Like I said – not trying to start a fight with you but I can tell you synthetic oil WILL NOT cause clutch failure if properly applied, to go on this board and post that is wrong. My knowledge is based on research, industry data and analytics, and statistics, which is what I do. I am not a mechanic, but I don’t need one to fix my bike either... Oh, also the Rotella T6 in my Honda bikes and ATVs that has been flawless (though it is a slightly different clutch application on a Grom than the quads) and the synthetic in lots of toys I or friends have had and ridden over the years with wet clutches and have 0 problems. I also subscribe to popular mechanics though, how did you guess?…
As a mechanic I respect your opinion – but do you think you see bikes where synthetic is used and the clutch is fine? Of course not, you see the ones with problems. In every one of these cases you can confirm the cause was synthetic oil? What indicates to you that a clutch is bad and the cause was synthetic oil? Particular wear or damage? Is there something you specifically look for or at? I suppose you sent oil samples out for each one? How do you know that a clutch is bad and the direct cause is synthetic oil? How many Honda bikes are on the road? My point is consider your perspective as well. As a mechanic you only see problems, and unless you are testing the oil you can’t know for sure 1) what oil was used and 2) to what degree it caused a failure. I also know I could wear out a clutch in a week regardless of what oil I run if I wanted – and if I can’t replace it myself, I am bringing it to you. Point here is clutches wear out and you replace them, as no one is bringing operable bikes in, so you see a lot of bad clutches, no way they are all because of synthetic oil, unless maybe that is specifically what your shop specializes in...
I emailed the GM at the lvl 5 Honda powersports dealer I got my Grom from and asked him very simply is synthetic ok for this bike or will it cause issues. He spoke to the head mechanic and this is his answer verbatim: “Last, synthetic oil is good for folks who don't change the oil frequently. It is a personal preference on the oil you want to use.“ cut and paste directly from his email response. Take it for what it is worth… Also I checked the manual again – can’t find a darn thing about Honda recommending to stay away from the evil synthetic oil…
I don’t recall talking about the sky and rainbows, but I do know the information right in front of me regarding synthetics and wet clutches shows me that you are 100% incorrect. Sorry if that makes you mad. But again, who am I… go do some research. Every oil manufacturer has a wealth of info on their site about what oil ratings mean, and what applications they are appropriate for. Specifically go learn what the JASO MA rating means, that would be a good place for you to start as that is probably the most important rating for oils used in engines with wet clutch applications like the GROM. There is a forum full of oil industry geeks out there as well – bobistheoilguy, another good place to get the correct information.
Anyway, I am not trying to change your mind, and you won't change mine, nor do I want nor do I want to waste any more of our time arguing about motor oil on the internet. Ride safe out there man… /salute
Like i said
Popular mechanics..
Syn oil +Big dude+Small bike=low hp=small clutch plates=small spring psi=clutch slippage
Im not talking about sport bikes, race bikes, competition models.
I have seen v twin cruiser in kawi starter bendix failure due to KAWI syn oil! With the same im an engineer attitude with a bunch of facts, mean while SEVERAL of the SAME models running the SAME oil, with the SAME problem, so no, i dont need to do nasa experiments to determine its the syn oil on the starter bendix that is nothing more than a miniture clutch plates causing the problem. Changed oil, cleaned the plates, all the problems went away with ALL the bikes.
Mini bikes that are not straight competition models with weak spring psi, small plates, and not many of them, and a full sized adult on them, with syn oil, WILL SLIP, add some extra hp, and forget it, for sure.
So while i agree with all ur bullshit knowledge about syn in THEORY, thats all it is, theory,its not the real world.
Interesting how Honda split the clutch/trans lubrication from the rest of the motor in all their 150r/250r/450r Crf competition race bikes. They use straight syn in the motor, and gear oil in the clutch.
In the race world, you replace a clutch every race, motors every couple. Yea use syn all day long
If you have a sport bike or something with a heavy clutch spring psi, big plates, large stack height, yea sure, use syn.
If you have a mini bike, and you want your clutch to slip, listen to Popular Mechanics guy. If you dont want slip, and you plan on adding hp to this MINI bike, with an ADULT rider, with a small weak clutch and spring, listen to the PROFESSIONAL that tried to tell u SIMPLY, stay away from syn oil. Oh.. And try to add clutch spring psi..
Spend more time with the wrench, less time with the
industry data anal-sys
Stats, and research bullshit theorys on the internet.
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