Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Glad to hear you got your bike running.

ps.....we love getting pictures, but could you please resize them smaller next time? The large ones skew the page. Thanks.

Good luck with your class when you start it.

Congrats on getting her running!

As for the motorcycle versus regular oil, the key ingredient difference is friction modifiers.
Car oil uses friction modifiers that makes a bike's clutch slip, since the engine and clutch are in the same bath of oil.

It used to be easy to spot the car oil with friction modifiers. The API circle on the back of the bottle would say "energy conserving". Most common in the 10w-30 oils. Not common in the 10w-40 versions.

Unfortunately, API specs have changed in the last few years and you can no longer depend on the API circle to tell the tale. Instead of going through a major research effort, I just started buying Valvoline motorcycle oil. It's formulated for motorcycles, so you know it's free of the dreaded friction modifiers. Unlike most motorcycle specific oils, Valvoline is priced the same as car oil and is available at most generic autoparts stores.

Having an old bike that had been sitting around a while, I suggest two things:

Take the MSF.

Bring the bike to a mechanic and let them look it over before you get on it and ride it around, even if you think you've fixed it. Unless you are a mechanic, in which case bring it to someone else, anyway.

My last piece of advice is this: Rubber side down, shiny side up. Remember this, practice this, and for the most part you'll be okay (until something hits your neck at 50 mph, like a giant dragonfly).

'80s Japanese bikes were overengineered, so they last a long time. With some minimal maintenance and TLC, and you'll be golden.

You'll probably need to change the tires. Check the date on the sidewalls, and if over 5 years old, the rubber is probably hard as rock and won't grip as well. Check the chain and rear sprocket for wear as well. What's the mileage on your bike?

My most favourite bike repair site is Dan. He has an interesting sense of humour.

Definitely take the MSF course!! They teach you everything you need to know in order to get going on the road. . .actual road experience is yet another story, but getting the basics down first is necessary!

I took the MSF course and then had a gracious enough BF that would ride with me to gain me actual road experience. . .it was comforting having another experienced rider behind me getting that road experience. . .