I wished we had made the switch over to metric, but it's a pretty dead idea at this point.
We've killed astronauts because we didn't make the switch, but oh well....it's kind of a dead idea at this point
People are constantly confused about how to calculate and apply other's mileage numbers, but oh well....

For readers from the rest of the world, except Great Britain, the oil change capacities should be quite simple, as they are stamped onto the engine case right beside the oil fill cap. It says 1400ml. No questions there.

"I can see Russia from my house. It helps the people who are concerned about health care costs in the stock market where Valdimir Putin rears his ugly head. Mooses."

Johnathon, thanks for the right up. I've had quite a few bikes, but this is the first small bike I've ever had. Before this, my smallest was a 750 and the mechanics were completely different. I've never had anything that used less than 2 U.S. quarts of oil in the engine, so I probably would have completely over filled it. I noticed mention of MMO a few times, but has anyone ever added any Lucas oil stabilizer to th crankcase? As far as the oil is concerened, I use Mobil 1 10w40 in my Gold Wing, and after adding a quart of Lucas to it, I have plenty left over for th oil change in the little GZ. Now, to find a filter supplier that opens before I get home from work in the mornings.

IMO, I would be extremely wary of adding ANYTHING to the oil. You might find that the clutch plates don't like it. As they're running in the oil, any additives could cause them to slip.

My cousin added Lucas to his motorcycle oil and his clutch started slipping, he stopped and after about four oil changes it is back to normal but he's lucky. Lucas is an anti-friction compound and although it may be great for your engine, it is bad for a wet clutch!

Shouldn't we all be using a 10W40 rated SF or SG? I don't like to go against manufacturer recommendations when it comes to motor oil. The last time I changed my oil I got the exact Suzuki motorcycle oil recommended for my bike. I don't see why anyone would want to test other oils.

After a brief google, I found this: http://www.ibmwr.org/otech/oilreport.html. I think it's worth a read. Apparently, the SG rated oils had additional phosphorous and zinc, which the EPA didn't like because it made catalytic converters less efficient. Therefore, they came up with a new standard, "SM", which is lower in these two elements. When it comes to my bike, I care about what is effective in promoting engine longevity, not the EPA.

Here's another article that google turned up: http://www.bikenomads.com/wiki/index.php/Do_not_use_car_oil_in_bikes

Here's a small sample from the above link:

"Recap - Synthetic Oils

Recap - synth oils meant for cars when used in bike will cause clutch to slip because car synth oils have friction reducers which are not requried in wet clutch motorbikes. The oil in wet clutch motorbikes need the oil only as a coolant not a lubricant . The lubing is required for the engine and not the clutch in this case. Hence use only specially formulated motorbike syth oils and not mobil 1 etc in bikes. Synth oils are available for mobikes specifically - ex motul 300V. "

And, one more quote:

"Q: WHICH FOUR-STROKE RACING OIL SHOULD I USE?

A: If the bottle of oil doesn't list that it is an API SG Service Category or JASO MA spec, it's not good enough for your motocross bike. Although a bottle of oil might say "motorcycle specific" or "safe in wet clutches," the best endorsement is the API SG or JASO MA designation. It's better to be safe than sorry. "

Frankly, I don't see why you'd use anything other than what the manufacturer recommends: Suzuki 10W40 SF or SG rated oil.

I to use only suzuki aproved semi-sensetic.36000kms no problems.

You can use a synthetic oil providing it is not an energy conserving oil. Many 10-40 oils fall into this group. Moto specific oil will have greater shear resistance for the tranny which is something many people forget about. Diesel oils work very well in bikes and are not energy conserving. Both of our bikes use Shell Rotella 15-40.

Ditto on the Rotella full synthetic.

The Rotella synthetic meets all the criteria for the motorcycle oil certification, they just haven't bothered with the expense of having it certified, I guess, if you think about it, the volume they sell this stuff in is so large that even if every motorcycle in the country used it it just wouldn't make much difference to them. My Ford diesel trucks used 4+ gallons (yes gallons) per oil change. (15 qt pan + 2 qt filter), and that's nothing compared to a big rig diesel!

All I've used in the last 20,000 miles is the Rotella synthetic in my motorcycles, good stuff and it's less than $20 a gallon at Wal-Mart.

For that matter, it's the only oil I've used in my cars and trucks for the last five years or so.

Oh goody. Just what we need; yet ANOTHER oil thread !!

A LOT of riders do a LOT of things with their bikes that they would never think of doing with a car. Guys just need something to "tinker" with. While I understand it, I don't "agree" with a lot of it either.......but it's not my bike so none of my business.........with a couple of noteable exceptions that I will NOT elaborate on here.

As for this subject, as long as you stay away from oils that are marked "energy conserving" and don't use any extra "additives"..........it really doesn't make any difference which high-quality oil you use.

Technically, it's continuing a really old thread...which is just how it should happen.

Shell has recently had their Rotella certified for motorcycle use. Read it here or another forum. About time.

Very likely, that'll just give retailers an excuse to raise the price a few bucks by moving it to the Motorcycle shelf.

I am so excited...I did my own oil change for the very first time! I know that may be really lame-o for some of the really experienced toolers here, but I have to tell you, I have spent my life intimidated by tools and mechanical things. So thanks to Jonathan for the original post with great pics and all the others who chimed in fearlessly reporting their mistakes and adding more advice.

I was prepared with the right tools on hand, used Rotella oil (5/40 based on that engineer survey report), didn't freak out when some oil spewed out when the filter cover was removed (I even had a rag right there ready to catch the spillage), and made sure I had a measuring cup with metric units on it so I could put in exactly 1400 ml. I am proud to say not one drop of oil was spilled on the driveway and the bike has not blown up, nor have any bolts fallen off! Woohoo!

Okay, so what's the next simple project I should try???

Cleaning & Lubing your chain is simple to do,and should be done every 1000kms. You will get great satisfaction doing your own serviceing. Good luck, Have fun!

Congratulations! It's not silly to the old "pros" because they started somewhere too.



Go buy a Fiamm Freeway Blaster horn from an auto parts store and change it out. It's easy and you'll appreciate it when you have to honk at somebody for being dumb.

Do you remember an approx. cost ?
Do you have the high or low note?
Did you do it without an added relay? I'd think 5 amps might be on the edge.

Either that or a Stebel air horn which you can buy for ~$30, and Harbor Freight has the same horn under a different brand name. I have seen the Framm in an Autozone store for $20. They both draw about 15-20 amps so you have to wire a relay directly from the battery (with an inline fuse) and you switch on and off the relay (and air horn) with the old horn wires from the handlebar switch. The original wiring to the horn cannot handle the current needed to operate an air horn and may heat up and burn.
The air horn and relay are in the same package with all the instructions and it's pretty easy if you can read.

If you want another project, to add to safety, get a headlight and a brakelight modulator. The installation is pretty simple for both, the instructions are very good, and don't require any special tools to buy.

This doesn't really help much, but...