Is synthetic oil a bad idea early on?

[clarksas]

I need to ask this question. I took my 2012 BMW R1200R to a non-dealer today. A very reputable shop. They changed the oil and put in synthetic. The bike has 8,000 miles on it. When I told him that the mechanic at the dealer is very adamant against putting in synthetic until like 15,000 miles he disagreed. He thought it was nonsense.

What is the general consensus on this?

[BigEasy]

Aahhhh, another oil thread

Arguments are made all over the place on oil. The only thing I know for sure is a buddy of mine is a big wheel at BP in research (his team brewed up Amaco Ultimate back in the day) and his thoughts on Dino v synthetic or any other oil question are: keep it changed very 3-5k with a new filter and you're fine.

My simple minded thought is keep some slippery juice in the motor and ride. I'm sure others will chime in and kick me around but what do I know about keeping vehicle's running? I've got three vehicles in the driveway with >100,000k mi (one with 250+ that idles 6 hours a day) and just sold one with over 350k.

Keep it topped up and enjoy it.

[clarksas]

Thanks for the reply. I know there are many discussions on oil and was not intending to pile on. It is just interesting that 2 BMW mechanics can have such very different opinions on the matter.

[Snapping Twig]

As a new owner with 5200 miles on the odometer, this is what I understand about the topic...

Break-in is complete when it stops using oil. This could be few or many miles. I've heard in the high teen K's in some cases.

Did you hurt anything, doubtful.

Switch back next change if you're using oil and go syn when it stops.

[ammolab]

I switched my 2011R to synthetic @ 3000 miles. Now at 10,000 ...no oil use, no problems and oil analysis @ 9000 miles was "all good"!

Many new vehicles come with synthetic oil.....it's just oil.

[mogu83]

Switched to synthetic (Mobil 1 MC) at 6K. Now at 50K+ no problems, don't add any with 6K oil and filter change.

[Bill Stevenson]

Some new vehicles come with synthetic oil from the factory now. In fact I am pretty sure my 5-series came with synth from the factory. I think the key to figuring out when to switch is oil use. If your bike is using oil stay with dino for a while longer to see if the rings seat better. Keep in mind our bikes have ceramic linings on the cylinders which typically take longer to break in than metal cylinder walls. The variation in how many miles to break in that we banter about is very likely due to our different riding styles and geographic locations. For me, my riding style, in flat as a pancake Florida, it takes about 10,000 miles to break in a new Beemer. If I lived in the mountains it would not take so long. Your results may vary. One other thing, it will not (NOT!) hurt a bike engine to switch from dino to synth or vice versa.

Bill

[David R]

Aahhhh, another oil thread
snip

keep it changed very 3-5k with a new filter and you're fine.

snip...

Keep it topped up and enjoy it.

Nailed it on the first post. I would not leave ANY oil in for more than 5,000 miles.

David

Clean air, Clean fuel and Clean oil = happy motorcycle.

[ka5ysy]

Short answer: NO.

The main reason not to use full synthetic in the break-in period is that you are dumping the stuff out on short mileage, and it is better to use cheap dinosaur oil. The engine does not know or care about what oil type is in it other than you should use the specified API rating. many high performance car engines are running full synthetic on delivery from the dealer.

On any new bike I have ever owned, the break-in was essentially the "moto-man" style break-in run, and I have never had a bike use oil after doing that. The current RT Camhead engine got the same treatment from the 3 mile start odometer. It got the 600 mile change, then a 2500 mile change, and 6000 mile change. At the 6000 mile change, I went to full synthetic Amsoil 20W50 and the engine uses no oil at all.

If you really want to see how your oil and engine are performing, do a proper oil analysis. It will show a lot of information, including a good idea of how long to run the bike between oil changes. I have used Blackstone Labs for years. Very reasonable prices, and good complete reports with notes that anyone can understand. They have been known to call when something catastrophic seems about to happen.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/motorcycle.php

[tinytrains]

As far as I know, it will just take longer for your rings to set. As result, it may take longer to stop burning oil when new.

[websterize]

I switched to synthetic at 6,000 miles. If I could do it over again, I'd probably wait until 12,000. At 14,000 on the odometer, I'm still using oil.

[Woland]

I switched to synthetic at 6,000 miles. If I could do it over again, I'd probably wait until 12,000. At 14,000 on the odometer, I'm still using oil.

I'm at 50k miles and the bike still uses a little oil but not enough for me to have to fill it between services. The one thing I've found is that my riding style have much more impact on oil-consumption than the oil itself.

Rest assured that oil will be the least of your worries during the bikes lifetime