I decided to change my oil to synthetic today and after reading the million threads on which is best, blah..blah..blah.. I decided to try Mobil-1 V Twin 20w-50. Well, it has made a believer out of me. My bike has always ran dino. I cant believe how much quieter and smoother the engine is with the Mobil-1. The top-end ticking is almost dead silent now. I decided to go with Mobil-1 because it is easy to find and, relatively cheap as far as synthetics go. Anyway, if you are on the fence about making the switch from dino to synthetic, I highly recommend Mobil-1 V Twin.
On a side note, I changed my transmission fluid yesterday to Redline with Shock-proof. The jury is still out on it but, so far, I see no benefit to using it. In fact, Mine is harder to get into neutral and clunks more when changing gears. I know. It is the opposite of what you read but, whatever was in mine before (I have no idea) was quieter and easier to get into neutral. I'll probably go with something else next time. Probably Mobil-1 75w-140? I dont know. Ive got to decide on a primary fluid too.

 

I use it too and will never change. Wal Mart carries it and I have not found a better price, less than 10 bucks a quart

 

Been running it awhile now Do like it.
The ol girl did spring a base gasket leak not long after I change to it.
But redid that during a blown head gasket fix

WP

 

I would seriously doubt that the change to Mobil-1 had anything to do with the base gaskets starting to leak.

 

I picked up a 5.0 mustang that was 15 years old but only had 49 K on it. Changed the oil an used mobil 1 an it found every leak it had. went back to reg 10w40 an cut oil loss in half.

it's fine to change...go back an forth an so on but if you have any minor leaks they may get worse with syn....that's my experience anyway. I use amsoil in my v rod an conv in the Fatboy.

 

Did on mine too.

 

Well It's happened in that order to more than a few.

Syn will get through where dino won't

WP

 

The synthetic seems to wash out the gunk left by the dino stuff causing it to leak on original HD motors. Something about the molecules being all the same size versus random. If they've been rebuilt with newer gaskets it seems better.

Does the same thing in cars too.


Griz

 

Does it only happen to base gaskets ? The Mobil engineers say switching from Dino to synthetic will not cause leaks but they are trying to sell oil too. I'll keep an eye on mine . My gaskets are about 9 years old. Base gaskets don't look very hard to replace. If mine start leaking, I'll replace them but I plan on sticking with the Mobil -1. I think the benefits put way the risks.

 

I've had similar experiences with Mobil-1 in my sportster. It ran cooler and quieter, but any weaknesses in the gaskets are quickly exposed. I soon had base rocker box leaks. After replacing all the top end gaskets, problem went away.