6000 miles between oil changes??

That’s what the owners manual for my 1990 zr550 recommends. I’ve been changing oil every 3K miles, but now I’m wondering if that’s overkill. Then again, I do thrash the poor thing pretty regularly...

Probably overkill if you are using a high quality filter. Modern oils are much better than oils of old, especially if you are using a synthetic.

TexasKZ wrote: Probably overkill if you are using a high quality filter. Modern oils are much better than oils of old, especially if you are using a synthetic.

Yeah, that's what I'm gathering from googling. I think the older z's recommended more frequent changes, but maybe those would be fine with longer intervals as well given improvements in oil technology.

My bike is also burning quite a bit of oil at this point, 1/2 liter per 1000 miles, so I'm adding fresh oil to the mix pretty often. I could probably go even longer than the recommended interval, but I'd rather not chance it.

I think that as oil breaks down it gets thinner and gets past the seals easier.
Are you burning or leaking?
What type of oil are you using?

I think your usage is within acceptable limits.

I'd change it sooner than 6k unless you are using a high tech synthetic. I've got no real technical explanation for this opinion other than after changing the oil in my bike it feels smoother.

Not that I know anything about it, but I would have thought the longer intervals were more to do with better engine designs & improved mfg techniques. The Zephyr does have 4 rings per piston & maybe by then Kawasaki was able to make the cylinders & pistons n stuff to higher tolerances? Some KZs as early as at least 1983 had 4 rings, the 83 650-CSR for example. The first ZX600s had 4 rings & I bet just about every Kaw street bike since then.

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A few quarts of oil and a filter is much cheaper than rebuilding an engine. I wouldn't go 6,000 miles between oil changes even though the manual shows that as the oil change interval. Ed

Kawasaki recommends an oil change interval of 6,000 km (3,728.4 miles) for my water cooled 2000 ZRX1100. It does have a three-piece oil control ring and tighter tolerances than your typical air-cooled four banger.
What I also find interesting is that if I follow the oil change intervals in the fsm on the miles listed rather than the km, the oil change interval varies from 3,000 to 5,000 miles.

Depends on how long one is planning on keeping any vehicle. If you trade vehicles every 5 years, who cares? (I do)

The manufacturers only recommend what is enough, not what is best.

I plan for the long, long haul on all vehicles therefore I change oil every 3K miles on all, even though their recommendation may be 5K miles or even 7K miles....and use expensive synthetic oil at that.

.....recently changed valve cover gaskets in my 20 year-old truck and the rockers looked shiny pristine. Have seen same rockers in same other engines as old as mine and the rockers looked dark brown, full of thick sludge. I'll keep my 3K miles intervals and driving/riding same old vehicles.

Being air cooled motors, the oil is used for lubrication, but also for some amount of cooling too. If you spend a lot of time in stop and go traffic, city traffic, or run your bike hard, I would change oil more often than what that manual suggest.

In all the Kawasaki motorcycles I owned or had as demos I NEVER ran the oil and filter more than a 1,000 miles before I changed it. Most of my friends that still have Kz's in their collection would never think of running more than a 1,000 to maybe 1,500 miles before they change it!!!!! The factory Porsche shop manuals for the air cooled flat 4's and 6's (356, and 911 models) recommend the oil be changed at 1,500 kilometers. Which is a bit less than 1,000 miles I believe!!!!

This is the Spectro oil I have been running since back in 1986. My Kz1000 motors show ZERO wear on cams, shim buckets, or cam bearings!!! On my GSXR750 motors, ZERO wear on the cam lobes and the rocker arm pads!!! Which are a major wear problem on that type of motor.


Good $hit Maynard!!!!

Dr. Gamma wrote: .................... In all the Kawasaki motorcycles I owned or had as demos I NEVER ran the oil and filter more than a 1,000 miles before I changed it. ...........

Thank you! I was beginning to think I was the only one who changed the oil & filter in the KZ that often. Ed