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Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
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Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 18 Apr 2002
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OIL
Hi Again,
My KLR has 1600 miles on it. When should I put in synthetic? Should I use it at all? How often should I change the oil?
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  #2  
Old 19 Apr 2002
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I try to change my oil every 3000 miles. As for using synthetic, I can't say. I've always used regular 10W40 oil like Penzoil. I've read a bunch of articles on oil and it was all very technical and over my head, not to mention non-conclusionary. The more I read, the less I knew. I think if you keep the oil changes frequent, the type of oil is less important.

Kurt
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  #3  
Old 19 Apr 2002
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Hi,

Synthetic oil has a few advantages over mineral oil, but this does not mean mineral oil is bad.

Synthetic ages less, therefor it needs lesser changes, witch is nice if you are on the road for a long time.

For the rest synthetic performs better under extreme conditions. Since you usually stay well below this, its not a valid reason to use it.

Ofcourse this is only my humble opinion, and when it comes to oil, there are as many opinions as there are brands.

Maarten


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  #4  
Old 20 Apr 2002
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It's a (very) arguable decision whether to use synthetic or not. I THINK synthetic has won the argument.

You do want to run mineral oil for the first 10,000 miles to ensure the engine is fully broken in before switching, or it may never break-in fully.

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  #5  
Old 17 Jun 2002
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I don't ride a KLR, but the local Kawasaki dealership mechanic mentioned that running synthetic in a KLR will be hard on the wet clutch and cause it to burn out faster. He recommended mineral oil for the life of the bike. Any thoughts?
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  #6  
Old 17 Jun 2002
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Hi,

All oil has a few "letters" on the bottle. These give the specific characteristics of the oil. Every bike (or car) has it's wishes. If you get the right specifics for the right bike, there is no problem. Also not with the clutch.
The biggest differance between car and bike oil lay's in the fact that the bike oil also has to keep the gearbox happy.

By the way, most (maybe even all) bike's have a wet clutch.

Hope this helps,

Maarten


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  #7  
Old 17 Jun 2002
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Actually a number of bikes, some BMW's and Ducati's for example, have dry clutches. I've waffled on the synth/mineral oil thing but have yet to use synth for a bike. I think that automotive oils may not provide the best lubrication for a motorcycle because as mentioned, it has to do more: Engine, trans and sometimes clutch. According to BMW the latest grades of automotive oil are not even backwards compatable. ie, SJ does not meet all the requirements of SG for motorcycles.

Kurt
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  #8  
Old 17 Jun 2002
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in my opinion , if you are planning a trip to 3rd world countries , don`t use synthetic , simply because it is not widely available , and if it is , it may be horrendously expensive .

Mineral oil is of course available in every village , and name brands too .
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  #9  
Old 15 Jul 2002
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You TRY to change your oil every 3000!!? If you're running regular oil that is too long for a KLR. The single cylinder engine has a lot of blow-by compared to a VTwin and you should change your oil every 1500-2000 miles if you run regular oil. The bike only takes 2.4 quarts, why skimp?

Did you notice how the bike runs more quiet and smoother with fresh oil?
The oil in our engines gets contaminated really quickly and it breaks down. Change it!
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  #10  
Old 15 Jul 2002
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Suggestion.... if you don't change it more often because you hate changing the oil filter, buy a washable stainless steel filter. Good filtration and it wont break down like paper.

Personally I use Emgo filters and I changed my oil every 1000 miles when I used dyno. Now that I am running Amsoil 20w50 synthetic I will let it go 2500-3000 miles. 2.4 quarts, it's cheap insurance!

Come on, these things aren't Buicks where you change the oil every 3k! heh

[This message has been edited by Glenn_M (edited 15 July 2002).]
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  #11  
Old 18 Nov 2002
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Someone wrote
**********
I don't ride a KLR, but the local Kawasaki dealership mechanic mentioned that running synthetic in a KLR will be hard on the wet clutch and cause it to burn out faster. He recommended mineral oil for the life of the bike. Any thoughts?
**********

Yes and no.

If you look at the latest requirements in a Kawasaki KLR 650 manual it states:

Type:
API SE, SF or SG
API SH or SJ with JASO MA

The JASO MA is what makes the difference. The newer SH, SJ, etc oils contain a friction modifier, which is all very nice for your car, but not that good for our wet clutches.

I will be using AMSOIL 10W40 Synthetic which carries the API Service SH, SG, CF, JASO MA specification.


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  #12  
Old 23 Nov 2002
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>The JASO MA is what makes the difference. >The newer SH, SJ, etc oils contain a >friction modifier, which is all very nice >for your car, but not that good for our wet >clutches.

but this is exactly the stuff that protects the transmission and engine... especially in a no oil situation. Would you rather replace the clutch a little more frequently, if that's even true, or the motor and trans? Personally I'd rather trade more clutch wear for less engine/trans wear and better fuel economy. Just my $0.02.


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  #13  
Old 24 Nov 2002
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Quote:
<font face="" size="2">but this is exactly the stuff that protects the transmission and engine... especially in a no oil situation.</font>
From what I've read here and there...
The newer oils dropped the levels of some additives to be easier on the catalytic converters. I think they lowered the Zinc levels and that is what protects load bearing surfaces.

A no oil situation? If an engine burns oil that quickly and the owner monitors the level that infrequently, he deserves what is coming his way.



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  #14  
Old 28 Nov 2002
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" no oil situation? If an engine burns oil that quickly and the owner monitors the level that infrequently, he deserves what is coming his way."


Actually I was referrng to a failure situation, like a busted engine block or even an oil plug that worked it's way free. The unexpected situation where the oil is gone or very low. I agree with you that one deserves what one gets from neglect. especially the world traveler.
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  #15  
Old 2 Nov 2003
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Quote:
Originally posted by Glenn_M:
You TRY to change your oil every 3000!!? If you're running regular oil that is too long for a KLR. The single cylinder engine has a lot of blow-by compared to a VTwin and you should change your oil every 1500-2000 miles if you run regular oil. The bike only takes 2.4 quarts, why skimp?

Did you notice how the bike runs more quiet and smoother with fresh oil?
The oil in our engines gets contaminated really quickly and it breaks down. Change it!
One thing I've found... the KLR is very sesitive to keeping the air filter clean and oiled. If I skimp on that, I have to change my oil more often. Also make sure you have the metal tube that goes down the inside of the oil filter. Throwing this away with the filter not only kills oild life.. it can kill your compression.



[This message has been edited by IanElsley (edited 02 November 2003).]
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