The bikes: 08 DR650, 14 DL1000, 14 Honda CTX700, & a Honda 82 CX500 Custom.
Is it recommended to run full syn or conv. in air cooled bikes? How about full syn vs conv. in water cooled bikes? I've read conflicting opinions on both and I'm slightly confused...
I was hesitant about using the heavy duty oils in a motorcycle but after a couple years of reading about it I decided to try it. I decided on Delvac 1300 15w-40 because it presumably is more shear stable than 5w-40. Both the CTX700 and DL1000 are low miles and basically new leftovers. There is less than 5k miles on both. I switched both over to 1300 Super and so far things seem fine. No clutch slippage and in general can't complain about performance on any of the bikes. These are our touring and leisure bikes for riding around upper Michigan, Wisconsin, etc. We don't ride until temps are in the low to mid 40's. Shifting seems fine on all bikes also and any missed shifts are operator error. We have no problem finding neutral on any of the bikes and we're not experiencing any oil consumption.
I was planning on running the 1300 Super in all our bikes with OCI's around 3500-4000 miles. I have 3500 miles on the 1300 Super in my DL1000 now and shifting still feels great. I've put full syn motorcycle oil in an XSR900 and 14 Valkyrie I had and honestly couldn't tell a difference. I'm starting to be a convert to the HDEO in motorcycles.
Should I really be concerned about using conv. in our water cooled bikes vs full syn?
I would like full syn in our newer bikes but I'm not sure I'm convinced on the 5w-40 and the 15w-40 gives me more of a warm fuzzy feeling based off of what I've researched. Some say that the tighter tolerances of newer water cooled bikes should have full syn. I bought the DR650 last year with 28k miles on it and it had Amsoil ran through it. I read conflicting opinions on full syn for air cooled bikes so I'm not sure what to stick with in that bike. Some say conv. and some declare full syn is better.
Should I just stick with Delvac 1300 15w-40 in everything? It would make things simple and cheap.
I'm curious about Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40 but there aren't as many accounts of people it as there are T6 and I'm still not quite sold on 5w-40.
Thanks in advance....
Is it recommended to run full syn or conv. in air cooled bikes? How about full syn vs conv. in water cooled bikes? I've read conflicting opinions on both and I'm slightly confused...
I was hesitant about using the heavy duty oils in a motorcycle but after a couple years of reading about it I decided to try it. I decided on Delvac 1300 15w-40 because it presumably is more shear stable than 5w-40. Both the CTX700 and DL1000 are low miles and basically new leftovers. There is less than 5k miles on both. I switched both over to 1300 Super and so far things seem fine. No clutch slippage and in general can't complain about performance on any of the bikes. These are our touring and leisure bikes for riding around upper Michigan, Wisconsin, etc. We don't ride until temps are in the low to mid 40's. Shifting seems fine on all bikes also and any missed shifts are operator error. We have no problem finding neutral on any of the bikes and we're not experiencing any oil consumption.
I was planning on running the 1300 Super in all our bikes with OCI's around 3500-4000 miles. I have 3500 miles on the 1300 Super in my DL1000 now and shifting still feels great. I've put full syn motorcycle oil in an XSR900 and 14 Valkyrie I had and honestly couldn't tell a difference. I'm starting to be a convert to the HDEO in motorcycles.
Should I really be concerned about using conv. in our water cooled bikes vs full syn?
I would like full syn in our newer bikes but I'm not sure I'm convinced on the 5w-40 and the 15w-40 gives me more of a warm fuzzy feeling based off of what I've researched. Some say that the tighter tolerances of newer water cooled bikes should have full syn. I bought the DR650 last year with 28k miles on it and it had Amsoil ran through it. I read conflicting opinions on full syn for air cooled bikes so I'm not sure what to stick with in that bike. Some say conv. and some declare full syn is better.
Should I just stick with Delvac 1300 15w-40 in everything? It would make things simple and cheap.
I'm curious about Delvac 1 ESP 5W-40 but there aren't as many accounts of people it as there are T6 and I'm still not quite sold on 5w-40.
Thanks in advance....
Last edited: