My Valk had nothing but synthetic for the last 117,000 out of the 123,000 that were on her when she went to the new owner. As far as could be told when adjusting the valves there was no sludge buildup in that motor, none. I changed that oil every 5000 miles, not every 3000 like I would have with dino oil, and under the valve covers she looked clean and new.
She ran like new too, in spite of me riding that bike like I stole it for the entire 117,000 miles I put on the clock. Maybe it would have been the same with dino oil, maybe not. But, I would never risk my " B", which I intend to ride the same way or harder for the next 20 years by trying dino oil to find out.
"Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.
And... moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.''
-- Barry Goldwater, Acceptance Speech at the Republican Convention; 1964
I have read through these discussions before and the only thing I came up with is,,,,
If it feels good, Do It!
ITS ALL GOOD
Certainly agree with your point, changing oil and filter most important. In mid 80s I had 77 corvette whose owner had always used cheap Pennzoil during the time when many said it was worse oil
I tire engine down for rebuild as I wanted more power and that engine with 160k miles was very clean inside.
AMSOIL you can double your mileage between changes, as per AMSOIL tech dept. Been using it in everything I own since back in the 1980's, never had a oil related issue.
oil threads are great!
WOW!! This is the first oil thread I seen where nobody got insulted. Give it up for individual choice.
S A R C A S M. I use it. You're 100% correct in it being personal. My wife, who was a Chevron oil and lubricant rep for over 25 years and has the degrees and certifications that tells me she knows WAY more than I do laughs when I mention these oil threads. She would tell anyone if they were to ask, run whatever the hell you want if it meets spec for the application. She'd even tell you off the record you could probably dump any oil viscosity into your engine and get away with it. She would also tell you syn blends are a waste of money. If you enjoy changing oil every 3 or 4K don't blow the extra cash on synthetics. I use full synthetic, multiple brands,in all my motors and change it every 12k with 0.00 oil related problems in any motor I've ever had. I've had oil analyzed after use and it's never been close to being "bad". Anyone who runs big equipment or has a fleet of vehicles usually pays to test the oil instead of blanket changes every X amount of miles as its more cost effective. There's my reason why I do what I do.
Over the years, many Valkyrie and Goldwing owners have used diesel oils such as Shell Rotella or Mobil Delvac in their engines. However the new CK-4 diesel standard has caused some controversy. EPA concerns over cat damage have caused many manufacturers to reduce the ZDDP content in their CK-4 oils. ZDDP (zinc & phosphorus) is an important anti-wear additive that benefits motorcycles with integral transmissions. Some new oils reduced it so much that after testing showed increased wear, Ford now recommends the older CJ-4 oils for their diesel engines. So you might want to do a little research on your favorite oil as its composition may have changed.
I kept it simple I use Honda synthetic oil and Honda filter.
I change once a year or 8000 miles.
On my old Valkyrie's I used Shell Roltela with no problems.