What is SS/FS?

Unfortunately, there is a LOT more to that amazingly complex coctail than uniform molecular structure, thermal behaviour, etc. What you are saying is barely related to the basestock...

SS - Semi Synthetic

FS - Fully Synthetic

So, what more? Whatever it is, my point is that no mineral oil will stay good for 6k kms as u say. Only Semi synthetics and Fully Synthetics are capable of acheiving that task.

I agree on this..!!

This i got from another site:

"Not all oils that call themselves "synthetic" are the same.

There are many oils out there that call themselves synthetic, but not all are created equal, and that's important to know. You do get what you pay for. Group III synthetic oils only use about 12% synthetic base stocks. The rest is hyrdocracked petroleum base stocks. For major oil companies who have their money in crude oil refining, the word "synthetic" is merely a marketing term. It does not mean 100%, but just that a percentage of synthetic base stock goes into their product.

The oils that are commonly mentioned are Group II and Group III synthetics with the exception of Royal Purple, which is a Group V. AMSOIL is a Group IV synthetic (PAO) but also uses Group V Ester technology. It gives you the best of Group IV and Group V synthetics. Mobil 1 is a Group III synthetic. AMSOIL is a Group IV synthetic.

In the late 1990s, Castrol started selling an oil made from Group III base oil and called it SynTec Full Synthetic. Mobil sued Castrol, asserting that this oil was not synthetic, but simply a highly refined petroleum oil, and therefore it was false advertising to call it synthetic. In 1999, Mobil lost their lawsuit. It was decided that the word "synthetic" was a marketing term and referred to properties, not to production methods or ingredients. Castrol continues to make SynTec out of Group III base oils, that is highly purified mineral oil with most all of the cockroach bits removed.

Shortly after Mobil lost their lawsuit, most oil companies started reformulating their synthetic oils to use Group III base stocks instead of PAOs or diester stocks as their primary component. Most of the "synthetic oil" you can buy today is actually mostly made of this highly-distilled and purified dino-juice called Group III oil. Group III base oils cost about half as much as the synthetics. By using a blend of mostly Group III oils and a smaller amount of "true" synthetics, the oil companies can produce a product that has some of the same properties as the "true" synthetics, and nearly the same cost as the Group III oil. AMSOIL differs from Group III oils. As a Group IV oil, it uses 100% pure synthetic base stocks. This is why you can run it for longer intervals.

Synthetic oils were originally designed for the purpose of having a very pure base oil with excellent properties. By starting from scratch and building up your oil molecules from little pieces, you can pretty much guarantee that every molecule in the oil is just like every other molecule, and therefore the properties are exactly what you designed in, not compromised by impurities. Synthetics were thus originally a reaction to the relatively poor refining processes available from about 1930 to about 1990. The original synthetics were designed for the Army Air Force in WW II. They simply could not make their high- performance turbo-charged radial engines stay alive on the available motor oils of the time.

One process for making synthetic base oils is to start with a chemical called an olefin, and make new molecules by attaching them to each other in long chains, hence "poly." The primary advantage of Poly-Alpha-Olefin "PAO" base oil is that all the molecules in the base oil are pretty much identical, so it's easy to get the base oil to behave exactly as you like. PAOs are called Group IV base oils.

These PAO base oils have an enormous advantage over mineral base oils in low temperature performance and in resistance to oxidation, which is critical in keeping the oil from forming acids.

Another type of base oil is made from refined and processed esters and is called Group V. Esters start life as fatty acids in plants and animals, which are then chemically combined into esters, diesters, and polyesters. Group V base stocks are the most expensive of all to produce. However, the esters are polar molecules and have very significant solvent properties - an ester base oil all by itself will do a very decent job of keeping your engine clean. So, people who are serious about making a superior oil will usually mix some Group V oils into their base stock.

