaha wet clutch designs. The service manager I deal with recommends the blended synthetics instead of the full synthetics because of the wet clutch.

At 700 miles, it isn't fully broken in yet waiting to switch until 4000 miles is a good thing.

Fully synthetic oils can cause some clutch issues in the Yamaha wet clutch designs. The service manager I deal with recommends the blended synthetics instead of the full synthetics because of the wet clutch.

At 700 miles, it isn't fully broken in yet waiting to switch until 4000 miles is a good thing.

That's a myth Whetstone, people who make those kind of statements are simply misinformed, not properly informed and don't know what they're talking about. Any oil that doesn't have friction modifiers will not cause a wet clutch to slip.The difference is on the back of the bottle. There is a ring printed on the back and in the ring if it says "energy conserving" don't use it, that means that there are additives that will affect how your motorcycles clutch works and may(will) cause slippage. Most 10W40, 15W50 and 20W50 oils synthetic or conventional do not have friction modifiers and are ok to use in a motorcycle. I have used Mobil 1, 15W50 in my Vulcan 750, my Boulevard C50 and now my V Star 950, all of them had/have wet clutches and haven't had one ounce of problems. I'm a firm believer in synthetic oil because I KNOW that it performs better than conventional or blended synthetic.

I recently purchased a Yamaha 950 cruiser. I changed the oil the first time after only 30 miles following a prescribed (non-Yamaha) break-in technique to get rid of any metal. I continued with the Yamalube 20W-50 oil until the 600 mile check. At that time I switched to Yamalube synthetic 15W-50 which my mechanic said would be fine. A friend of mine who has been riding for many years said it was more common to wait until the engine had several thousand miles on it before going synthetic. Any thoughts on this?

As a friend of mine put it when I asked if I should wait to use synthetic, "What is it? A piece of wood furniture?" He rides a 650 Custom and is a mechanic. To keep with manufacturer warranty stuff (aka, just in case), I had my first oil changed done by the dealership and they used what they felt best worked...standard oil. Next change though, it's getting synthetic for sure. My father-in-law has data to prove that it will improve your mileage and over engine life.

devilfish79, thanks for the thoughts on the synthetic oil. My mechanic, who is gold star rated, told me how Yamaha representatives had explained to them the enhanced lubricating qualities of synthetic since the molecules are all the same size creating more even lubirication. Another friend of mine, who rides and is a physicist, explained to me how the synthetic oil molecules will not shear like standard oil. I don't claim to understand all the technical details from both individuals, but I certainly realize that their advice, if followed, should translate into prolonged engine life. My only concern was when another friend, who has been riding for 30 years, said that it used to be better to wait several thousand miles to let the engine totally break in with standard oil before switching. He uses a semi-synthetic blend. But, even he acknowledged that advanced technology in engine design may no longer necessitate waiting that long to go synthetic. There are undoubtedly numerous opinions on both sides of this issue. I am just curious to see what others think or what their experiences have been with standard vs synthetic oil in regards to when to switch.

devilfish79, thanks for the thoughts on the synthetic oil. My mechanic, who is gold star rated, told me how Yamaha representatives had explained to them the enhanced lubricating qualities of synthetic since the molecules are all the same size creating more even lubirication. Another friend of mine, who rides and is a physicist, explained to me how the synthetic oil molecules will not shear like standard oil. I don't claim to understand all the technical details from both individuals, but I certainly realize that their advice, if followed, should translate into prolonged engine life. My only concern was when another friend, who has been riding for 30 years, said that it used to be better to wait several thousand miles to let the engine totally break in with standard oil before switching. He uses a semi-synthetic blend. But, even he acknowledged that advanced technology in engine design may no longer necessitate waiting that long to go synthetic. There are undoubtedly numerous opinions on both sides of this issue. I am just curious to see what others think or what their experiences have been with standard vs synthetic oil in regards to when to switch.

There are definitely numerous opinions. I'm going with the full synthetic blend for my next change just based on the data that was provided to me. My father-in-law has a database full of useful information that he keeps for his Gold Wing. He tracks mileage relationships between what brand gas, what brand oil, what type of oil (synth or standard) and even has tracked tire size and manufacturer. He has charts that are based on the relationships. So...he knows exactly what combination of gas brand, brand and type of oil and with his tires will get him the best gas mileage. :) It's really interesting and I'm doing the same thing with my bike.

