Oil Age

crazymotorbik... · Nearly there... Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Karma :

Hey,

After about 6 months of working and fixing ive finally managed to get my GPZ400R running.

The engine was sat for about 6 months while i worked i worked on the frame. I didn't remove the oil.

My worry is that the oil may have gone off or deteriated. I heard someone say that it separates???

Anyway my question is: Is it safe to run the bike (I mean tick over speeds, not run on road) with the old oil in it?

A full oil change is on the books for when i finnaly get it back on the road. That will now be next March.

Cheers,
Shaun.

0ddball · World Chat Champion Joined: 15 Jul 2005 Karma :

Yeah it will be fine.

mchaggis · World Chat Champion Joined: 09 May 2004 Karma :

How old was it and how many miles did it have before it was sat for six months? The chances are that it would be okay anyway, I reckon. Spending ages sitting around idling and never getting hot enough will make a nice mess of the oil that is in there though. An oil change isn't going to cost that much to do.

I should be surprised if it seperates without either getting very cold or being very contaminated.
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Kickstart · The Oracle Joined: 04 Feb 2002 Karma :

Hi

Problem with old engine oil is that used oil has acid in it (from the combustion gases) which eventually does damage (and does the damage being used or not).

All the best

Keith
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crazymotorbik... · Nearly there... Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Karma :

Thanks for the replies.

Hmmm. It may be well worth making an oil change for now then. All i want to do is keep the engine running through the winter. Starting it maybe every other day for 10 minutes.

Thanks for the input.
Cheers,
Shaun.

KatOwner · Nova Slayer Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Karma :

Personally, I would buy some dirt cheap rubbishy oil, run the engine for a few minutes ( to get any settled out sludge shifting and to warm the oil ) then switch off, and drain the oil out. Put in some cheapo oil until you get back on the road.

Then...once you DO get back on the road and want to use hte bike as Kawasaki intended, do another oil change, replace the filter, and put some decent oil in.

Hopefully, draining the old oil should have got rid of any old sludge and muck, and the fresh oil will shift some more.

Walloper · Super Spammer Joined: 24 Feb 2005 Karma :

Check that it's still a healthy looking slippery dark brown or black-ish.
Fire the beast up and run until it's warm.
Bosch the old oil and refill with your normal tipple.
Replacing with OEM filter of course.

The rust, dust and shit in the combustion space and other areas, which may have dried oot a wee bitty, will be washed out with the cruddy oil and save you money for multiple lagers.
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