klrs, cold weather and oil
Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:01 pm
I have direct experience with cold-starting the KLR and the difference oil can make.
On a couple of subsequent trips to Big Bear, I noticed a radical difference in startup.
My bike is set up and tuned for riding at or near sea level in Southern California. We went for a weekend trip to Big Bear (altitude 6,800ft) to let the kids play in the snow.
On the first trip, I was running Castrol SynTec 20W-50 (before I learned that 20W-50 is generally a bad idea in a KLR in almost all cases). The low had dipped into the 20s overnight and when I went to start the bike, it would crank (albeit more slowly than it should) and would only "hit" occasionally. Eventually, I had to squirt carb cleaner down its gullet to get it to kick over and even then it was rough getting it started.
Two weeks later, it sat out overnight in approximately the same conditions. This time I'd switched to Rotella T6 Synthetic 5W-40 (My new favorite oil). It started right up without any real trouble, although I had to leave the enrichener on a little longer than the 10-15 seconds I use it at home.
I can't recommend reading "Motor Oil 101" emphatically enough. I must admit that I was completely wrong in my thinking about oil grade (weight) selection, as are most people I know. It's not about thickness, it's about flow. My bike starts and runs WAY better using 5W-40 than it ever did on 20W-50. If I had an oil pressure gauge, I might go even thinner.
-Jeff Khoury
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Right. You don't have to kill them all. Just identify a ringleader and make an example of him.