I've never understood the compulsion to avoid proper motorcycle oils. I suppose alternatives might be a bit cheaper, but in the overall cost of owning a motorcycle, oil costs are a minor player.
The reason is simple. For 90% of what people do, they don't need extreme results or protection levels. And it's insane that a quart of auto or diesel truck oil costs so much less than motorcycle specific oil. Ditto for filters, with no real excuse other than fabricated profit margins on lower volume products that are produced in the same factories.
I love the full ester Motul stuff for how smooth the bike shifts, but have used plenty of non-moto oil over the years too. When you change the oil every 5k miles and that's $50 in oil and $15 for a filter, and you do that every week or two, sometimes less, it really adds up. I know some riders that often spend more money on oil/filter/fuel/tires than their mortgage each month.
Clean and slippery works fine for the average rider that's not racing or stressing the bike in extreme ways.
I was reading a scooter forum the other day and riders were talking about changing tires that were 5 years old because they were worried about tread drying out. The tires had less than 2500 miles on them. I once was berated for running a car tire on my bike by a guy that finished up his rant with "I change my tires every year whether they need it or not, it's a
safety issue!" I asked how many miles he road a year, on average. He proudly told me he usually rides 4k miles a year! When I explained that I had ridden 42k miles so far that year and it was only Sept, he just responded "Oh", and walked away.
Different needs for different riders. Oil is the same.
