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Engine Oil - Manual says 10W40

172K views 33 replies 18 participants last post by  dgibbs75 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hello, (note: posted this on KLR650.net as well...)

First post here, 1st KLR650 (2008).

The factory manual specifies 10W40 engine oil (API SE, SF, or SG; API SH, SJ, or SL with JASO MA) for my 2008, it seems many are using something heavier, e.g. 20W50. The question is why?

OEM lubrication engineers spend time and money specifying the viscosities of the oils used these days and design engine components to be compatible, so why vary from the specified oil weight?

Thanks in advance!

It also says these things only make 20 HP @ 4,500 RPM, and 37 ft. lb. TQ @ 5,500 RPM. 20 HP? Really?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Please provide bibliographic information (i.e., copyright date, edition, country, model and year, etc.) for your manual, redfoxco!

Here's what my '07 KLR650 Owner's Manual says about oil:



As you can see, 20W-50 viscosity is within recommendations.

Further, don't have my Service Manual handy, but . . . the horsepower and torque maximums you quote vary from what I've read.

--------------------

Regardless, you'll receive profound, knowledgeable comments from .net; world-renown lubrication experts abound there; one highly-placed management executive at .net once even managed a Jiffy-Lube-type establishment ('til he lost his job), I'm told.
 
#3 ·
I'm running Rotella T 15w40 diesel motor oil and it seems great so far. The bike shifts way better aswell. If the engineers were so good they would have put a proper oil ring in the 2008 model so it would go through so much oil. Just saying..... But I heard alot of guys using this oil so I gave it a go. It's only been in the bike a few hundred km so far but no issues yet.


Cheers, Nick
 
#4 ·
Being a new (2012) KLR owner, I'll go with what the manual says. I changed oils in my youth on my new Volkswagon and lost a main bearing at about 90k. I'll stick with the manufacturer's recommendations on oil viscosity, filter, and interval changes. I may go further and go synthetic after my maintenance agreement is over.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Has any variation from manufacturer's recommendatins been mentioned on the thread so far, wrenrj1?

The factory-recommended oil change interval ('07 Owner's Manual, page 60) is: 6,000 miles (after 500 mile initial service); some KLR650 owners change the oil at shorter intervals . . .

Synthetic oil (of appropriate API service code and suggested viscosity) violates no factory recommendations, AFAIK.
 
#7 ·
Wren, if you look closely at the copy of the factory manual page in Post # 2 on this thread, you'll see . . . my factory manual says 20W-50 is o.k.

You posted, " I'll stick with the manufacturer's recommendations on oil viscosity, filter, and interval changes." Thus, I mentioned the recommended INTERVAL is 6000 miles.

You posted, "I may go further and go synthetic after my maintenance agreement is over." Since synthetic oil violates no factory recommendation, why wait? Or have you pre-paid for non-synthetic oil changes?
 
#16 ·
You posted, "I may go further and go synthetic after my maintenance agreement is over." Since synthetic oil violates no factory recommendation, why wait? Or have you pre-paid for non-synthetic oil changes?
Yes, I have a maintenance agreement that allows me to have maintenance completed for the next three years virtually at will according to the salesperson. It was not cheap! Did I clarify?

Wren
 
#8 ·
Use Rotella so you can bum it off other KLR riders when you need it. And trust the Kawi Engineers? Who let an integral engine component remain unfixed for YEARS while the KLR community had to take it upon themselves to fix it? Really?
 
#12 ·
Do you consider Rotella use in violation of Kawasaki factory recommendations?

15W-40 vs. 10W-40, but . . . ain't no thang, as far as I'm concerned.

Truth be told, I've even used Rotella synthetic 5W-40, without the engine turning into a pumpkin at the stroke of midnight . . .
 
#10 ·
Hello, (note: posted this on KLR650.net as well...)

First post here, 1st KLR650 (2008).

The factory manual specifies 10W40 engine oil (API SE, SF, or SG; API SH, SJ, or SL with JASO MA) for my 2008, it seems many are using something heavier, e.g. 20W50. Question is why?

OEM lubrication enigneers spend time and money specifying the vicosities of the oils used these days and design engine components to be compatible, so why vary from the specified oil weight?

Thanks in advance!

It also says these things only make 20 HP @ 4,500 RPM, and 37 ft. lb. TQ @ 5,500 RPM. 20 HP? Really?

Welcome... 1st post is about oil, this does not bode well for thee! (kidding sort of)

Oil viscosity relates to ambient temp, notice the chart that LoneRider posted. Rotella T 15-40 is a popular choice. it's readily available, JASO MA rated and comparably cheap (the most important consideration for a KLR rider!).

Oil polymers get sheared and the viscosity breaks down. The factory change intervals are far to long if you want to maintain viscosity. Here's a good resource to learn about oil: Bobistheoilguy Motorcycle forum

Horsepower... the KLR makes it's peak horsepower (34) at about 6500 RPM so yea at 4500 RPM it's making about 20, info here Patman's KLR dyno page
 
#13 · (Edited)
Horsepower... the KLR makes it's peak horsepower (34) at about 6500 RPM so yea at 4500 RPM it's making about 20, info here Patman's KLR dyno page
+ 1.

Patman's dynamometer measured rear-wheel horsepower; Wikipedia lists Generation 1 engine brake horsepower as: Power 37 bhp (28 kW)

Yet, this link ( http://www.mbike.com/kawasaki/klr650/2011 ) gives the 2011's engine brake horsepower as: 42.15 HP (31 kW) @ 7000 rpm.

Here's a 2011 listing of 43 hp 31.3 kW @ 7000 rpm ( http://www.mbike.com/kawasaki/klr650/2011 ).

