Which OIL ?

[MikeH]

KLE book say's 10w40 but what is best and can I use any 10w40 or is it specific to bikes with them having a wet clutch ?

Cheers

Mike
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Busa Junkie

[DucatiEVO]

Castrol GPS 10-40w Semi-Synth, and you won't go wrong!
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aKa: Ducky

[Zen Dog]

Thats what i thought till my old viffer started making unpleasant clicking noises!

Had to get something a bit thicker before it would stop...

Zen Dog
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Current - '94 VFR750FR (Dead), '00 VFR800FI, '11 600 Hornet - Previous - '11 CBF125, '10 Street Triple R, '92 MZ ETZ301, '05 TTR250, NSR125R, KMX125, "Honda" Win
My bike trip around S.E. Asia 2010/2011

[Knowlsey]

vauxhalls 10 40 semi ,in a silver gallon tub, it does not have the antislip additives and i know a few bike repair shops that use that coz its good and cheaper than bike oil

[riichy]

most 10w40 oil will be ok......just as the people you buy it from
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.......... PLOD ............ zx636 2004

[Knowlsey]

[fazed]

10w 40 available from Rock-oil , Valvoline , putoline , castrol and various other's , use a bike oil .. just one less problem what could occur for the sake of a few pennys.
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gixxer thou K6 , Cbr400 gullarm x 2 , cb400 superhack.

[mchaggis]

Personally I think that Castrol GTX (make sure it isn't Magnatech) would do quite adequately. The KLE is hardly a high performance machine. That is unless you really do want "the best", in which case you'll pay through your nose for something which doesn't actually bring any further benefits.
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I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.

[curryfishball]

I've been using Motul 300V Competition for a while, seems to be pretty smooth. Its about £38 for 4 litres, I think thats about the same as the other brands like Castrol. You can get it in Hein Gericke shops.

[Guest]

[Kickstart]

[Dazbo666]

...so buy from a dealer, Hein Gericke, or Halfords etc???
(I'm new to biking and don't mind paying the going rate for consumables, but also don't want to get ripped off by unneccesarily high prices).

[curryfishball]

I've only seen the Motul 300V in Hein Gericke, Halfords only stock Castrol I think. But the two brands are quite closely priced anyway.

[stinkwheel]

Just put castrol GTX or bog standard Motoul (from HG) oil in it. They are cost effective and work. Not sure if they are still doing it but HG were doing a free oil filter with every 5l bottle of motoul oil you buy at one point.

You need to remember that the engine in that bike was first made in the early 1980s (EN450 ltd). There was no such thing as synthetic motorbike specific oil about then (not on common sale anyway and they were nasty), duckhams 10-40 mineral oil was the 'sexy' oil to put in your bike.

The kawasaki handbook requires 10w-40 API SE, SF or SG or API SH or SJ with JASO MA. Castrol GTX fulfils this requirement perfectly well. In out climate you will be fine with 20w-50 oil too. It makes no mention of using 'motorbike specific' oils. I am also perfectly confident to recommend it as I put 50,000 (hard) miles on a GPZ500s using GTX.

The important thing is that you change it every 3,000 miles. You are supposed to change the filter every other oil change. I just do it every time for all they cost.

That bike has a BIG sump in it (3.8 litres with the filter change) so the oil isn't put under a huge amount of stress.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Nath]

[MikeH]

HALFRAUDS ?? cheap, nooooo never use 'em, robbing gits

In the end I've used Morris's (Local Shrewsbury Company) 10w40 semi-synth Motorcycle oil and it's solved my knotchy gear change in the lower gears and at £15 from my local bike dealer for 4L it's not bad money either defo recommend it

Cheers for the feedback fellas
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Busa Junkie

[mchaggis]

I was having a look through the Clymer manual for my VT today. Apparently at 6000 rpm, the oil pump shifts 24 litres each minute! That means the 3 litres of oil in the sump get pumped round the engine 8 times every minute! The engine does go through 6000 revolutions in the same time, so no doubt it needs it.

Obviously all oil does not take the same time to travel to places and back to the sump, so some oil is circulating even faster. Mind you, it'll all get mixed up pretty thoroughly by the crankshaft flying through it.
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I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.

[Knowlsey]