Ninja 250: worth switch to synthetic oil?

[anka]

I searched and searched, and if this thread already exists, I'll appreciate the redirect, and excuse my stupidity!

So: I was wondering whether it's worth switching the oil in my bike to synthetic. Currently, I am putting on about 800-1000 km a week, and the bike itself is at 12,000 km. After speaking to people and researching, opinions are split b/w:

"Yes, bc you won't need to change the oil as often, but it won't make a performance difference",

"Yes, bc you won't need to change the oil as often, AND it WILL make a performance difference",

"No. What's wrong with you?" (I call this one the "Tim Horton's" response)


What do you all think?

-A.

[Scuba Steve]

If you plan to keep the bike I would switch, less buid up of gunk etc. I pesonally run synthetic in all my vehicles, I feel it is a small price difference for extra longevity.

[Gryphon]

+1 What Steve said!
There are some viscosity advantages on very cold mornings etc.
And superior performance overall.
They do warn you, however, once you switch to synthetic you should never go back to petrol-oil again.
L8R

[NP6000]

The most important part for the 250R - regardless of synthetic or not - is to keep the proper oil level at all times !

Not be able to switch back and forth between conventional, semi and full syn is a myth. You can use any type of oil that is meets the requirements stated by the manufacturer and the oil meets the expected ambient temperature range.

The 250R will consume a bit of oil during extended high rpm use - like 120 km/hr on the highway for example.

I ran synthetic in mine because the price was good (free!) and because I spend 95% of my time north of 8000 rpm. Smoother shifting and longer drain intervals were a side benefit.

[Skurj]

longer intervals between changes is probably the most noticeable benefit of going to synthetic, my bike goes 10,000kms between changes (as recommended by manufacturer) and the car I take to 10k as well, though the manufacturer says 8k with dino, I go 10k with synth.
Dad always swears by it as well, as he definitely found an improvement in mileage when running full synth.

[Brian P]

YES you should use synthetic oil.

Best bang for the buck that I know of is Shell Rotella T6 (which you can get at Pannon, if you can't find it at Canadian Tire or Walmart - some of them carry that oil). It should be about $30 for a 4 litre jug. This oil meets JASO MA, which means it is suitable for the wet clutch in your bike, and it's a lot less expensive than the so-called bike-specific oils.

I wouldn't go the full recommended distance between oil changes, though. If you are doing a lot of highway, maybe change it every 4000 km and do the oil filter every second oil change. Shorter trips, every 3000-ish.

[anka]

Thanks for all the explanation. You guys are great! I am making the switch tomorrow, and doing it myself. Should be fun!

[anka]

So far, worth it! I did the switch myself today (supervised by an expert, of couse), and changed the spark plugs. It's shifting far smoother than before, even smoother than right after a conventional oil change. Thanks, guys!

[frekeyguy]

So far, worth it! I did the switch myself today (supervised by an expert, of couse), and changed the spark plugs. It's shifting far smoother than before, even smoother than right after a conventional oil change. Thanks, guys!

enjoy!

[Lonelyrider]

synthetic oil is better than mineral oil, period. If you don't mind paying some extra $$ on oil, I would say you switch to synthetic.

[ts87]

hmm i will switch as well

[fsilva_mcl]

So far, worth it! I did the switch myself today (supervised by an expert, of couse), and changed the spark plugs. It's shifting far smoother than before, even smoother than right after a conventional oil change. Thanks, guys!

When I put synthetic into my 250r I definitely noticed an immediate difference in the smoothness and ease of shifting.