Synthetic or Conventional Oil?

[mechanic1990]

I just purchased a used 2007 Streetglide. I don't know if the previous owner used synthetic or conventional oil. Does anyone know if I should be able to tell by looking or smelling the oil which one it is? I hate the thought of paying so much more for synthetic oil when I do oil changes. But, maybe its worth it. Any thoughts or advice?
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

 

[16FLHXS]

I am sure you will get equal for and against opinions, many have ran dino oil for years and years with no problems.
Yet many will attest to the engine running cooler with syn oil, as well as the trans being quieter and shifting smoother.
You really just need to make that call yourself, i personally dont know of a smell test, or the like to determine what the bike already has in it, but oil does what oil does, no damage will result from switching. (beware some sellers may put syn in a motor to mask issues it may have had, just to sell)

Some still believe the myth that switching to syn oil will make the gaskets leaks with higher miles etc, but i personally have had many bikes, and other motorized vehicles i have switched to syn, and never had any leaking issues.

 

[Ripplingh2o]

Also never heard of a smell test for petroleum based oils vs synthetic. But it's been widely accepted that a simple taste test can quickly determine the difference. Even semi-synthetics will have a slight hint of toffee flavor while a full synthetic will actually have a much fuller toffee-like taste. Only takes a small (fingerprint sized) sample to make the determination. A quick rinse with an alcohol based drink will immediately dispel any aftertaste.

 

[bbest]

I'm not sure how to tell the difference, and I can't say definitively that synthetic is significantly better than conventional. But I can say that I am a petroleum engineer, and that the majority of the reasons I have seen about why synthetic is better in fact make perfect logical sense to me, without having investigated further.

How many oil changes do you do in a year? Four? Let's say four. If it costs as much as an extra $100 per oil change to use synthetic (which it should't!), that is $400/year, or $33 per month extra. Your bike cost you what, $15k? If you're making payments, you're probably paying multiple hundreds of dollars per month. Do you feel that $33 /month is worth it for the added peace-of-mind that you are taking the best possible care of your very expensive baby?

 

[West Coast Struttin]

SYN vs conventional : I took a big block chevy suburban i had in for a hesitation / acceleration problem i couldn't solve, a couple years back that had SYN oil in it from the beginning. 215,000 miles on it. They ran a compression test straight away and told me the rig was within factory specs for compression. WOW. I have used SYN oil ever since. My 2 cents

 

[16FLHXS]

SYN vs conventional : I took a big block chevy suburban i had in for a hesitation / acceleration problem i couldn't solve, a couple years back that had SYN oil in it from the beginning. 215,000 miles on it. They ran a compression test straight away and told me the rig was within factory specs for compression. WOW. I have used SYN oil ever since. My 2 cents

I had a 95 K1500 with a 5.7 that developed rod knock @ 200K, threw in some mobil one, rod knock went away, and the next day so did the truck lol