nklr: 2005 kawasaki concours for sale

[Bogdan Swider]

> > > My engine builder buddy who builds engines for Bonneville record bikes told > me that the KLR's roller bearing crank likes the heavier oil. My old '91 has > had 20w50 oil used for nearly 100k miles now and while the engine has been > rebuilt the cams are original and they and the cam journals look just like new > so flow to the top end is obviously not a problem at least in the warm to hot > climate that I ride in. I also inspected the crank bearings recently and > they also were in like new condition. Also the Kawi shop manual for my bike > suggests those weights for the temps I ride in. > Kurt >

Kurt, what brand of 20/50 do you use - if I may be so impertinent ? I've been using a similar weight Mobil One; being synthetic it's fine in cold weather but also needs replenishing between changes. Been thinking of going to a dino for that reason. Bogdan

[Blake Sobiloff]

On Jun 12, 2006, at 9:41 AM, Doug Herr wrote:

> I don't have my owners manual in front of me, but I think I get > 20/50 as the recommendation for my climate.

The manual does not make reference to climate when listing the preferred oil viscosities. -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/blakeblog/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)

[Doug Herr]

On Tue, 13 Jun 2006, Blake Sobiloff wrote:

> On Jun 12, 2006, at 9:41 AM, Doug Herr wrote: >> I don't have my owners manual in front of me, but I think I get >> 20/50 as the recommendation for my climate. > > The manual does not make reference to climate when listing the > preferred oil viscosities.

Huh? I did check the owners manual, and it clearly does list oil based on the high and low temp that you expect to ride in. That spells "climate" to me. I did also note that the 20/50 is a reasonable oil for me based on that chart and my year round riding habits. -- Doug Herr doug@...

[Blake Sobiloff]

On Jun 13, 2006, at 5:55 AM, Mike Peplinski wrote:

> I don't think thats true Norm. 15W40 won't hurt a thing except > maybe the > fuel mileage. I'm told that the big move to 5wt and even "0" wt is > for the > tiny mileage gain one experiences. > >> From: "Norm Keller" >> >> IMO 15W40 is too heavy a base weight for the KLR engine. With lots of >> choices in the 5W40 and 10W40 there seems to be no good reason to >> select >> such a high base number oil. It mystifies me as to why so many people >> believe that they should run heavier weight oils......

Fellas, remember that the "W" rating of an oil is a measure of the oil's ability to both flow and be pumped at temperatures ranging from -10 dC to -40 dC. It has nothing to do with the viscosity of the oil when it is up to temperature (100 dC). All 40-weight oils, regardless of their "W" rating, have a viscosity between 12.5 and 16.3 cSt. (See http://www.texacoxpresslube.com/carcare/ article_viscosity.html>.) Also, no oil is thin enough at startup. Even a 0W-40 like Mobil 1's is 80 cSt thick at 40 dC--over five times as thick as what your engine wants. An ideal oil (which doesn't exist yet) would be the same viscosity regardless of temperature. (For comparison, Shell Rotella T 15W-40 is 118 cSt at 40 dC--almost eight times thicker than what we want--and the 5W-40 version is 90 cSt at 40 dC--still six times thicker than what we want.) The only reason we don't use 0W oils in our motorcycles is because it takes a lot of additives to create a 0W. These additives are quickly sheared by our high RPMs and our transmission gears, both increasing the cold viscosity and reducing the hot viscosity--neither of which we want. -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/blakeblog/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)

[Blake Sobiloff]

On Jun 13, 2006, at 9:04 AM, Doug Herr wrote:

> I did check the owners manual, and it clearly does list oil based > on the high and low temp that you expect to ride in. That spells > "climate" to me.

Interesting, since my Owner's Manual doesn't (A13 USA California model). It references oil on pages 9 and 65, and in both locations it states only "SE, SF or SG class SAE 10W40, 10W50, 20W40, or 20W50". What year/part number for your Owner's Manual? -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/blakeblog/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)

[Krgrife@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/13/2006 7:15:54 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, bSwider@... writes: Kurt, what brand of 20/50 do you use - if I may be so impertinent ? I've been using a similar weight Mobil One; being synthetic it's fine in cold weather but also needs replenishing between changes. Been thinking of going to a dino for that reason. Generally Castrol GTX 20/50 because I can always find it in Mexico and other places where Mobil 1 is not available. Kurt [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Thor Lancelot Simon]

On Tue, Jun 13, 2006 at 09:25:44AM -0700, Blake Sobiloff wrote:

> > The only reason we don't use 0W oils in our motorcycles is because it > takes a lot of additives to create a 0W. These additives are quickly > sheared by our high RPMs and our transmission gears, both increasing > the cold viscosity and reducing the hot viscosity--neither of which > we want.

