First Oil Change (06) 650R

[tswinscoe]

Merry Christmas all,

I need to do my first oil change and was wondering if there is any oil I need to stay away from? Synthetic, non-synthetic, what types, brands are the best for the 650R? Any important tips on the oil change would be much appreciated also! Thanks.

P.S. I am the second owner and the oil has been changed in the past.

[adam574]

i have always bought regular car oil and have own many bikes and never had a problem. wether it be castrol, mobil or anything else just make sure it doesn't say "energy conserving" in the circle on the back of the bottle

[frankstr]

Welcome, tswinscoe, to TT...That is a can of worms you've opened up..?

I use synthetics...And I've always used Torco in all the bikes I've owned...

Thats my opinion.....

[philipstjohn]

I run the Honda HP4 and Honda filter. I have talked to other riders who have used "car oil" or other brands and when they switched to the Honda oil, they all experienced smoother shifting, noted with both the R and L bikes. Just my experiences. The price of the oil and filters is high, but if you buy in bulk over the internet with many of the discount suppliers, and order other stuff needed you will normally pay no tax and shipping charges.

Welcome to TT and good luck. ?

[motopsycho650]

I use Valvoline 4-Stroke motorcycle oil. You can get 10w-40 or 20w-50. It's about 1/2 the cost of honda non-synth.

DO NOT USE CAR OIL!!!! You WILL fry your clutch & wear your tranny gears with automotive oil. Auto oil does not have right additives for wet clutches or the shearing action of the transmission.

Use synth if you want to spend extra $$. I personally believe you will never notice a difference with regular oil. Just make sure it's 4-stroke motorcycle oil.

[XR4DEZ]

I have over 60K desert miles on my last 3 bikes and never had a motor problem. All I've ever used is HP4.

[porterdog]

DO NOT USE CAR OIL!!!! You WILL fry your clutch & wear your tranny gears with automotive oil. Auto oil does not have right additives for wet clutches or the shearing action of the transmission.

Utter poop.

Plenty of real analysis data indicate that for the most part there are NO REAL DIFFERENCES between 'car oil' and 'cycle oil' other than price. One potential area of concern are the newer Energy Conserving car oils that have a friction modifier which MAY, in *some* cases, cause clutch slip.

All these posts warning of impending armageddon are so much claptrap.

My picks are typically heavy diesel oil; summer I like Mobil Delvac1300, winter Shell Rotella T synthetic. Solid performers, cheap, non-energy conserving. D1300 is usually about $8/bottle at Walmart. That's a gallon bottle, btw ?

[hill5150]

Mobil 1 Syn 15/50 / 20-50 formerly redcap works great. Stay away from oils w/ moly or energy conserving, not so good on the clutch for grab.....

[tommyj92028]

One thing that no one has mentioned is...You dont want to use synthetic oil before the engine has had the rings well seated. I'm not going to get into break-in techniques (I break my stuff in hard and fast). Whether hard and fast, or slow and easy (dealer recommended break in? ) synthetics should be used only after that is done. Synthetics practically eliminate all friction. That's good. But the friction is needed to seat the rings. That's what the cross-hatch in the cylinder of a new engine bore is for. Anyways thats enough of that. Just my opinion. Tommy

[motopsycho650]

Utter poop.

Plenty of real analysis data indicate that for the most part there are NO REAL DIFFERENCES between 'car oil' and 'cycle oil' other than price. One potential area of concern are the newer Energy Conserving car oils that have a friction modifier which MAY, in *some* cases, cause clutch slip.

All these posts warning of impending armageddon are so much claptrap.

Tell that to my 2 friends. Both have DR-350's, one with 7,000 original miles (I'm guessing around 5000 were on-road), and the other with only 3,000 original miles. Both had oil changes done with automotive oil, and both had to replace clutches last season. I helped them with the clutch replacement, and all the frictions & steels were plenty thick, but the frictions were glazed over worse than I've ever seen.

For a smaller bikes with a rep of being very reliable, 3000-7000 miles is not near enough to need a clutch. My dad also owns a DR-350, with 4000 original miles on it. It has had 4-stroke motorcycle oil, and his clutch still feels new.

Valvolene 4-Stroke motorcycle oil is availible at most Checker or Auto Zone stores for about 3 bucks a quart. It's not any more expencive than automotive oil, and you know you are getting the correct specs for motorcycles. Why wouldn't you try it?

P.S. I have used Honda's GN4, HP4, and the Valvolene. I cannot tell a performance difference with any of theses oils. The one thing I did notice is, while using HP4, I lost 3/4 of the dipstick durring my 600 mile interval. HP4 seeps out your gaskets, especally the oil filter o-ring. It also escapes through breather tubes. There may be some benifits to using synth oil, but it's not enought to justify almost 3x the price for me.

[nxridge]

Ive never used anything but standard car oil in alllllll my bikes and quads.

not 1 single problem ever.

normal clutch wear , no shearing / gear problems.

if you change your oil with frequency like your supposed too , you will never

have a problem with standard motor oil.

