Engine oil turns black 50 miles after oil change

jetting should really be checked...6500+ alt the air is thinner while sea level is more dense. i would have to bet that you are lean now and need to rejet the carbs.

At high altitude he would be rich not lean. The thinner the air the smaller the jet, the denser the air the larger the jet. Also the higher the altitude the less Hp the engine puts out.

TeK9iNe wrote:

It could be a few different problems, but if the bike runs fine, and compression numbers are good, changing the oil frequently is your best defencive weapon.

Keep up the good work.

+1 The best motor flush on earth is clean oil. It's loaded with detergents and solvents. I used to buy the super cheap oils Kragens put on sale for .99/quart after rebates to get good flushing oil. You can get Formula Shell, Chevron Supreme Oil, castroil, and some other medium brand names for under a buck on their sale loss leaders. At that price, it only costs $4/change to flush and dump every 500 - 1000 miles. You wouldn't believe how clean that keeps the engine if you keep changing in fresh oil.

BSKZ650 wrote:

I run rotella in mine, and it does seem to come out darker when the oil is changed, prob due to the make up of the oil.
I am considering going to a bike specific synthetic but as of yet I have not done it.

I'm not thoroughly convinced motorcycle specific oil is worth the money. Motorcycle specific anything usually means it costs 300% more than it's worth....:laugh: I am a believer in syn oil for high stress engines like bikes, but car oil has always worked OK in my engine. Some have said they had slipping clutches with some car oils, I never had that problem

I like the 15w-45 viscosity of Rotella. I buy the 4 qt. jugs for about $9. I thought of using even cheaper car oils but I thought smaller motorcycle engines had different additive package requirements-something about different Ash or Zinc requirements than car engines? Is that true? Synthetics seem like a good idea for max protection but my credo has usually been oil is oil and fresh cheap plentiful oil changed frequently is better than spending more on fancy oils the bike wasn't designed for back when SE grade oils were the standard. Also, using synthetics in the past on my car from the early 80's seemed to create or allow more oil leaks to develop..Has using synthetics ever created oil leaks to develop for anyone else? The leaks appeared to go away when I switched back to conventional. Thoughts?

Also has anyone ever tried the classic old-time SF 10w-40 oils at walmart for their KZ? They only cost about a buck a quart and was wondering if they had the right additives to run in a bike. If a bike calls for SF oil and a car calls for SF, does that mean the same oil is interchangeable for both? Does the class of oil refer to its protection level, chemistry or both?

I have been running Wall-Mart oils for years in my 76 900. I have put about 10k mikes on the bike each year, for 4 years running and changed the oil only once a year. never had a problem. i have also run the Wall-Mart Synthetic with no problems in the bike. Wall-Mart oil is Quaker State.

the rating on the back of the oil jug is determined by the american petrolium institute or a.p.i the ratings are determined by the additive package that is added to the oils. if you go to the amsoil site they have an excellent breakdown of all the ratings and what they stand for.

ok, thanks.

onanysunday wrote:

I like the 15w-45 viscosity of Rotella. I buy the 4 qt. jugs for about $9. I thought of using even cheaper car oils but I thought smaller motorcycle engines had different additive package requirements-something about different Ash or Zinc requirements than car engines? Is that true?

The problem is most name brand oils are eliminating zinc and phos additives and any flat tappet engine really needs them. I add a some ZDDPlus to mine to be safe.

bountyhunter wrote:

onanysunday wrote:

I like the 15w-45 viscosity of Rotella. I buy the 4 qt. jugs for about $9. I thought of using even cheaper car oils but I thought smaller motorcycle engines had different additive package requirements-something about different Ash or Zinc requirements than car engines? Is that true?

The problem is most name brand oils are eliminating zinc and phos additives and any flat tappet engine really needs them. I add a some ZDDPlus to mine to be safe.

This is correct, Zinc and Sulfur, which are necessary for our engines are bring removed. The problem with ZDDPluss is that it more than doubles the price of the oil. For $8+ a bottle which treats 5qts. it is outrageous. I use Red Line Additive which costs $12 and treats 16+ Quarts. If you use Rotella-T you do not have to worry about it at all. Rotella has the Zinc and Sulfur and I pay about $8 at Wall-mart for it. I bought ZDDPluss once and it was a ripoff. If you want to use an additive use the Red-Line.

I've been running Rotella for 20 years in trucks and been getting the oil analysis from Blackstone for the last several years. Just for info, the zinc level has not dropped in the new CJ-4/SM formulation compared to the older SL. Actually my zinc level with was 1251PPM average with SL Rotella and 1319PPM with SM. Even in an email to Shell with my worries about reading the horror storys (cams rounding off in 100 miles), they said zinc levels are still higher in the oil and "use it without worry". So that's my opinion due to my own research. As to phosphorus, average level with SL was 1242PPM, SM 1244PPM so virtually identical there. A lot of goofy info being distributed about the new oil. Oil is the best it's ever been, using a SF rated oil is just like using 15yr old tires vs modern rubber. No need to second guess the oil additives and add your own.