Re: [ST] Initial oil change

[Blake Sobiloff <sobiloff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Darwin Holmstrom wrote:
 > An independent test, again
 > conducted by Motorcycle Consumer News about 8 or 9 years back,
 > rated standard Mobil 1 better than most other motorcycle-specific
 > synthetic oils.

Did you let your subscription expire, Darwin? MCN had a three part oil 
report in 2000, spanning the August, October, and November issues. In 
this latest round, MCN leaned towards Mobil 1 TriSynthetic 15W/50 
(automotive) and MX4T 10W/40, Amsoil High Performance 10W/40 
(automotive), and Redline Hi Performance 10W/40. Their criteria focused 
on evaporative losses, total base numbers (TBN), anti-wear additives, 
anti-oxidants, and viscosity retention.

However, MCN noted that every rider should determine how they use their 
motorcycle and pick an oil that performs best for that kind of use. For 
example, if you have an air-cooled bike and spend a lot of time stuck in 
slow traffic, you'll want an oil with minimal evaporative losses and an 
aggressive anti-wear additive package. However, if you have a 
liquid-cooled bike that only sees 2K miles/year of twisties you'll want 
to look for an oil with a high TBN and lots of anti-oxidants.

(And, sorry folks, but I'm not going to type in the articles or look up 
how your favorite oil rated. Buy the back issues from Ian Smith 
Information at 303-777-2385. While you're at it, subscribe to the 
magazine -- it's an excellent source of unbiased information.)
- -- 
Blake "Dawgbert" Sobiloff <sobiloff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Burlingame, CA, USA


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