I spoke to an Engineer from Silkolene (in the UK) recently regarding oil options for use in my racing B.Bird, coincidentally they had done some dyno work recently on a B.Bird to compare their fully synthetic oils:-

15W-50 gave 127.9Bhp

5W-40 gave 131.6Bhp (very similar to the standard B.Bird oil - I think)

0W-20 gave 134.4Bhp

as it turns out I have been running the 15W-50 which is quite thick - needless to say changing the oil to 0W-20 and gaining 6.5Bhp looks very attractive to me! - but not if it hurts my engine......have any of you guys experimented with thin oils? or perhaps know what the racing boys use on your side of the pond?......the 0W-20 has only just been released on the market, as they have been developing it with the Kawasaki World Superbike Team......I got a price for 5 Litres.....a bargain at £80.....which I think is about 130 bucks.....the assholes must be laughing all the way to the bank.

There was a great right-up in the Oct. issue of Sport rider....

... My take on the topic was that Mobil 1 Synthetic is the best bang for the buck... if I remember right Silkolene wasn't even in the top ten when I did the numbers.

Mobil 1 Synthetic.... is what I now use.

:pointup:

I do feel,think,that 15/50 is just to thick for modern high rev inline 4,now that 0/20 might be suitable for race bikes with frequent engine rebuilds (bearings,rings),5/40 looks like happy solution.
Btw those power diff seems to be exaggerated.

Is the Mobil 1 synthetic you talk about a proper bike oil? - I have been told to be careful running "car oils" in bikes, cos the car oil has friction modifiers added......as the clutch in the B.Bird is a wet type - as with most bikes - it will lead to clutch slip......what grade is the mobil 1 stuff?.....I have been reliably informed by a "Doctor of oils" at work, that going from a 50 grade to a 20 grade will release around 8% power.....as the stuff is just so darn thin!.....

Oil is one of those topics that gets beat to death on this site, with good reason I might add, considering it's the most important maintenance item you do to your bike.

I think the most popular and generally considerd the best oil for our bikes is the Mobil 1 15/50 Syn. Oh, and Wal-mart has the best prices on that in case you were wondering.
The Mobil 1 even has a very small amount of Moly in it, and so far nobody has complained about slipping or burning a clutch. That's pretty good considering some poeple have been running it in their bikes for years.

Mobil 1 Syn, Wal-Mart....... Next!

http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forum/search.php

http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forum/search.php

I have been using Amsoil products for years in my bikes, cars, CNC machines in my shop. They are very good about posting independent test lab results----and if you come up with a test by some other manufacturer that claims something different (likely in our competative marketplace) then presented it to Amsoil tech people---they have been very good at answering my questions--to my satisfaction. Are they the very best? Hell, I don't know---but they have worked very well for me. Happy trails kel

Shell Rotella 5W40 synthetic--Walmart has it for $13/gal--works great
MikeG

ALRIGHT, SOMEONE GOTTA CHANGE THEIR GOD DAMN AVATAR!!!!!!!!!!!

yeh, that be me. sorry folks, www.imagestation didn't like my kids middle finger.... all fixed now

I don't use oil.

MikeG,

What is your mileage intervals on Shell Rotella 5W40 synthetic for changes?

And does WalMart still sell it? I haven't seen it at the WalMart near me for quite a while.

WD-40

I usually sneak out to local McDonalds and look by their trash bin. They have buckets of old french fry oil out there.