jokerloco9@... wrote:
>Sounds like clutch slipping.
>
>You can try fresh oil, but don;t use the synthetic. Try regular oil. There
>has been a constant argument as to weather synthetic oil is more likely to
>cause clutch slipping.
>
There's no argument amongst those who actually know a little bit about
oil. Oil is oil (with the exception of a couple of exotics like Red
Line). Whether synthetic or dinosaur juice, it's just oil, no more
slippery than any other oil. If you look at a typical molecule of, say,
Shell Rotella T, and compare it to a typical molecule of Shell Rotella T
Synthetic, they're pretty much identical, with identical slipperiness,
identical ability to keep metal parts from grinding against each other,
etc. What matters is a) the quality of the base stock insofar as
aromatics, waxes, and consistency of molecule sizes are concerned, b)
the viscosity at various temperatures, and c) the additive package (some
of which additives CAN be more slippery), none of which has anything to
do with "synthetic" or "regular" other than that oils sold as
"synthetic" have a much better quality base stock with fewer waxes and
aromatics to sludge up your engine. The problem is that modern
"fuel-efficient" oils -- whether dino juice or synthetic -- do contain
additives to make the oil more slippery, which in turn can make your
clutch slip. But that has nothing to do with the synthetic or
"regular", and everything to do with the additive package.
> If your clutch is marginal, then regular oil may make
>a difference if there is synthetic in it now.
>
>
Utter nonsense, unless he put Red Line in it. In fact, most oils sold as
"synthetic" are just highly processed dinosaur juice, processed to get
rid of waxes and aromatics and give them a more consistent set of
molecules for more consistent lubricative properties. About the only
"true" synthetics sold on the market today are Red Line and Amsoil.
Amsoil looks like plain old oil under the microscope -- just plain old
oil with molecules that are quite consistent in their size and
characteristics. Red Line, on the other hand, looks more like vegetable
oil (which is what it is derived from), and probably isn't a good idea
for a water cooled bike not designed for that kind of oil (some air
cooled bikes, like classic Nortons, really need its high temperature
qualities though). The other "synthetics" are just oil. Even Mobil 1
appears to have been reformulated so that it's mostly highly-processed
dinosaur juice nowdays, though they still put a bit of PAO-based "true"
synthetic into each container just to say they're "better" than the rest.
>Besides, you can't go wrong by changing the oil anyhow.
>
>
That much, anyhow, is true. At the very least, if the previous oil was a
"fuel-efficient" oil or if the previous owner was a moron who put snake
oil "slickness-enhancer" chemicals into his oil, putting in a good oil
like Shell Rotella T (which doesn't contain additives which can make a
wet clutch slip) might help wash some of those slick additives off the
clutch and maybe make it stick better.
-E