Oil change help please

[Blue Star]

The last time I did anything mechanical was some 15 years back and it was to the extent of cleaning a carburetor of a 50cc machine so please be gentle.

I got to change oil. I am closing 10,000kms and it's the second iteration. So what do I go for ? 10w-40 or 10w-50 ?i do ride at zero degrees but never above 40 degrees c, so does 50 provide any advantage ? My second oil change was 50 and I found bike to be a bit sluggish right Fetr the ch age, didn't like it.

So what do I go with ? Also do I go with regular or synthetic ? Any recommendations ?



Secondly, on my FZ1 I was changing oil every 3000 Kms and ended up doing same on my s10 too (1000 first and then 4000+ second) but today I looked at manual and seems S10 needs oil can change at 1000kms interval. How often do you guys can age oil coz 10000 seems a lot.

Lastly, I want to change oil myself. I have the drain facility. Apart from this any tip/advice ? Any special tool I will need for oil or oil filter change ?

Thanks in advance

 

[stevepsd]

I change my oil and filter at 3,000 miles (5,000 km) and use 15W-50 Mobil 1 Synthetic. My air temps run from 20F to 115F (-7C to 46C).

The USA owners manual specifies a 4,000 mile (6,000 km) oil change interval whereas the European manual specifies a longer 6,000 mile (10,000 km) period. Not sure why the difference. My oil analysis company suggests going to 4,000 miles between oil changes based upon my oil samples.

No special tools needed. Very easy to do. Make sure to replace the two drain plugs washers.

 

[Don in Lodi]

6000 miles does seem a bit long, but well within the abilities of modern oils and synthetics. I'm doing 4 right now, will go to 5000 after my next change, the 20,000 mile mark. Oils weights, if you can change with the seasons, that works. 15-40 for your warm season, 10-30 or 10-40 for the cold season. 10-40 is a good all season weight if you want to just run one weight.

 

[fender5803]

::022::
Where do you all get your crush washers from-? Is there a standard size-? I don't think I changed mine the last two times but I guess if it's not leaking I might be OK - might -?
Thanks in advance.
-DT

 

[stevepsd]

::022::
Where do you all get your crush washers from-? Is there a standard size-? I don't think I changed mine the last two times but I guess if it's not leaking I might be OK - might -?
Thanks in advance.
-DT

Truth be told, I do not replace mine every time either, but I switched to copper washers and I buy them in bulk. You can buy a kit of all different sizes from Harbor Freight for $5 or so. When I get enough used ones, I re-anneal them to make them soft and re-useable.

 

[Don in Lodi]

::022::
Where do you all get your crush washers from-? Is there a standard size-? I don't think I changed mine the last two times but I guess if it's not leaking I might be OK - might -?
Thanks in advance.
-DT

If the dealership replaced mine at a thousand miles, then I'm over 15k on my washers.

 

[MrTwisty]

FWIW - I've never replaced a crush washer on any car, truck or motorcycle I've ever owned and I've never had a drain plug leak either. - YMMV

 

[stevepsd]

FWIW - I've never replaced a crush washer on any car, truck or motorcycle I've ever owned and I've never had a drain plug leak either. - YMMV

You must be living a charmed life.....

I normally use them twice (flip them & use the other side) before I get a bit of seepage (or drips on my Powerstroke). Depends on the surface of the drain pan & bolt as to how scuffed up they become before they need to be replaced or annealed. Since I hate drips, I play it safe.

 

[tomatocity]

Oil Change

http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=1494.0

 

[Blue Star]

Thanks guys.

I called my dealer today to check the oil change interval question. The answer was typically Japanese (no offence intended) - yes the manual says 10,000KMS and yes it is OK to change at 10K KMS however it wont hurt if you decide to change at 5K intervals...

OK so I am going to stick to a middle ground of 7K here (my sake soaked brain just made up the number, no science here)

Both on my FZ as well as the S10 I could feel the difference immediately with the oil weight, the s10 went much more quieter and a felt a bit mushy with the summer oil which I didnt like much so as much as possible I want to stick with optimum weight, i.e. no the lighter side. Guess I will go with 10W-40 for now.

Question can 10W-40 signify both regular and synthetic ? at 10K which one do you recommend ? if you change to synthetic once can ou get back to regular later ?

Are there synthetic/ragula variants for final drive oil as well ? any recommendations ?

 

[hANNAbONE]

10-40 Mobil1 full synth @ every 5000 miles...also filter change at the same time.

 

[Don in Lodi]

Synthetic, synthetic blend, and dead dinosaur, all are available in 10-40. The key here is to be sure it is either a motorcycle specific oil, or to be sure it has no friction modifiers added. Something like "Fuel Saving", or "Energy Conserving" might be on the label of a friction modified oil. Not good for our wet clutch. There is a small target on the back of the bottle, the outer ring is split into an upper and lower segment, the lower segment will usually be blank on a safe oil. There is a whole bunch of science involved in what they add to oils, and they're designated by pairs of letters. Somebody please correct me, but I think the pair we want to see is "SM" in that little target. There will be several other pairs of letters as well, you just want the one chemistry packet to be among them.

 

[Siseneg]

... There is a whole bunch of science involved in what they add to oils, and they're designated by pairs of letters. Somebody please correct me, but I think the pair we want to see is "SM" in that little target. There will be several other pairs of letters as well, you just want the one chemistry packet to be among them.

Says "... API Service SG Type or higher, JASO standard MA" in my owner's manual. I'll check what that 10-40 Yamalube was. ugh, more science to memorize :