Synthetic then 20W-50? Dealership Blues...

[flyeboy]

SO, after 7 weeks to replace a swingarm and a brake light I get my bike back today from Dale's Harley in Mt. Vernon IL, a 1.5hr drive away. When I dropped it off, I had informed the mech. that I had moved to synthetic oil last change. I was informed there would be a charge for the oil once swingarm was reinstalled; sobeit. I get my bike home, start it up, check codes, etc. etc. Shut it off and the fan ran much longer than it used to. Called to verify they indeed replaced the synthetic, and of course they did not-they put in the 20W-50. Stated it wouldnt hurt, to going back to the 50 as long as I dont flip flop back and forth too often. What gives fellas? Should I bust out the bucks and go back to the pricey synthetic or run this oil its life cycle? I see too that they did not replace the oil filter.

 

[strmvt]

Change it back and change the filter man

 

[kyle_dewald]

change it back man, like right now.

 

[Midnight82]

I'd probably leave a flaming bag of dog crap on their service counter.

 

[flyeboy]

hahaha, thats what I figured I would do, change it back. That service dept has some serious issues, and I didn't trust what he said. They SUK Thanks for the advice.

 

[Buellysses]

I guess I would like some more explanation from Kyle and Strmvt as to their logic to change it back right away. (not trying to call you guys out, I'm just curious)

The conventional oil is in there already, it meets the specs of the bike, and modern synthetics and conventional oils are 100% compatible (check the bottom of the page).

I completely agree to change it back after the conventional oil has exceeded its useful life, but dumping it out right away just so you can have synthetic in there just seems like a waste of money to me.

And no, I'm not trying to argue the value of a synthetic, I run Amsoil and wouldn't (intentionally) go back. So let us not go down that road.

Also, I am 100% in agreement with the flaming poo idea. And if they charged you for synthetic, they better damn well be shipping you a couple quarts or some $$$ to cover the difference.

 

[strmvt]

Simple. they didnt change the filter according to Flyeboy. It`s always been either dino oil or synthetics. Not a mixture. With them not changing the filter that means approx 4-5oz of synthetic was still in the filter when they changed the oil to dino oil hence a mixture. If they changed the filter I`d say stay with the dino oil for the cycle. Now I am not a professional and I am on my cell ph so cant see the link you posted which I am assuming is a study on dino and synthetics. Just sayin if it was my bike I`d be pissed and make it known to the service mgr and change it myself back to Synthetic. My .02


edit just seen the sentence before the link and comprehended it. Still I would change it back IMO

 

[Thorivola]

the wear characteristics of the two oils are nearly identical, as long as you don't let the non-synthetic oil sit for a couple years (and yes it does take that long for it to really break down enough to matter) you're fine

leave it in there as long as you'll actually ride the motorcycle this season, change it at 3k miles or so

the synthetic and standard oil blend together perfectly fine, there will be no harmful or any side effects at all, and anyone who tells you otherwise is blowing smoke up your ass

I've seen wear analyses where there was over 10k miles on normal oil and 10k miles on synthetic, just topped the bike off as it slowly burned oil throughout the process, no filter change or anything, and the oil characteristics and actually composition and structure of BOTH oils was still well beyond satisfactory; and in fact both oils barely showed any breakdown

I personally only changed my oil THREE times last year over nearly 15k miles, once at about 1k miles right after I bought the bike; about 6700 miles later, and once more about 5k miles after that; and my engine recieved no additional wear due to it.

Yes, I did take it apart and check EVERY surface. My crank-pin failed due to the bearings between it and connecting rod wearing out, something which is VERY common to see before 25k miles on Buell XB bikes that spin over 5k RPMs for a while or often. Unless you keep your revs below 4500 rpms the bike's entire life, expect to replace the flywheel before 50k miles for certain

 

[Balrog]

I agree with leaving it. Run it to your next scheduled oil change. I work in automotive and have seen engine failure due to lack of lubricant, but never due to syn/dino, castrol/QS, my dads oil/your dads oil....

 

[flyeboy]

Yeah, it was the old oil fiter that got me to worrying. Had they changed that, I would just roll on till the oil is due changing. I swear, when I dropped it off originally, I should have known; The service guy was struggling just to check my bike in. In fact I made the comment to my friend that it looked like someone gave thier brother in law a job so thier sister wouldn't starve to death. Today I was told on the phone that my phone number was out of order......they had the wrong number written down. Not sure who's that was. TOOLS

 

[Thorivola]

you can swap the filter and only loose a little bit of oil because of how the system works, just pick up a few quarts and a pair of filters and top off after swapping just the filter if you feel the need to change it out

save you a few bucks and all the same after a few thousands miles and the next change is due in, but as long as you didn't have high mileage on the filter previously and your bike isn't in break-in (less than 500 miles) I wouldn't worry about the filter being too dirty

 

[flyeboy]

After weighing all the factors I will just change it out. Mainly because the bike seemed to run cooler on synthetic and the fan ran less. Secondly, the oil drain plug had metal shavings on it from where the oil line went into the swingarm getting stripped. Of course there is no way of telling if any shavings got past the magnetic bolt and ended up in the filter. I dunno. Having my bike for 7 weeks you would think they could have done a bit better.

 

[kalifornia]

that I had moved to synthetic oil last change

as fascinating as filters are, I was hoping to hear how the swingarm threads got stripped?

 

[flyeboy]

In part a Buell identified problem although not a recall, and my tightening to ride it didnt help.

 

[Balrog]

Secondly, the oil drain plug had metal shavings on it from where the oil line went into the swingarm getting stripped.

Isn't the swingarm aluminum? That sounds scary, man.

 

[flyeboy]

It was actually not the oil drain plug (my bad), but the bolt on the oil return line had shavings on it. Of course that could have been aluminum shavings from the worn/stripped threads stuck to the oily bolt. At any rate, my desire to stop a seeping o-ring (my original thought) under warrenty turned into a major overhaul. Alas, it's in the garage, synthetic oil replaced, new filter and no seeps. Life this evening, gentlemen, is good.

 

[kalifornia]

cool