This is probably a stupid question, but one I just have to ask.

Since the BF uses a CVT tranny, I do not have to worry about friction modifiers/wet clutch operation, thus opening up the door for just about any good 10w-40, 5w-40, 0w-40, 10w-50, 20w-50 depending on weather, oil out there, correct?

I have always had Jap wet clutch ATVs so it is ingrained into me to use FM free oils for the wet clutch. I personally like additives such as moly/boron in my engine oils in everything else (trucks, cars, tractors, mowers, etc.) for added wear protection. My thinking is that I can now run a good synthetic heavy duty oil in this V-Twin, which the engine will love, and not have to worry over whether or not it has any moly in it. Correct, or am I missing something?

 

I have wondered about that too.....whether there are any clutches (like an internal centrifugal clutch?) anywhere in these rubber band drives that require you to run a JASO MA oil with no friction modifiers. What does you owner's manual say???? I think that will give you an answer. Do they allow JASO MB or other oils???

On the other hand, the high levels of ZDDP in an API SG motorcycle oil will give you way more "wear protection" than either moly or boron, which are friction modifiers.

In my trucks I run Redline oil, which is API SG and contains lots of moly....best of both worlds! I would highly suggest you check out Redline's new line of motorcycle oils, which are JASO MB (best of both worlds again) if that is compatible with your machine.

Some good basic oil info: http://www.thumperfaq.com/oil.htm

 

The HD oils I use are not lacking for ZDDP by any means--and the one I especially like to use has a nice dose of Moly as well. Yes, ZDDP does more for wear protection than FMs, but it isn't so much a wet clutch issue. My UOAs always show better wear results with elevated Moly/Boron content, especially in long drains. Whether it is because of friction modification or moly's antioxidant properties, I do not know. But I figured it would help fuel economy and wear to some extent in the 650 V2.

Back on track--Looking in my manual, it states:

Grade: API SF or SG
API SH or SJ with JASO MA

Viscosity: 10w-40

Sounds like SG or SF is fine without JASO MA but if you go to a later oil it needs to be MA? I cannot find anything in the manual warning you about using automotive oils, etc with friction modifiers. In my Honda book I think they tell you about 400 times.

 

If they didn't say that JASO MB was ok, but that MA is.....I think that is your clue right there that they don't want high levels of FM's! There may be an internal centrifugal clutch. I would get a service manual and see what all is in there.......

And a word about UOA's. I know there are lots of UOA junkies out there, but I think they are one of the most abused things there is. A UOA is intended to tell you about your engines condition, not about the performance of the oil! Oil should be tested under carefully controlled laboratory conditions, not in a thousand different engines that are all in a thousand different states of wear. That is introducing a thousand different uncontrolled variables to the experiment, making it absolutely uncontrolled!

A good example. One guy on the BITOG site tested a bunch of oils in him motorcycle. They all came out with high levels of lead and they all were challended to stay in "grade". What does this tell us, nothing about the oils. What it does tell us is that his rings are shot and he is running leaded race gas. Again, we learn about the engine, but not the oil!!!!

 

While I agree somewhat that variability between engines and usage can throw off UOAs a lot, it can serve as a solid indicator of which oil does the best job within YOUR engine of reducing wear. UOAs not only can help determine the condition of your engine, but help you make educated decisions on what oil type/viscosity works best to minimize wear metals in your engine, and maybe most importantly, how long you can safely run that oil. Obviously in a 2 qt sump in an ATV, the main purpose for UOA would be to determine the health of the engine since the oil change is so cheap. However, in some of my large equipment, you are looking at 200 dollar oil changes, so a 20 dollar UOA can help me determine the proper interval so I don't needlessly drain good oil.

I am not talking about thousands of different engines, I am talking about MY engines. If everyone on this board all at once sent in an oil analysis from all their different engines, usage types, weather differences, oil brands, basically you would have rotten data. But when I consistently have my engine oil tested from the same engine across similar usage/weather I can get a pretty good idea what kind of oil my engine likes, how long I can run it, etc. For instance, I have tractors that go and do the same thing every day. If one oil does well on UOA, the next does poorly, then I go back to the first oil and it does well again, chances are it does a better job of protecting my engine. UOA, for me, is great for deciding on an oil change interval, especially on large machinery that requires many gallons of oil, so it saves me money.

Furthermore, if UOA does nothing to determine effectiveness of a given oil, why do so many posted UOAs on BITOG show similar trends, across different motors, with the same oil? For instance, Redline oil has a tendency in some engines to produce higher upper end wear metals. Havoline seems to work well in just about any properly specified application (sans turbo), German Castol posts remarkable UOA numbers in engines that like a little thicker oil, and Schaeffer's diesel oils produce phenomenal diesel UOAs time and time again in healthy engines.

I concur that UOA data can be used erroneously, and even harmfully in the wrong hands if you take them as gospel. But you are sadly mistaken if you don't think one can discover trends and performance data about a given oil, even across different engine types and usage, if you have a database of UOAs to look thru.

With that out of the way, I am wondering if it would be all right to switch to synthetic after the first full oil change interval, or should I let it break in some more? I have the factory fill in til 10 hours, then the dealer threw in some 20w-50 for the first change. I figured I would go a 1/2 interval on that then get into my routine. Nearly all of the engines I own are diesel, which don't seem to like syn too early on, not sure how gassers are.

 

Using a petroleum oil, I break my engines in hard at first (i go out and do hillclimbs), to seat the rings. Then I take it easy for about 10 hours, and consider it broken in after that. Then I switch to synthetic.