Remember when oil was just, well oil? Not any longer, now you have choices to make: Conventional? Semi synthetic? Synthetic? High mileage? And the list goes on…
When purchasing engine oil for your motorcycle, the first thing you have to do is decide whether you wish to run your machine on conventional oil synthetic oil or a semi-synthetic blend. What’s the difference? Which is best?
Conventional Oil
Conventional oil is sometimes also called mineral oil or regular oil, though there isn’t really anything ‘regular’ about it.
Conventional oil is refined crude oil, to which has been added a cocktail of additives, including dispersants that have been developed to spread and suspend particles that are created as a by product of the combustion process. Without dispersants, these particles would collect and form sludge, which in turn will affect performance and eventually even seize an engine.
Detergents neutralise acid, which is another by product of the combustion process, while friction modifiers bind to metal surfaces and improve fuel economy by increasing lubricity.
Seal conditioners do exactly this, they ensure that engine seals don’t dry out and become rigid and prone to cracking and failure.
Anti-oxidants and rust and corrosion inhibitors team up to inhibit the oxidization process.
Anti-foams are self explanatory, and diluent oil ensures that all the additives mix with the base oil and promote consistency in viscosity.
Synthetic Oil
Many people don’t realize that synthetic oil has actually been around since World War II. Even back then, conventional oil was no match for some of the giant turbo and jet engines powering military hardware, and scientists set to work to create synthetic oil.
The goal is consistency. Remember, oil is essentially dead single-cell plants and organisms such as plankton that have died and been buried for millions of years under huge pressure and high heat. As such, once refined into the oil we put in our motorcycle engines, there can be inconsistencies within the product based upon inconsistencies within its chemical make up.
Under extreme heat or pressure, this can cause oil to break down—become compromised if you like—by the weakest of its elements.
Synthetic oils use the purest forms of crude as building blocks that are then scientifically replicated. This produces a more consistent and superior product. Synthetic oils tend to be more stable, offer better lubrication and fuel economy and last longer before breaking down, which can translate to longer stretches between oil changes due to higher kilometre returns.
Semi Synthetic Oil
As the name suggests, semi synthetic oil is simply a blend of conventional oil and synthetic oil. This oil may offer better and longer lasting protection than a full conventional, but less than a full synthetic.
Your dealer or mechanic may recommend semi synthetic oil for your machine, because of the gearbox and clutch. Synthetic oil can cause certain ‘wet’ (bathed in engine oil) clutches to slip. This can be cured by using a semi-synthetic blend, giving you the ability to still benefit from some of the advantages of synthetic oil.