In the end, however, it really boils down to what you're comfortable with putting in your bike. Both types of oils will work if you look at the baseline of the debate. :)

devilfish79, thanks for the thoughts on the synthetic oil. My mechanic, who is gold star rated, told me how Yamaha representatives had explained to them the enhanced lubricating qualities of synthetic since the molecules are all the same size creating more even lubirication. Another friend of mine, who rides and is a physicist, explained to me how the synthetic oil molecules will not shear like standard oil. I don't claim to understand all the technical details from both individuals, but I certainly realize that their advice, if followed, should translate into prolonged engine life. My only concern was when another friend, who has been riding for 30 years, said that it used to be better to wait several thousand miles to let the engine totally break in with standard oil before switching. He uses a semi-synthetic blend. But, even he acknowledged that advanced technology in engine design may no longer necessitate waiting that long to go synthetic. There are undoubtedly numerous opinions on both sides of this issue. I am just curious to see what others think or what their experiences have been with standard vs synthetic oil in regards to when to switch.

I have used Mobil 1, 15W50 in my Vulcan 750, my Boulevard C50 and now my V Star 950, all of them had/have wet clutches and haven't had one ounce of problems. I'm a firm believer in synthetic oil because I KNOW that it performs better than conventional or blended synthetic. I started using Mobil 1 at about 1000 miles on each bike and haven't had nothing but great results with syn oil, I highly recommend it, it does perform better than conventional oils and all the research prove that.

I have used Mobil 1, 15W50 in my Vulcan 750, my Boulevard C50 and now my V Star 950, all of them had/have wet clutches and haven't had one ounce of problems. I'm a firm believer in synthetic oil because I KNOW that it performs better than conventional or blended synthetic. I started using Mobil 1 at about 1000 miles on each bike and haven't had nothing but great results with syn oil, I highly recommend it, it does perform better than conventional oils and all the research prove that.

thanks for sharing your experiences with synthetic oil. After switching to synthetic in my 950 at 600 miles, I began to be concerned that the enhanced lubricating qualities of synthetic oil might hamper some of the break-in process going on inside the engine. But then I fell back on the idea that 80% of the break-in probably took place in the first 30 miles after which I changed out the oil to get rid of any metal. Since I kept standard oil in the engine until 600 miles, I feel that the engine had ample opportunity to complete the break-in process. Probably the most important thing to do, whether using standard or synthetic oil, is to change that oil on schedule to always have clean oil within your engine doing the lubricating, cleaning, controlling, and cooling so essential to long engine life.

thanks for sharing your experiences with synthetic oil. After switching to synthetic in my 950 at 600 miles, I began to be concerned that the enhanced lubricating qualities of synthetic oil might hamper some of the break-in process going on inside the engine. But then I fell back on the idea that 80% of the break-in probably took place in the first 30 miles after which I changed out the oil to get rid of any metal. Since I kept standard oil in the engine until 600 miles, I feel that the engine had ample opportunity to complete the break-in process. Probably the most important thing to do, whether using standard or synthetic oil, is to change that oil on schedule to always have clean oil within your engine doing the lubricating, cleaning, controlling, and cooling so essential to long engine life.

Your reasoning is right on target. With todays CNC machines the tolerances are very consistant and accurate to the point that break-in is nearly not required and ring seating occurs within the first few hundred miles.

He tracks mileage relationships between what brand gas, what brand oil, what type of oil (synth or standard) and even has tracked tire size and manufacturer. He has charts that are based on the relationships. So...he knows exactly what combination of gas brand, brand and type of oil and with his tires will get him the best gas mileage.

well there is taking care of your bike, and then there is what your father-in-law does. i couldn't imagine doing that and getting any enjoyment out of it. i don't want to think about any of that every single time i fill up the tank. who does? doesn't seem worth it. unless it significantly prolonged your bike or saved you money, i just don't get it.

well there is taking care of your bike, and then there is what your father-in-law does. i couldn't imagine doing that and getting any enjoyment out of it. i don't want to think about any of that every single time i fill up the tank. who does? doesn't seem worth it. unless it significantly prolonged your bike or saved you money, i just don't get it.

He doesn't do it every time he fills up. He saves the receipts with his Odo reading written on it and then does it some other time. It's beneficial because he's had mechanics try to rip him off saying that it was this or that, but he has the data to prove that the bike is well taken care of. He has 90k+ miles on it and it's a 96. The bike runs like new. I like tracking that stuff and seeing where my bike has been. :) It's not for everyone though, I'll give you that.