let's start an oil thread

[Jeff Khoury]

#ygrps-yiv-994792132 p {margin:0;}After reading the Motorcycle vs. Automotive oil article by that Cal State Ph.D., I have used automotive oils in all my bikes, and full synthetic wherever possible. The rationale is that the transmission gears present in common-sump motorcycle engines tend to shear the long polymer chains of motor oil, causing a rapid drop in viscosity.  After all, it's the viscosity that we're most concerned with, right?  Synthetic oils resist these shearing forces better than dead dinosaurs allowing one to go longer between changes. The results of this study are particularly telling, because it turned out that plain 'ol Castrol GTX automotive oil outperformed all the motorcycle-specific oils during the test. I've mirrored the study on my MC related blog: http://www.dsrtegl.com/2010/04/automoti ... e-oil.html -Jeff Khoury

----- Original Message ----- From: "thomas cole" To: "DSN KLR650" DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 8:15:32 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific Subject: [DSN_KLR650] Let's start an oil thread   Since there is minimal movement on the forum, let's start a brand new "oil thread" I'll start..   I use 15 W 40 diesel motor oil in my Lime Ricky and have been for 3 years. Since I haven't had any clutch slippage or other funky stuff happening to my innards and I get the stuff real cheep in 5 gal buckets am I doing something I shouldn't be?.  I still use paper OEM filters too..are the stainless steel K&N type worth the added cost over the OEM? I also have a magnetic drain plug that seems to catch the little normal wear Items...but I heard I shouldn't reuse the washer. I flip it and torque it on, no seepage so that's a good thing right or not?   Doo Hickey I still haven't got around to doing that either. Is that really necessary? I've released the tension at every oil charge and seems to work as indicated in the manual. No strange noises either.   Lastly has anyone else other than Zackariah Mully (off KLR FAQ)ever done inverted forks? I really would like to do this mod as I have a complete front end off a DR250, got it free and would like the off road abilities of a dirt bike type setup? Thanks for taking the time to assist me. Tom A20,Lime Ricky