Synthetic Oil in Honda 200ES engine

[wilman]

Is it ok to use Amsoil Synthetic 4 stroke oil in my 1984 Honda Big Red? Local farm store used to have regular 4 Stroke motorcycle 10-40 engine oil but now only has the Amsoil. Guess I am old school and a little worried about replacing regular oil with synthetic when it never has had synthetic used in it and it is 31 years old already and was built before synthetic oil was common.

Thanks

[86125m]

I personally would not put synthetic in my bikes. But a lot of people on the forums do. Just remember once you go to synthetic oil you can never go back to conventional oil. why not try to go some where else for oil. walmart sells an atv oil that I am going to try in my 200x motor once it is built.

[BOB MARLIN]

I've had problems with synthetic in the older, high mileage engines.

[Big G]

I've been using conventional oil in my '83 200 since I bought the trike 20 years ago, and have never had any drive train issues whatsoever. Doesn't burn any oil, starts first pull, has lots of compression...30 + year old engine and still running incredibly strong. Synthetic oil on these machines is overkill. Just my 2 cents.

[keister]

Synthetic might actually be "too slippery" and interfere with the function of your auto clutch. No firsthand experience, but that's what I have heard. I would strongly recommend sticking with conventional oil. 'If it aint broke, don't fix it' applies here.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[tri again]

These oil threads can go on for weeks.
I'd go with whatever the manual says.
Mine says 10-40 and no mention of wet clutch specific, which concerns me.
or maybe it wasn't invented yet in the 80's?

[wonderboy]

Just read the bottle. If it is the correct viscosity and says anything about "wet clutch compatible" then go for it if you want. I agree, it may be overkill but it's your money! Spend it how you like. I think there is a lot of misconception about synthetic oils these days. Old motors, switching back and forth, etc... it's oil. If it meets the viscosity requirements and doesn't have any funny friction modifiers, use it.

Some food for thought to make your own opinion:

Read #6 and #7 here:
http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/top-7-urban-legends-about-motor-oil.html

or here:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/switch-to-synthetic-oil1.htm

[BOB MARLIN]

Wonderboy, that second link you posted up is the exact problem I had when I put synthetic in one of my 350x engines. It was an engine that was nearly 30 years old and never rebuilt but ran like a top and burned NO oil. After I put the synthetic in I started going through oil like crazy so I switched back to conventional oil but it just kept burning oil. So even though the engine was in good mechanical shape, I had to do a rebuild. I don't think the synthetic caused the problem, It just found a problem. To me it was kinda a dark cloud with a silver lining. It exposed a problem that probably would have been fine for another 10 years, but created a good excuse to rebuild an engine.

[wonderboy]

Yea, I can see how that could happen. It is a bit of a double edged sword: it was working fine on conventional oil, but did the synthetic do you a favor or not? It probably could have continued running just fine on conventional, but once the synthetic exposed the leak it was probably best to have fixed it. It may have saved you from a breakdown... It's a tough call and isn't a straightforward decision.

On my brand new 350x motor, I plan on breaking it in with a good quality conventional oil (this stuff: https://valvoline.com/products/consumer-products/motor-oil/motorcycle-atv-oil/15) but then after some hours (breakin period) switching to a synthetic meant for ATV/motorcycle wet clutches (this stuff: https://valvoline.com/products/consumer-products/motor-oil/motorcycle-atv-oil/129).

[dgm635csi]

My hopped up 88cc ct70 was broken in on torco 10w40 non-synthetic oil for 3 oil changes. I've got an oil temp. gauge on the motor, and oil temps would regularly reach 110 degrees centigrade (230 F) on a warm 80 degree day on a ride into town. The upgraded clutch would also slip more than I would have liked once the oil was hot. After break in I switched to my standard oil, Amsoil 10w40 motorcycle oil. My engine temps dropped nearly 10 degrees centigrade (18 degreesF) to about 100 degrees on the same ride at the same ambient temp. The clutch engagement is also much better once the oil gets hot. I have noticed similar results on other motorcycles I own that were switched from dino oil to synthetic. My original high hour 1985 xr600r lives on the same synthetic oil now with no leakage or consumption issues. Synthetic oils don't thicken as much when they are cold, so they pump easier providing oil faster on cold starts. They also don't thin out nearly as much when they get hot providing better protection at higher temps. I have also noticed that synthetic oils will make any seepage or leaks that are already there much more noticeable.

[Berger83]

My dad and I own a small shop and for breaking in engines we use conventional oil because we have had problems with rings seating when breaking motors in on synthetic. After the first oil change we switch everything to synthetic and never had a problem after that.

[knappyfeet]

I'd be more worried about clutch issues. If you have an older clutch and put I synthetic..........you might slip more. It happened with me and my DR650. Even with the additional clutch plate I seriously noticed more slippage. Hardly any with the cheap Walmart oil.