Engine oil, brake fluid

Kidkawie wrote:

As long as the oil grade and weight are correct, you're best bet is to change it on a regular basis. Many times I've seen people buy the most expensive oils and just leave them in their machines way past the time they should have been serviced.

Amen. Bikes subject the oil to severe service similar to taxis, and they used to spec a service interval of 3 months/3000 miles (whichever came first). If you do a lot of city short trip riding, IMHO oil should be changed at an absolute maximum interval of six months regardless of mileage.

83kaw550 wrote:

15W40 Synthetic or Petro?

That's almost a philosophical question. IMHO, very good dino oil with a strong additive package like Rotella is perfectly fine for bikes as long as it is changed at a proper interval. In engines subject to sever service or very hot environments and lots of stop and go riding, I think the extra cost of true synthetic is justified.

RonKZ650 wrote:

Paint is not original. That bike only came in two tone pink or green/purple with flames.:laugh:
Well I think my memory may be fading on that model, but 100 percent certain that paint is not original. Oil is pretty forgiving. I don't particularly like the 5w40 Rotella as it shears to a 5w20 in a thousand miles. maybe that does no harm, but I don't like it. The 15w40 oil is cheaper and better.

That surprises me, I would be surpised it falls apart in only 1k miles. I have read that Rotella is diesel rated and has a very strong additive package, including the viscosity enhancers. I have seen other bikers running it and sending it out for analysis and it held up very well at long mileages like 5k - 6k. Bikes do rip up the oil pretty badly, a good argument for not running it long mileage.

These are all great replies and I appreciate the input and expertise. While I am very new to street bikes, I would have to agree that the interval of changing the oil is just as inportant if not more. I was talking to a rider today who goes by a 2000 mile rule on his own bike.

The Shell Rotella-T is what many of us run because it has all the important additives that these bikes require and Automotive oils do not have. It is quite inexpensive at Wall-Mart. As far as brake fluid, any DOT-4 would be good. It is synthetic so it will not eat up your paint if it gets on your body parts like DOT-3 would and it will not settle out water like DOT-5 would to corrode the master cylinder and calipers. As far as Fork Oil gos, I use synthetic Transmission fluid instead of actual fork oil. That is an old Harley trick.

I assure you, DOT 4 brake fluid does a fine job of ruining paint, synthetic or not.

-Dave

beefsquasher wrote:

I assure you, DOT 4 brake fluid does a fine job of ruining paint, synthetic or not.

-Dave

+1 Deffinately, I can attest. DOT 3, 4, 5.1 are glycol based and eat everything. DOT 5 is Silicon based, and should only be used in NON-ABS braking systems.

The DOT-5 is the one thats a different tech, and doesnt anhilate paint the way the others do.

Cheers.

otakar wrote:

The Shell Rotella-T is what many of us run because it has all the important additives that these bikes require and Automotive oils do not have. It is quite inexpensive at Wall-Mart. As far as brake fluid, any DOT-4 would be good. It is synthetic so it will not eat up your paint if it gets on your body parts like DOT-3 would and it will not settle out water like DOT-5 would to corrode the master cylinder and calipers. As far as Fork Oil gos, I use synthetic Transmission fluid instead of actual fork oil. That is an old Harley trick.

The good Shell Rotella-T (5w-40 blue 4liter bottle), can't be had at the walmart here, but I can still get it at Canadian Tire for cheap!

At our Wal-Mart they have all of them The regular the semi synthetic and the fully synthetic.

I don't like 5w anything. From what I've read on forums the wider the spread, like 5w40, means oil starts out 5w and all kinds of additives are added to make it behave like 40w at hot temps. All is probably ok, but it shears worse than 10w40. Last oil change I did I went back to 10w40. What I've read is automotive 10w40 isn't worth a dang in a motorcycle despite the fact 10w40 is not "energy conserving". 15w40 is great, but too thick in cold weather and I ride all winter unless it's a blizzard. So in 10w40 you can pay $9.95 a quart at a motorcycle shop. The other possible choice is Shell Rotella T5 10w40 which is a synthetic blend, but the only place I know you can get it is Tractor Supply. I elected to go that routt, but the nearest tractor supply is 280 miles away, so last Saturday afternoon I rode the 560 miles and picked up 6 gallons. I can tell the bike shifts much better now and runs smooth with way more power.:laugh: Well I'm happy to be back 10W40 in a good oil anyway.

good ol napa brand 10w40 is made by valvoline,good stuff if you dont want to run synthetic.
biggest thing is to keep it and filter changed no matter what you run.
watch out for Ron,hes a big fan of custom paint jobs !
he thinks everything should be painted with dupli color,i think hes a stock holder! :woohoo:

This is the only one i can get in this format, less I want to buy a drum of the other stuff :laugh:

I've used Amsoil 20w50 for a long time, and it has been an excellent, but expensive product. I went to a regular 20w50, and it was terrible. I've also tried many other oils, and multi-viscosity brands. The Rotella is now the winner for price/performance.

It has LOTS of super heavy duty hard starting additives for diesel engines. I know because a friend uses the stuff in his 17.5:1 compression truck. Everything in that engine has remained spotless and he revs the crap out of it, really kills it.