So, who uses non-motorcycle oil in their bikes?

[BuzZz]

Many times (but not always) switching to synthetic oil in a higher milage engine can cause minor external oil leaks. It can wick through tinier places than dino juice and it tends to have better detergent qualities. This cleans out alot of carbon and other deposits, but sometimes, those deposits are helping the gasket seal oil in and the world out. The same cleaning action can loosen the piston and ring clearances in some dirtier engines. If the bike had regular oil changes it's whole life, chances are the switch will not cause any problems.

So the verdic seems to be..... run any oil you like, change it often and your engine will love you.

Now off, on a slightly different tangent, I think I will run a poll about pre-oiling your engine.

[Skier]

Pre-oiling before starting? Or pre-oiling your filter during an oil change? The filter question made some sparks fly at a car forum I frequent.

[Nibblet99]

My motor is an old-school, air-cooled in-line four that puts off an enormous amount of heat. No kidding - you could grill a side of beef on that sucker while wating for a light to change green!

How handy, beats messing around with a disposable BBQ at a festival

[Coach]

Is there a filter guide out there for what is interchangeable between bikes and cars? Bike dealers want way to much for what I think is most likely the same thing. A couple of bucks at Walmart vs 10+ dollars at the dealer can add up if you change your filter often

JJ

I found this link yesterday while looking for the same thing.

http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/FilterXRef.html

[beerbaron]

In my opinion... oil quality is like a placebo for most riders out there. Most riders will put 95 octane gas and Synthetic oil in their 1985 bike. But they won't adjust the valves, clean carburetor, heat engine before riding etc...

So I'd say to most riders, use cheap oil, and change it at 2500 km with filter. And invest the money you save on proper maintenance for your bike. You know guys oil won't make you for you bike reving at 13000 RPM. If your hard on your bike your gonna do much more damage then cheap oil can do!

BeerBaron

[storminsince73]

well, I use mobil one redcap. I will be switching to amsoil on the next change. I believe in synthetics, run it in all my vehicles... 5 bikes, 4 cars, and 2 trucks.

I have been using fram filters, but am switching to stp filters (available at autozone for about $5), after reading a few articles on oil filter construction.

Norm

[scan]

I recently decided to go with the oil Kawasaki recomended, which was a 10w30 oil that met the SAE rating. I'm going with dino since I know I will not be rev slamming my bike and also plan to go with a 2000 to 3000 mile oil change plan. Kawasaki also recomend their filter, and I will go with that as well. I think my last change cost me just over $20 for the oil and filter and the labor is a piece of cake. If anything goes wrong with my bike I can be sure the dealer can't say it was because I didn't go with their recomendations.

All that being said, I still don't know if I made the right choice. Seems like a very personal thing. You have to decide what things make you paranoid and address those things for yourself. I use to think Penzoil was the best oil you could use, and then someone let me know about problems with it being "waxy". Not that I know what that means. Also, I've heard other oil and filters are junk. I will also add that very few times have I heard an opinion that was based in fact. Most of the oil information I have heard always has this disclaimer associated with it or I heard it from someone's experiance, but with no data or sources to back their opinions.

This is another reason I've gone with the recomendations of my bike - at least I know they are not going to steer me wrong based on "subjective" data or presonal opinions.

[blair]

Anyone ever get their bike's oil changed at, say, JiffyLube? Do those places even do motorcycles?

I <i>can</i> do it, but the labor cost for procuring the oil, changing it, then disposing of the waste oil and filter, is a lot higher for me alone than if I let those guys and their ready-made supply and disposal system get involved.

And I'd rather mess up their garage than mine.

--Blair

[oldnslo]

Most Jiffylube type places have a pit, so bikes are pretty much out of the question. If you life in the US, NAPA stores take old oil, and so do some gas stations. Free, too. It shouldn't be a problem in the US. Elsewhere, I don't know.

[blair]

Most Jiffylube type places have a pit, so bikes are pretty much out of the question. If you life in the US, NAPA stores take old oil, and so do some gas stations. Free, too. It shouldn't be a problem in the US. Elsewhere, I don't know.

Couldn't they park the bike on one side or the other?

Wait a sec...

I just googled up my local's phone number and called. They could, but they won't.

Seems like a market they're not tapping for a business model that could use all the volume it can get.

I guess I'll be going by Checker or Autozone for equipment and supplies this afternoon...

--Blair