Oils that are strictly Group V ester oils tend to be better suited for high RPM, hot running, air cooled engines. 100% ester based oils are usually more expensive than Group IV oils, and don't have the longevity of PAO (Group IV) or PAO/Ester mixes oils. Group V oils perform very well in the shorter term. They perform very well in race engines and in applications where drain intervals are factory spec or shorter, whereas Group IV oils are better suited for the long haul of extended intervals.

Whatever oil you choose, know what you are buying. Just because the jug says "synthetic" doesn't mean it is made from 100% pure synthetic base stocks."

Motul 300V has Double ester written allover it.So i persume its the best in buisness ie Group V OIL.What about castrol power 1 racing is it Group 3 oilor is it group 4.

^^^You have found something very important. I have mentioned and hinted at these things many times, but I doubt if anybody really paid attention. Well, thats not my problem... some people are just waiting to be taken for a ride.

CPR1 is very likely not a true synthetic. Remember, if it was, you can be absolutely sure Castrol's marketing dept. would be screaming from the rooftops about it. Also remember that it was Castrol who 1st started labelling these pseudo-synthetics as fully synthetic products and selling them for top dollar. And thousands have bought this gag... and Castrol made (and is making) a killing. Other companies followed suit, as they have to compete...

Also note that Castrol gives bare minimal info about its products. Forget about disclosing the basestock, have and still are marketing oils that don't even have the viscosity mentioned!!

That gimmick from Castrol was known.

Well, since you have got the full text, please paste it in Engine Oils thread and just give a link here. Also, please mention the source of the text when you paste it in Engine Oils thread.

well sorry for the late reply, but i thought better late than never.

I too encountered a similar noise problem right from my first refill up to my first service. Tightened every bloody fairing bolt, engine cowl bolt, whatever nut or bolt was visible but still couldn't resolve the noise.

Then the service centre guys 'removed' the fairing and checked, the noise still persisted. So obviously the root cause laid elsewhere. The finally pin pointed the problem to the wiring harness clip below the fuel tank which hold the wiring in place. That clip was rubbing and vibrating against the tank and creating an irritating noise.

Just FYI. Just try pushing the tank (metal) from the right side bottom. see if the noise disappears & ascertain whether ur noise is also due to a similar reason

Could any one suggest whats the problem with Rear Brake light of the Karizma..? I own a ZMA which is two months old and i have changed the rear Brake light BULBThrice already.....!! every once in 15 days the bulb fuses..!! Whats the problem with it..? And pls let me know the permanent solution for this..im fed up changing the rear brake light Bulbs..!!

This one bulb fusing thingy is quite common in Zma's. Not to worry. The exact reason why this happens is quite unknown.

In the span of 3.5 yrs never encountered this problem..!!

I didnt see anyone posting abt it..!!

If you are on Orkut, u can check this out.

Orkut's Karizma Community

orkut -

just back from the SC..changed the engine oil and asked the mechanic to diagonose the error..and when i come home, i see this wow man, i too had the same issue..the clip rubbing against the tank however, those ppl were able to rectify it without opening the fairing must say a good job done!
That irritating noise is all gone! Took around half hour for all this..
^^Anyhow, thanks for the inputs mate!

The bike is just awesome..done around 410kms in 5 days! will get service done approx ~ 700kms next week..

I feel its giving me a decent mileage around ~40, will get the exact figures ones i refill again!
I too have'nt seen too many of those here, or for that matter anywhere!

Neither did i touchwood!
Waise its a diff thing that its 5 days old and done ~400kms

9000kms and still the rear bulbs are fine. But i have seen few karizmas with one tail lamp bulb fused/not working, never happened to my bike though. Fingers crossed.

If all these people are lying , then yeah it is not a common problem!

orkut -

orkut -

orkut -

Kindly check the links and then comment.

EDIT : In addition to these i have seen numerous Zma s with their one tail lamp bulb on. Some of my friends face the same issue too.

U may want to upjet ur carb. Bike is running lean.