Need a bit of advice....

[daveiw]

OK, as some of you now know I'm new to this game, and my mechanical knowledge sucks! (until I learn more) I ride a 1999 Suzuki Bandit 600, what oil do you recomend I get? Bare in mind I live on the Isle of Wight, so I have a Halfords near me (and not many other garages) So ideally a brand they sell.....

Also I just bought the wife a 1996 Piaggio Safera 80 scooter, she did her CBT today (and loved it) and rode it for the first time. The instructer said it was well low on oil, I looked under the seat and there is a oil cap..... This may sound dumb to some of you, but I was expecting a dipstick or viewing window or something, Neither! How do I know how much oil is in there and if it's low? Also what oil do I need to get for it?

Another dumb question, I assume this is a two stroke engine on the scooter (like when I was a kid I had a Yamaha TY80, I had to mix fuel and oil (well my dad did ) This new bike must mix it for you, so I guess I use normal un-leaded and a two-stroke oil???????

Also even when the bike has been running about for a while and is "warmed up" it stales when you stop at lights etc... (smokes like mad as well when you first start it, if you rev hard - normal?)

sorry if this sounds dumb but I need to know so I don't screw the bike up!

[Frost]

2 strokes shouild smoke when cold, and be fine when warmed up, this just shows that the mixture has sufficient oil.
stalling could be a sign it has too little oil, you dont need a gauge, just fill it to the brim with 2 stroke oil, your cant overfill them really as its just an oil holder in which the oil has no contact wih mechanical parts (unlike a 4stroke)

[daveiw]

Thanks m8, What about my bandit, should I just use a good quality 4 stroke oil?

[Kickstart]

Hi

It could be that the oil pump is set slightly too rich. They will smoke when cold, especially with the choke on (which might well be automatic.

For the Bandit just use a reasonable quality 10w40 oil. To be honest Halfords own brand is probably a reasonable quality, but I think they also sell Castrol.

All the best

Keith
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[daveiw]

thanks lads