While I have no performance history on this bike (SM450R)
I have had good luck with Motul 5100 pure-synthetic oil. I had a 14:1 Yamaha hillclimber bike that would eat connecting rods about every 50 hours or so, and that oil helped me get more like 100 hours out of those engines, it would begin to knock before totally breaking or venting the cases. But that is for my race bike. In normal vehicles, Mobil 1 0w-50 from walmart or a distributor is the key, and plenty of changing always helps.
I just got my bike, and it was the first thing I did even though they supposedly changed the oil before I picked it up. (was a demo bike)
I have to say cost is not an issue when you need such a small amount. I am a big fan of Mobil 1 for large quantity sump engines, such as cars, especially porsche 911's and tractors, and others that require 800 gallons of oil.
As for break-in or seating, I have seen drag racers and hill climbers run engines without oil in order to loosen them up for a race, when the motor was built too tight in the first place. That is full-blown lunacy in my book, but have seen it done in person. I have never seen an engine, that burned oil, because the rings just never seated. Think about what sort of of bad-ass rings those would have to be to resist wear for any serious length of time. It has taken longer for some of my engines to seat than others, but they all eventually seat, then run good, then wear out, and they all do those 3 steps, just at different times. Many people have "felt" an oil change, whether it is real or in your head, the engine seems to run better after an oil change. Oil molecules break just like molecules in eggs or anything else, it begins doing this "oil breakdown" immediately when the engine is running. If you change your oil, you WILL get something from it. It may not be noticeable, but it helps to change your oil as often as you can afford to do so, with time and money. If you own an oil refinery, and have the time, change it every time you ride, if you ride 5 times a season, change it because of age reasons once a season. If you are just a nutcase, like me, that polishes your bike with a diaper nonstop, change it when your heart and mind tell you to change it, if it makes you feel better, you also might be surprised how much cheaper oil is in big barrels. Since I own a tractor dealership, that is how I buy it.
Some people think natural oils float and surround small particles in oil better then synthetic oil. This is why it is popular to break-in vehicles with natural oil, then switch to synthetic. Others think the combination synthetci-natural oils, or semi-synthetic, is the best of both worlds, the protection given with the better-surrounding and particle-floating capabilities of the natural oil and the better lubrication of the synthetic. In my opinion, the best thing is synthetic oil, and change it often. Oil protection from the metal particles ground away by the break-in process is only a favorable side-effect, the real critical element is getting the particles out of the crankcase, buy changing the oil. If you use synthetic all the time, even in break-in, break the bike in "hard", and change the oil often, you will get the most out of your engine, even if you are not racing the bike.
