"At operating temp, none of it matters."

Yeah, but before you get to "operating temp", it REALLY matters what's in there...

Look at 20W50:

The viscosity grade of the oil is 50 at 212 degrees Fahrenheit; "normal" engine temperature.

20W - The viscosity grade of the oil is 20 at 100 degrees Fahrenheit; "cold"

The more you drop below 100F, the thicker the oil gets..by the time you hit 32 degrees, you've got molasses in there.

Put a quart of oil in your fridge, your freezer and another in the oven at 100 degrees; you'll see a big difference in viscosity.

 

Precisely ^^.

The synthetic molasses won't be as thick as Dino molasses and will therefore be lubricating your engine significantly sooner after startup. This applies to "Viscosity".

SAE weights are not a "Viscosity". Viscosity is measured in centistokes (cSt), not SAE weights, "W". SAE weights are assigned to a product by the SAE, simply for ease of interpretation by the automotive customer. Viscosity varies with temp, SEA weights don't. We are discussing oils of the same SAE weights here but which differ in viscosity as temperatures change.

 

Here we go, any thoughts on using ''motorkote'' for that start up moment when the metal isn't even protected?

 

Motorkote is good stuff. Never tried it in a bike though.
One thing about synthetics and dinos I haven't seen anyone mentioning here, capillary action of synthetics and dino oils. The synthetics tend to drain out of bearing surfaces faster, because of how slippery they are vs. dino oils that tend to stick on bearing surfaces. Makes me want to stick with dinos for that reason and the synthetics make me want to stay with them for the heat protection.
what to do, what to do..... this is another oil discussion altogether.

 

Ester based oils have a polar molecular structure. These will cling to metal better. The superior film strength of synthetics, including polyalphaolefins, (PAO's), are a beneficial consideration too. The sticky "wax" in Dino oils are seldom considered a positive, not at least, in what I've read.

 

the whole basis of the motorkote ''stick'', is the ability to use the oil as a catalyst and actually not mix with the sump oil,but hitch a ride , if you will, to the metal parts traditionally unprotected at start up. thus protecting the motor at all temps and conditions til the oil gets on the parts during normal operation.

 

I come from the days when oil did not protect from sludge build up no matter how often you changed it. Union 76 came out with purple troyton and chevron had Delo. these had a lot of detergent in them.Because of the EPA oil has come along to the point you can switch brands and mix match without a problem. If you take a modern engine apart at 100,000 miles even with few oil changes it will be clean. Fuel injection and no lead gas have also helped.

 

Been using Mobil One 15w 50 for years with great results. It has a great additive package that is better than most "motorcycle" oils. There's no need to pay extra for a "motorcycle" oil. I do like Mobil One products, so I use their oil. On the plus side, you can get Mobil One 15w 50 in a 5 qt. jug for about $25 at the local Walmart.

 

you have me sold on the 15w-50 however I just hit my local Napa, O'Reillys, Autozone & Advance Auto & nada!! They all have the VTwin for $11.99/qt. Went thru Walmart parking lot but its mobbed & under the circumstances I'll wait. Advance Auto has Castrol Power 1 20W-50 VTwin buy one get one 50% off that I was considering. I think it was Autozone that had the K&N oil filter the cheapest at $16.99. I'm bored & trying to get out of the house anyway 🤣😂
edit: oh yea been looking for an alternative to Polaris PS4 at $14/qt, 5w or 10w-50 options. Never gonna be that cold in Phoenix so probably a great option for my Predator 500 also

 

1. Mobile has a rebate going

2. DO NOT buy from NAPA...their rebate program is a total pain...they will delay, and delay, and delay...then deny they ever received it even though their system shows you otherwise..HUGE hassle to FORCE them to pay the rebate...I had to call Mobile and they put the heat on NAPA's rebate processor and I had my rebate 2 WEEKS later...total time was just short of 4 MONTHS!

3. Mobile 15W50 is an energy conserving oil...DO NOT use this with a wet clutch...it will be a disaster and possibly require clutch replacement. Only use this for bikes with separate wells for Engine, Trans, and clutch oils. I use Mobile 15W50 for the engine and transmission...not the clutch.

4. For the clutch, use a JASO certified motorcycle oil...JASO means it's made for motorcycles clutches and meets the high standard of Japanese Clutch designers.

For whatever reason, the list of "approved merchants" for the Mobile rebate never includes Walmart, but if you call Mobile, they say Walmart is an approved vendor.

2020 Mobil 1™/Mobil Super™ Rebate Program

All Mobile Rebates