7500 Mile?

[BALDnBLK]

owners Manual Says 2nd Oil Change After Initial One Should Be When 7500 Miles Are Reached. Can That Possibly Be True Or Am I Reading This Thing Wrong??? < 2008 Ninja 650r>

[RichLockyer]

Change it no less often than every 3,000

[socalmarcus]

I don't think you're readng it wrong - Kawi has the same for the VN900.

I just did my 2nd change @ 2,000 (went to full syn). The color wasn't bad, could've gone further. I change my auto oil every 3K (dyno oil) and will probably do the same on the bike.

[BALDnBLK]

Originally Posted by socalmarcus

I don't think you're readng it wrong - Kawi has the same for the VN900.

I just did my 2nd change @ 2,000 (went to full syn). The color wasn't bad, could've gone further. I change my auto oil every 3K (dyno oil) and will probably do the same on the bike.

Synth vs. regular oil what's the diff and is it better?

[RichLockyer]

Synthetic:
Better cold-flow performance
Better resistance to coking at high temperatures (sludge formation)
Higher film strength to better protect when thinned by high temperatures (a 5w40 synthetic performs comparably to a 15w40 conventional)
Fewer viscosity improvers required so it holds it's viscosity better under shear stress (gearbox and clutch).

But even synthetics are not created equal... here's a comparison of one conventional, one blend, and several other full synthetics... note the viscosity at the end of the run. These samples were all taken from my Vulcan 1600:
http://personal.linkline.com/rlockyer/oil/oil.xls
Castrol GTX did as well as some of the synthetics!

[jay08]

yea i would stay with the old standard every 3000 or less.i also like to get a few done in the first couple thousand miles to wash it all out. and the first couple i try to let them sit in a clean area with a catch can underneath and let em drip over night. The only time i dont use a new filter is if i get a wild hair and decide to do it at 500 miles or so. Also check all you grease fittings. Rear swing arm lower rear shock mount. on most of these sport bikes theres a dust cap on the swing arm pivot if it's not pushed out you have no grease in there. Only diff with syn i see so far is the engine makes alot more noise than with conv oil

[socalmarcus]

Just rode it a bit after work today to see if there's any improvement. I've heard of quieter shifting, quieter engine - but nothing that I can tell so far. I've never used synthetic in anything before.

Otherwise, yeah, what he said:

Originally Posted by RichLockyer

Synthetic:
Better cold-flow performance
Better resistance to coking at high temperatures (sludge formation)
Higher film strength to better protect when thinned by high temperatures (a 5w40 synthetic performs comparably to a 15w40 conventional)
Fewer viscosity improvers required so it holds it's viscosity better under shear stress (gearbox and clutch).

But even synthetics are not created equal... here's a comparison of one conventional, one blend, and several other full synthetics... note the viscosity at the end of the run. These samples were all taken from my Vulcan 1600:
http://personal.linkline.com/rlockyer/oil/oil.xls
Castrol GTX did as well as some of the synthetics!

Seriously, I've always used Castrol GTX and will evaluate for my own opinion, for myself.

[RichLockyer]

I keep hearing wonder stories about it, and I haven't really seen it either.
Oil is oil. Synthetic is just BETTER oil. If the engine runs quieter or noisier, it's because of a change in weight and possibly quantity.
Shifting WILL be smoother with fresh oil, and it degrades so slowly that it's hard to feel until you finally realize that you've missed 3 shifts "this week".
But it'll be smoother with fresh dino too.

[Bignastie]

Rich are you using castrol motorcycle oil or automobile oil? and if you know the exact name of it that would be great also. i work part time for autozone and want to see if we can get it.

your guys auto parts store is moving this way, O' rielys.

[Bignastie]

OK never mind i read back a little ways and read Castrol GTX, which is automotive oil. i might try it next oil change to see if i have any improvements with my third gear slippage.

[socalmarcus]

Originally Posted by RichLockyer

I keep hearing wonder stories about it, and I haven't really seen it either.
...
Shifting WILL be smoother with fresh oil, and it degrades so slowly that it's hard to feel until you finally realize that you've missed 3 shifts "this week".
But it'll be smoother with fresh dino too.

I suppose I'm not experiencing any shifting improvement due to changing the Castrol GTX after less than 1400 miles, it still 'looked' OK too.

I forgot to say thanks for your personal oil study. Seems the big numbers in your report are the viscosity changes.

[RichLockyer]

Originally Posted by Bignastie

Rich are you using castrol motorcycle oil or automobile oil? and if you know the exact name of it that would be great also. i work part time for autozone and want to see if we can get it.

your guys auto parts store is moving this way, O' rielys.

No O'Riely's out here (yet)... We've got Napa, Pep Boys, Kragen, and Autozone.

We used to have Trak Auto (owned by the Dart group, also owned Dart Drug), but they were bought out by Kragen. Autozone bought out Chief Auto.
Kragen is known in other states as Checker, Murray's, or Schuck's, the parent company is CSK Auto.

The reason I said "No O'Riely's yet" is because in July it was finalized and they bought CSK Auto.
Dunno if they are planning on abandoning the Kragen name out here.