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rotella t 15w/40 oil analysis on my klr
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 7:51 am
by Jeff Saline
Listers,
I just received my 7th oil analysis report on Rottela T 15w/40 from my
2003 KLR650 with just over 25,000 miles. The lab I use is a Caterpillar
Certified - Full Service Laboratory. I've been tracking this for 2 1/2
years starting with an oil change interval of 1,000 miles and increasing
in 250 mile increments. I had a glitch in the testing cycle last year and
had to do two 1,000 mile tests before I could get back to the higher mile
intervals. My most recent and now last oil analysis was on a 2,000 mile
oil change interval. The Rotella T 15w/40 still tested as a 40 weight and
showed it is still protecting the components in this oil compartment.
I've been running a 14/46 sprocket combo which is 14.6% lower than a
stock KLR which uses a 15/43 combo. So I think it's safe to assume my
engine really did 14.6% more work than a stock KLR. That means my 2,000
miles is close to just under 2,300 miles with the stock gearing.
I'm gonna continue to use Rotella T 15w/40 in my KLR.
Best,
Jeff Saline
ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal
Airheads Beemer Club
www.airheads.org
The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota
75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
rotella t 15w/40 oil analysis on my klr
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:43 am
by Tengai Mark Van Horn
At 6:50 AM -0600 6/26/08, Jeff Saline wrote:
>I just received my 7th oil analysis report on Rottela T 15w/40...
>I'm gonna continue to use Rotella T 15w/40 in my KLR.
Hey Jeff,
Have you ever tested the Rotella synthetic 5W-40? I'm curious to see
how it stacks up against their dino oil. I like the 5W factor for the
cold weather startups.
Thanks,
Mark
rotella t 15w/40 oil analysis on my klr
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 9:14 am
by Jeff Saline
On Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:43:35 -0400 Tengai Mark Van Horn
writes:
> Hey Jeff,
>
> Have you ever tested the Rotella synthetic 5W-40? I'm curious to
> see
> how it stacks up against their dino oil. I like the 5W factor for
> the
> cold weather startups.
>
> Thanks,
> Mark
<><><><><><><><><><>
<><><><><><><><><><>
Mark,
No experience at all with any synthetic oils. On KLR650.net folks seem
to think the Rotella Synthetic is good.
Even on 20 degree days my bike is first started at a temp of no colder
than 55 degrees as that's the shop temp when it's not in use. I take it
easy on the bike when it's been sitting in the cold (20 degrees) for more
than an hour or so. It sure doesn't take long for a cold wind to remove
all the heat from the engine. I run the 15w/40 year round now. I
suppose if the engine was cold soaked the 5w might be a little nicer for
the cams but I don't think it's a significant issue if the engine is
getting to operating temp.
In my opinion running a 195 degree stat like with the Thermo-Bob is
probably more important for cool/cold weather riding than the 5w or 15w
oil.
Best,
Jeff
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rotella t 15w/40 oil analysis on my klr
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 10:55 am
by Reverend
Way cool. Any chance you can scan/link to the reports?
One thing I wonder about is the low oil change interval, why start at 1000
miles? I'd be real curious to see what the oil looks like at 3000 miles,
5000 and 10000 miles. Obviously depending on riding style. Lots of
dirtbiking and trails and dusty stuff would probably warrant shorter
intervals.
The reason I give those miles is that from what I've read, the oil actually
gets better at filtering out dirt and contaminants with a little age
(obviously to a limit). It's been an interesting topic of discussion a few
times a year.
Then again, a Volvo red lines at 6-7K and is specified at 10K oil changes,
whereas the KLR goes red at 7K and runs around 5K frequently.
Ahhh well, it's just a few ponderings.
Rev
> -----Original Message-----
> Behalf Of Jeff Saline
> years starting with an oil change interval of 1,000 miles and
> increasing in 250 mile increments. I had a glitch in the testing cycle
last year
odd running klr
Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:02 am
by Reverend
Some background;
I got the Studebaker jetkit and installed it with the 'stock' upgrade. #138
jet (if I remember right) and the needle shimmed at #3 slot. I drilled the
slide with the 7/64 drill included in the kit and turned my pilot screw out
2 turns.
I've had some issues with the pilot circuit being lean, so last weekend I
turned it out to 2.5 turns which made it lots better off idle.
Two days ago I come to a fairly hard stop exiting the freeway to go home and
the bike stalled. Trying to start it left a puddle of gas on the ground.
I finally got it started by bumping it (there was a hill nearby) and I rode
home.
Well, I rode it again yesterday and things were good, until I pulled into my
driveway and it stalled. It's been doing a strange lean-surge thing too,
but only when it got real hot (needle over half-way mark on the gauge).
This morning, the bike doesn't start. Not even a sputter. I hook up the
jump starter and the bike starts (it's cold) with NO choke, and won't idle.
Looking down, it's pouring gas on the garage floor.
Now, my thinking is a stuck float, and I hope that it is part of the reason
why I have a hot lean-surge (which is also why it gets that hot to begin
with) because it's dumping more gas than it wants. I can't tell exactly
what tube it's dumping out of, but I'll verify that tonight.
Any ideas? I figure I have to drop the bowl and float and clean everything
out. If the float sticks, it'll dump the excess fuel, and stop when the
engine is off as there's no vacuum to the petcock.
Does that sound reasonable?
Rev - knowing now why the rear wheel felt "slippery' on the road yesterday
and the mileage has dropped!