[BWB63]

This is Funny

Beware of synthetic oil, it can do terrible things to you and your

beloved motorcycle. It will not only leak out of your engine faster

than you can put it in, but it will also cause your oil filter to

clog and implode, dumping debris and dirt into your lubrication

system. It also will make every part of your bike permanently

slippery because of its linear molecular chain dispersion action.

Then it will leak onto your kickstand causing it to retract

automatically, dropping your bike on the ground! But that's not all...

Synthetic oil will round off your gears and spin your bearings. It

will also splatter onto your seat causing your girlfriend to fall off

in the apex of a turn and she'll never ride with you again. Synthetic

oil coats your sight window and your timing window with a whitish

pro-emulsification additive that is both non-removable and highly

corrosive. Synthetic oil will completely leak onto the ground overnight

and your dog will drink it and die.

Synthetic oil will wear out your tires and make your battery leak. It

will give you the desperate need to urinate after you put your full

leathers on and then jam your zippers shut. It will contaminate your

gasoline causing your bike to stall on railroad tracks and accelerate

uncontrollably near police cars. It will make it rain during rallies

and on weekends. It will lubricate your timing belts causing them to

jump teeth and break your valves to bits. Synthetic oil chemically

weakens desmodromic valves and causes the clearances to change every

six miles. Then it melts the black soles of your riding boots right

before you walk across your new carpeting.

While riding past groups of attractive women it will cause both of

your handlebar grips to slip off at the same time so you smash your

windscreen with the bridge of your nose. It also causes your swingarm

to crack, your studs to break, and your rotors to warp, and then it

voids your warranty by changing your odometer reading to 55,555. It

also dries out your wetclutch and wets your dryclutch. It makes your

clutch slave cylinder seal fail in the heaviest traffic on the hottest

day of the year while putting an angry wasp in your helmet for good

measure.

Synthetic oil hides your 13mm socket and puts superglue on your

earplugs. Synthetic oil will scratch your faceshield and make your

gloves shrink two sizes night before trackday. Synthetic oil stole

your neutral and sold it to the Chinese for $1.25. Synthetic oil

will make you grow a tail. Synthetic oil will write long crazy

e-mails to your Internet friends and then sign your name at the

bottom!

[frankstr]

BWB63, That is just to funny...I don't care who you are...?

:confused:

[tirebiter]

Merry Christmas all,

I need to do my first oil change and was wondering if there is any oil I need to stay away from? Synthetic, non-synthetic, what types, brands are the best for the 650R? Any important tips on the oil change would be much appreciated also! Thanks.

P.S. I am the second owner and the oil has been changed in the past.

Use a good synthetic motorcycle oil and stick with it. Period.

Check the shops & auto parts stores close to your house for availability.

Personally, I've had good results with Mobil 1 MX4T and Klotz.

The main thing is change it often.

Here's what they look like, shop around for competitive prices..

http://store.avlube.com/mob1mx104cyc1.html

http://www.klotzlube.com/storeProdDetails.asp?pi=65

[resslera]

Tons of info out there. I post this all the time but for anyone that asks about oil I recommend going to www.bobistheoilguy.com. Incredible site with a motorcycle section and oil analysis' done on many oils. Worth a check.

If you are looking for the quick answer, these guys posting here have gave great info. Can't go wrong with MC oil, nor can you go wrong with what is considered "auto oil" of the proper grade (10w40 - 20w50 for our bikes). On a personal level, I like the Mobil 1 15w50 EP. It's synthetic and you will notice immediate higher idle revs when you change from dyno. That too me says something. The diesel oils like your Shell Rotella and Mobil Delvac are also popular as the grade is right and the additive package can't be beat.

If you are looking to ease your mind with the motor oil scare tactics out there consider this. Rumor 1 - Using "auto oil" will fry your clutch! Havn't seen it happen or heard of it happening if you stay away from "Energy Conserving" on the API label (you won't see it on a 10w40 - 20w50 oil. Worst case here is a clutch replacement which is easy and cheap.

Rumor 2 - you will wear out your tranny quicker! Oh really? Impossible to say the least if you keep your oil clean. Sorry, those tiny bits of extra additives in motorcycle oils won't do dick for your tranny. And guess what? The additives in the Mobil 1 15w50 or diesel multi-purpose oils are likely to blow away many mc specific oils. If one takes the time to look up an oil type by ananlysis, you will see that additives are measured in ppm....that's parts per million. That fraction of a difference higher that may be in a mc oil isn't likely to make much of a difference.

The funniest thing I got from a MC dealer was his recommendation for me to use Honda HP4 and run it for 3,000 miles. I had a DR350 at the time and said "are you kidding?" He said "Nope, that oil is so good you can get a way with that". The scary thing here is that many would think this is sound advice since it is coming from a dealership. Bottom line: Clean oil of the right viscosity will steer your right.

regards,

A

[DANNYROTH]

Shell Rotella T (dinosaur bones, not synth). I buy it at Wally World by the jug. Change it and filter often.