The good oil

[wysper]

Right.
So horses for courses.
What ever works
And do whats right LOL

I am going to start with
5K oil and filter - basic oil and see how that goes.
Air filter check and clean often and maybe change every 2.5k - most of my riding is on the slab sadly

And change as I see fit, experimenting with different oils etc till I find what I and my bike like.

Piece of cake.

[MXNUT]

Fookin oil threads

Its the same questions every time, people looking to save money.

3 points to remember

1. oil is cheap ( even synthetic )
2. engines are not.
3. use the best quality MOTORCYCLE oil you can afford.


As has been previously said, diesel oils have a very high sulpher and detergent content and are made for cleaning out dirty diesel engines.
Diesel oils are tested to hold their viscostity at 1500 to 5000 rpm max. How fast does your bike engine spin ??

The chopping action of the gears in straight cut gearboxes ( almost every motorcycle) has the bigest effect on viscosity stabilization of the oil, these viscosity stabilizers and the lack of friction modifiers ( to stop your clutch slipping ) in motorcycle oil are the main differences between a motor cycle oil and oil made for something else.

Despite what people may think the manufacturers do know best.


Use the best quality MOTORCYCLE oil you can afford.

[wysper]

Its the same questions every time, people looking to save money.

It is not only that, it is also not wanting to waste money on what is effectively marketing hype.
I am not saying that the oil companies are doing that.
I am not saying the service intervals in the manual are set to make you spend more and more often.

All I was asking is what peoples experiences with advenutre riding and oil change intervals are.
In the industry I am in people get taken in by hype very easily and can end up spending on things they didnt need, would never use are aren't really suitable for what they were trying to achieve.

I am not a mechanic, I know jack shit about engines, oils and the like. I hate being suckered into spending more than I need to, but equally don't want to be a cheap skate and damage my bike accordingly.

For me it is hard to work out what is snake oil and what is the good oil LOL

So I am not just trying to get the cheapest I can, I just dont want to buy something that I really dont need.

[Padmei]

Good points Wysper.
There are always people that forget they had to learn stuff before they could become experts. Keep the questions coming as a lot of people learn- or relearn things from threads like this. It's easier to sit on the sidelines & take shots than stick your head out & ask a question.

[NordieBoy]

And change as I see fit, experimenting with different oils etc till I find what I and my bike like.

The thing I like about the green Total synth is it's easy to see when it is getting old as it changes colour.

[Woodman]

Yes it is very hard to sort out fact from fiction from opinion.

Diesel oils have changed dramatically recently with the introduction of common rail engines .And more importantly since 2006 ish with Diesel particulate filters the oil is no longer anything like the old skool diesel oils and this oil cannot be used in motorcycles. So be careful.

Go to this site, check out the recommendations and faqs etc. You can also print off the specs for each oil.

http://www.penrite.com.au

I find it very useful.

[MXNUT]

It is not only that, it is also not wanting to waste money on what is effectively marketing hype.

So I am not just trying to get the cheapest I can, I just dont want to buy something that I really dont need.

Wasnt suggesting that you were after the cheapest oil was just pointing out that there are horses for courses and you get what you pay for.
( cliche's over ).

I will not pay $35 per litre for the top stuff like Motorex / Motul etc..... either

But Castrol Active 4t at Repco for $40 -$45 for 4 litres is a great product & good value.

Or for something better Castrol / Mobil and Elf all make good fully synthetic motorcyle oils for around $65 - $90 for 4 litres.

5000 km intervals will be fine for the DR ( and most other modern ADV bikes )


If going for a synthetic oil the spec you should be looking for on the label is JASO MA2.

Some of the more exspensive syn oils are still only rated at JASO MA ( so you are just paying for the brand name there ).



PS.... i would never run nice clean oil through a dirty filter. For $15 extra change them both together.

[Bass]

I am not a mechanic, I know jack shit about engines, oils and the like. I hate being suckered into spending more than I need to, but equally don't want to be a cheap skate and damage my bike accordingly.

