Recommended Synthetic Oil

The lab tests are about $20, and I save more than that with every single oil change. In the several hundred thousand miles I've ridden street bikes, plus the every-third-weekend racing changes, I've paid for many sets of tires with that money.

They're not time consuming...drain the oil into the little thingy, send it to the lab. Try it sometime...I found it interesting to learn specifics about the oil I was running. Also, it can clue you in to stuff wearing in the motor that might be wearing out.

 

so while this topic is going strong, how long are you guys going between oil changes in racebikes?

 

Silkolene Comp 4

 

I go every other race weekend.

 

I have been using Rotella Synthetic in my track/race bike and my street bike for over a couple of years. Of course I change the oil in my track/race bike after every weekend. I may try and stretch it out to two weekends. My street bike is an 04 VROD and I go anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 miles between oil changes. I have only changed the oil in it 3 or 4 times and it runs fine. The manual on the VROD actually says to use diesel oil if you don't have access to the HD brand oil.

 

On street bikes I go 5,000 miles or so. The lab testing I was talking about earlier indicated that this was very conservative, and the dude I talked to when I called about it (wanted help interpreting the results) said that based on the test, the oil would still be going strong at 8,000, but I just couldn't do it (this was Rotella-T synth).

The only race bike I tested w. an interval was the FZR400 after (3) race weekends, and the oil was still fine. I change it every other weekend anyway, more as a release for nervous energy than a need for fresh oil (I like to tinker with the bike before a race weekend).

 

I'll second the motion for Silkolene. My SV1000 went seven or so laps at Road Atlanta with no water in it and the bottom end was in good shape. (Can't say the same for the head!). Its about 5 bucks a quart.

 

You've got another Rotella-T user here! Good stuff. I think you've covered it enough dDT.