That's not the only reason: 0W oils are also all "EC II" energy conserving and are thus inappropriate for wet clutch use. So are 5W oils whose hot viscosity is 30W or less. So the 5W-40 oils meant for diesel truck ("Heavy-Duty") use are about as good as you can get. If you really want the bset of the best, you can always pay (a lot) for Mobil Delvac One. That's the full-synth diesel truck oil that some fleets run for change intervals in excess of 1,000,000 miles, the so-called "million mile oil". It's 5W-40 like Rotella Synth. Rotella Synth really is pretty much the best compromise you can just run out to the store and buy, and if you're not starting the bike in icy weather the 15W-40 version will save a few bucks and is thinner than the 20W-50 Kawasaki thinks is okay.

[Blake Sobiloff]

On Jun 13, 2006, at 11:20 AM, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:

> That's not the only reason: 0W oils are also all "EC II" energy > conserving and are thus inappropriate for wet clutch use.

Not all 0W are EC. The lists at http://eolcs.api.org/ FindBrandByViscosity.asp?Viscosity=0W-40> and < http://eolcs.api.org/ FindBrandByViscosity.asp?Viscosity=0W-30> have asterisks in the Service Category column if the oil is EC; you'll notice that most 40- weights are not EC and close to half of the 30-weights are not, either.

> If you really want the bset of the best, you can always pay (a lot) > for Mobil Delvac One. That's the full-synth diesel truck oil that > some fleets run for change intervals in excess of 1,000,000 miles, > the so-called "million mile oil". It's 5W-40 like Rotella Synth.

Yes, it is a great oil, but it will not sustain its viscosity in a motorcycle for even 1,000 miles. See the UOA at showing how it sheared to a 30- weight in a 1994 VFR 750F in about 1,000 miles. A big rig diesel is an easier operating environment for motor oil than a motorcycle with a shared lubrication system. Seeing as one of the best oils out there (D1) can't hold its viscosity in a motorcycle over 1,000 miles, Rotella is a great alternative--similar properties, but inexpensive enough to change every 1,000 miles without killing your wallet.

> Rotella Synth really is pretty much the best compromise you can just > run out to the store and buy, and if you're not starting the bike in > icy weather the 15W-40 version will save a few bucks and is thinner > than the 20W-50 Kawasaki thinks is okay.

Again, no oil is thin enough at startup, so why use a 15W when an equally suitable 5W is almost as available? -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/blakeblog/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)

[Doug Herr]

On Tue, 13 Jun 2006, Blake Sobiloff wrote:

> On Jun 13, 2006, at 9:04 AM, Doug Herr wrote: >> I did check the owners manual, and it clearly does list oil based >> on the high and low temp that you expect to ride in. That spells >> "climate" to me. > > Interesting, since my Owner's Manual doesn't (A13 USA California > model). It references oil on pages 9 and 65, and in both locations > it states only "SE, SF or SG class SAE 10W40, 10W50, 20W40, or > 20W50". What year/part number for your Owner's Manual?

Home now, and checked my owners manual. It is on page 65, showing: http://wombatz.com/klr/oil_spec.jpg The part number on the back of the manual is: 99987-1034 The date notation on the forward page is: July 2001. (4). (S) It came with my A16L. Since 10w-50 is harder to come by, and I don't ride much in the cold, it seemed pretty clear to me that if I follow their chart, I should use 20w-50. -- Doug Herr doug@...

[Blake Sobiloff]

On Jun 13, 2006, at 4:13 PM, Doug Herr wrote:

> Home now, and checked my owners manual. It is on page 65, > showing: > > http://wombatz.com/klr/oil_spec.jpg

Wow, I do *not* have that chart in mine. Here's page 65 from my A13's manual http://www.flickr.com/photos/sobiloff/166776995/ The next page talks about the cooling system, so p. 65 is the extent of it.

> The part number on the back of the manual is: > > 99987-1034

Mine is 99920-1900-01.

> The date notation on the forward page is: > > July 2001. (4). (S)

Mar. 1998. (1). (S) -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/blakeblog/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)