(Do NOT hold me responsibile for inconsistency in converting between horsepower and kw, I'm just repeating what's found in the uoted links!)

I forget what the Kawasaki Service Manual says regarding engine SAE brake horsepower.
 
#11 ·
When I changed from Kawachem (previous owner) to Rotella T 15-40, my clutch plates have locked up like nobodies business after the bike sits for an hour or two. If anything shifting is a little bit harder now. I'm not sure if I want to go with more Rotella, or move on to something new.

I'm planning on doing the do, and cleaning out the oil screen, so that will be an excellent time to swap over to another oil type if I do change.
 
#18 ·
There seem to be three questions here

Interval
Viscosity
Oil Type

Interval in the owners manual assume ideal conditions (your car probably indicates a 7500mi interval with regular oil). I've heard every possible interval from 1500 to 10,000 miles. With Synthetic Oil (Mobil 4T) I used 3,000. I live on a gravel road (dirt shortens intervals) but I usually drive at least 25 miles at a shot with lots of highway (light load, longer legs, fewer starts/stops lengthen intervals).

Viscosity is a measurement of how fast oil flows at a given temperature. The nominal temp for testing on the warm side is something like 215 (requirement depends on how hot your engine is designed to run and how large the oil passages are) and cold (W) viscosity is tested at a cooler temperature with different parameters. Engines that spend more time cool generally need lower bottom-end viscosity to flow, while engines that spend more time hot generally need higher viscosity oil.

Oil (synthetic, semi or regular) looses most of it's lubricity in the first 500-1000 miles. After that it accumulates crud (liquid or solid) from inside the engine, dust, condensation, piston blow-by..... As oil gets crudded-up it protects less and less. These two issues pretty much drive the change interval. Synthetic costs more, but if you value your time and change your oil somewhat less frequently (because you have synthetic) you're probably money ahead. In my case, I went from 1500 to 3000 miles. Even at $10 bucks for labor, your money ahead with slightly more costly oil. If you're buying semi or full synthetic "motorcycle" oil at your dealership, you're probably spending more on oil than me.
 
#19 ·
I'm jumping ship this year from Rotella/ M1 15w-50 blend
to a simple 20w-50 twice this summer before the ice age hits.
Back to the thin stuff for the October to springtime. That
5 months only sees a coupla thousand miles max.

CheapAndRunningFine
 
#20 · (Edited)
Oil is kind of like a fishing lure, fishermen buy them to catch fish but the truth is the flash lure actually catches the fishermen. After years of running fleets, I could talk TBN levels, oil sample results and a host of other issues but this is what it boils down to. I run 15-40 Rotella and have sampled it in many things and am happy with its results. I run it in my 08 KLR and it works with no issues. Its not magic, its just a good oil that lots of people use and is easy to find.
 
#25 ·
I know this thread is 4 years old. But I still want to add something.

As the chart shows, a certain thickness (viscosity) of oil is specified for a temperature range. Too thin the oil film will be broken and you have metal to metal contact. Too thick and it is a drain on horsepower. Like pushing your hand through molasses instead of water. Since engines run through a range of temperatures, viscosity needs change. They use multi viscosity oils. Thinner at low temps and thicker as it warms.

A 10-40 oil is a 10 weight oil that has added modified molecules. These molecules are longer. They coil up when when cooler. As they warm they straighten out and thicken the oil. Over time these modifiers shear off,shorten. The higher viscosity gradually drops. If your oil also circulates through the transmission and/or clutch these molecules shear at a much higher rate. A 10-40 oil has a 4:1 viscosity ratio. It has a lot of long molecules in it. That oil could possibly degrade to a 10-15 oil if there was enough shear action and it wasn't changed often. It will never go below it's base viscosity. A 20-40 oil doesn't have as many modifiers in it. It shouldn't break down as fast. And it will never be thinner than a 20 weight.

If the lowest temps you ride in are 60-70 degrees you don't need or want a 10 weight base oil. 20w-40 and 20w-50 oils are good from 32 degrees to over 100 degrees according to the manual. If I lived in the south west USA, I would probably run a straight 40 weight oil in the summer.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I did some oil property searching some years ago. I forgot most of what I learned. Most people say this or that oil is great and they never had any problems with it. Even though they have no idea what characteristics they have. Rust protection,zinc levels(and why it is in oil), foam control, and the 4 ball wear protection test to name a few. Amsoil oil is always the best overall. I have never used it myself. Too expensive. And I don't need the best oil. Like the water in my faucet. I want it clean. But I won't pay 4 times as much to purify it 10 times better. After my little research I decided to use Mobil1 synthetic ($23 for 5 quart bottle at Walmart today). I use Super Tech in my cars and other machines. It may sound cheap. But it has better testing than most name brands. I have used Rotella too.

If you can't find the oil you want, you can use any diesel motor oil and feel safe. Truck companys don't let bad oil manufactures stay in business. They want a million miles before rebuilds. They put more additives in there oils. And the real differences in oils are the additives.

I just did a quick Google for oil comparisons. See the link below:
http://www.combscustoms.com/pdfs/Amsoil_Study.pdf
 
#32 ·
Three amen's to that. Especially the "first". I tried to stretch out my low oil level one long day. Didn't want to put a quart of oil in for 4 hours. If that's the low level line,surely there is some margin for error. I was going to change my oil just before putting the bike on a plane to S. Korea. It made that squealing sound that lets you know your an idiot. :arghh: I added the oil. But half way through Russia things got noisy. I spent a month in Ulan Ude getting a crankshaft through customs.
 
#33 · (Edited)
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