Wilsons Sandbox
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to> Called the dealer about the 500 mile valve check and was told not
do it yourself or go to a different dealer.> worry until 3000 or so miles. Am new to klr riding just having 154 > miles on my new 2004. So confused! Any help? thanks
> Called the dealer about the 500 mile valve check and was told not to > worry until 3000 or so miles. Am new to klr riding just having 154 > miles on my new 2004. So confused! Any help? thanks
I've looked at the pictures that others have posted. Their oil pickup screens had lots of junk caught on them, but not anywhere near enough junk to affect the flow of oil to the oil pump. I'm not bothering going under my clutch case until it's time to do a clutch job. Way I figure, my bike has 20,000 miles on it (bought used) and everything still looks nicely clean and well oiled on the top end, so it's obviously doing its job.> I know of some who have undertaken the task of inspecting and > cleaning the oil pickup screen, it looks awfully difficult to do. > Alot of disassembly it seems. I was wondering if any other riders > have done this and if it seems a worthwhile task.
Change your oil every 2,000 miles with any certified motorcycle oil fit for your climate, and don't worry about it otherwise. 10w40 for most folks, 20w50 if you're going to be riding south of the Mason-Dixon Line in July. Only reason to go with motorcycle oil instead of the cheapo automotive oil is because the KLR650 has a wet clutch and some of the crapola in the automotive oil might not be compatible with it.> I would also like to comment on the oil war. It seems as if there are > an many opinions as there are oils available.
Friction modifiers. Yep.> synthetic castol, but some say the clutch operation may be affected.
At 2,000 mile change intervals, the walmart brand oil probably would do fine, but I'm a teensy bit paranoid and go to the name brand motorcycle oil (still purchased at Wal-Mart, for $1.99 a quart, I think the last one was Valvoline).> way to go. Yet others say they go with walmart brand oil and do not
I'm of the "follow the manual" opinion. I do not have the mechanical engineering degree and decades of experience to out-guess the Kawasaki engineers.> worry. Then some say that you change oil after 20 or 100 miles and > put regular stuff in, others say use the kawi stuff for the entire > break in period.
Kawasaki manual says gear oil. Yes, WD40 is too thin, it's not a lubricant, the likely result of WD40 is reduced sprocket life. Tacky spray-on chain lubes will result in reduced sprocket life too, since they attract dirt like a magnet, and said dirt then acts like sandpaper on your sprockets. For on-the-road riding, gear oil is the best deal going, it isn't so tacky that it'll attract dirt like a magnet, and what dirt it does attract tends to get flung off after your next lube. For off-road riding. Why WD40 got a good rep probably has to do with the fact that it doesn't grind people's sprockets to death with trapped dirt like the tacky spray-on crap, and for off-road riding even gear oil attracts too much dirt, but that doesn't make WD-40 better than gear oil for on-the-road riding. There's some new spray-on chain lubes nowdays that claim they aren't dirt-magnets like the tacky crap. I bought a can of the stuff, at my next chain cleaning I'll give it a shot. Maybe high technology finally overcame the magnetic dirt-attracting qualities of the tacky crap? We'll see. Regarding O-ring vs. non-O-ring chain, there are non-O-ring 520 chains that will work with the KLR650, but they're touchy about their care and handling. I had a non-O-ring chain on a Honda FT-500 (slightly less torque than the KLR, about the same HP) and it worked fine, but wanted to be dunked in kerosene every few hundred miles, hung to dry overnite, then dunked in 80/90 weight gear oil for a while prior to being wiped down and put back on the bike. It worked fine, after the initial breakin I put over 10,000 miles on the chain with no further chain adjustments needed, but it was definitely a high maintenance lady. (Note - I sold the bike at that point, I have no doubt I could have reached the 20,000 miles that most folks achieve with an o-ring type chain given that care regimen). An O-ring chain used on-road and lubed with gear oil doesn't want/need to be dunked in anything, the gear oil does a plenty good job of flinging any dirt right into your primary gear housing where you can wipe it off from time to time with a shop rag, and running a shop rag dipped in kerosene along the chain from time to time will remove any surface dirt that doesn't get flung off by the gear oil. Definitely lower maintenance. Not "better", it won't last longer than a properly-cared-for non-o-ring chain, but definitely lower maintenance. Regarding chain oilers, nice concept. But the ones I've seen so far have been way too complicated for me to feel comfortable with, or else are not reliable (like one I saw that required you to squeeze a little bulb from time to time, and would helpfully slop a puddle of lube onto the pavement if you stopped before the jolt of oil was finished piddling out). A little squirt can for gear oil, like you get for $5 at your local hardware store, can be used to squirt a little oil on your chain every morning before you ride off, and you'll get the same basic effect, just at a few moments' more effort. Still worth looking at tho, I'm interested in hearing what other folks think about that. -E> Now for the chain issue. O ring versus non O ring chain. WD40 versus > gear oil or some custom chain lube. It seems to me that WD 40 would > be to thin. I read about the auto chain lube devices and wonder if > they work. Anyways that is all for now. thanks guys. Later.