For me it is hard to work out what is snake oil and what is the good oil LOL

So I am not just trying to get the cheapest I can, I just dont want to buy something that I really dont need.

Clint gave you the most important tip so far.
You have a DR - it's largely oil cooled. Slow,tough work (e.g. deep sand) hammers the oil hard.
If you do that stuff, change it more often - much more often - otherwise 5 to 6 k is fine.

Remember too, that the cost of oil is one of the minor costs of owning a bike. If you run knobs on a big single and push it a bit, you can use 2 rear tyres between each oil change.
Lastly, it's not like the DR holds that much oil anyway.

[bart]

I do oil every 6-7k (DR650). I just get the stuff recommended from the bike shop. I do the filter every change.

I've got one of those bloody K&N filters. I clean it with petrol, then brush on a thin layer of waste car oil. It's worked so far.

[JATZ]

My 2 rupees....
I do the oil and filter every 3-4000 k's these days, using castrol 4T, it's cheap and seems to be working.I will not put diesel oil in the bike, I tried that before (thinking "any old shit'll do")and think it is one of the reasons why it had a meltdown
I have had trouble finding a 10-40 SF or SG oil for the Big which is what's recomended so if anybody knows where to get some lemme know
Air filter I change every 10,000 and clean whenever the tank is off. It's a really piss poor design so I don't thinkk cleaning has much effect, besides making me feel better It is something I think will be ahem modified at some stage.

We should make this oil thread a sticky aye

[marks]

I've got one of those bloody K&N filters. I clean it with petrol, then brush on a thin layer of waste car oil. It's worked so far.

Turning your DR into a rotary - revolution by revolution

speaking of which (or not) when are we going in to explore some of the alternate ways up cnut (you got any knobbies?)

NEED TO RIIIDE....

[gav24]

speaking of which (or not) when are we going in to explore some of the alternate ways up cnut (you got any knobbies?)

NEED TO RIIIDE....

Hmmmm, agree there Marks. Would suggest a ride tomorrow but have you seen the forecast...

I was getting paranoid about my air filter last night after reading some posts, checked it again and.....


.....bloody spotless! The filter enigma continues...


Right, straight 30 wt oil and clutch drag, someone on here must know...
...or know an opinion...or know someone who once knew...or read something somewhere...

[yafeetup]

I do oil every 6-7k (DR650). I just get the stuff recommended from the bike shop. I do the filter every change.

I've got one of those bloody K&N filters. I clean it with petrol, then brush on a thin layer of waste car oil. It's worked so far.

Cleaning foam air cleaners with petrol cut down their service life especailly if your running a dual compound filter, use turps 10 bucks for 4 litres. Proper air cleaner oil isnt that dear, car oil will not filter fine particales properly. Dirty air kills engines

[Taz]

Its the same questions every time, people looking to save money.

3 points to remember

1. oil is cheap ( even synthetic )
2. engines are not.
3. use the best quality MOTORCYCLE oil you can afford.


As has been previously said, diesel oils have a very high sulpher and detergent content and are made for cleaning out dirty diesel engines.
Diesel oils are tested to hold their viscostity at 1500 to 5000 rpm max. How fast does your bike engine spin ??

The chopping action of the gears in straight cut gearboxes ( almost every motorcycle) has the bigest effect on viscosity stabilization of the oil, these viscosity stabilizers and the lack of friction modifiers ( to stop your clutch slipping ) in motorcycle oil are the main differences between a motor cycle oil and oil made for something else.

Despite what people may think the manufacturers do know best.


Use the best quality MOTORCYCLE oil you can afford.

Next you'll be telling us there's only one true god.......

Not one of the many motorcycle manuals in my garage say to only use a "motorcycle" oil. They just give the specs that the oil should reach. Don't buy into the hype.

[dino3310]

now that ive seen the inside of a XR motor that hasent been looked after i'l only use mc oil and very frequently