I am planning on buying a kawasaki er6-n with 450 miles on it.  It is coming from a dealer and will have fresh oil in it.  My question is, at what point do I start using synthetic oil and what is a good brand?  I noticed the thread on synthetic oils for cars and didn't realize that the term "synthetic" had been twisted around so much.  I have read that with small engines, you should use regular oil for the first 1000 miles and then switch to synthetic, any truth to this?

Meh... I put mobile 1 synthetic in all my bikes regardless of their mileage.  Don't overthink the oil issue.

Whatever the owner's manual recommends.

What is it with all these "which oil should I use" threads?  It's not the 1960's anymore, ll oils are plenty good enough.

Any automotive 10W40 dino oil.  I prefer Pennzoil.

No.

For all the angst and gnashing of teeth concerning motor oil, just pop open the owners manual and use what is recommended for both weight and type. It really is that simple.



Motor oil discussions are almost akin to debates on abortion and religion with no clear concise opinion.

Rotella T6 from Walmart, full synth, wet-clutch friendly, inexpensive, and will make your bike happy.



Everything you'd ever wanna know about the subject:



http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Consumables.html

I always used Mobil 1 4T 10w-40, and sometimes Amsoil but prefer Mobil.  Do not use car oil.

Why not?

You're buying the same stuff in the motorcycle jug for 3 times as much.

If your bike has a wet clutch do not use automotive oil that is marked "energy conserving".

I prefer to use motorcycle specific oils.

Mobil 1 has a "motorcycle" formula.  It doesn't contain "energy conserving" friction modifiers, so it's safe for motorcycle wet clutches.  I think it also has higher zinc content, since there are no catalysts to contaminate.

5W30 and 10W30 are the energy conserving oils.

Any 10W40 is not energy conserving and ok for wet clutch use.

Above that it's all what makes you feel warm and fuzzy.  The key is regular changes and filter changes.  I change both every 5,000 miles.

ETA - Rotella 15W40 is good stuff.

Rotella 15w40

Oil discussions can certainly offer up a great many opinions...

I've been using a red '09 650R, which is identical to the ER-6n except for body work, as a track bike and a second '09 650R in black as a daily rider.  The Kawasaki owners manual calls for 10w-40 and oil/filter changes every 7500 miles which seems INSANE to me.  Oil and filters are cheap, engines, not so much.  Even a change every 5k miles seems too long... The shearing forces and oil degradation generated in a shared engine/transmission oil sump and wet clutch certainly offers the worst scenario of all for breaking down oil in a motorcycle much more rapidly compared to a car.

While my red 650R has its oil/filter changed after a weekend at the track, my daily rider's oil never goes past 1k miles between changes.  I'm using plain old 10w-40 dino oil and ST7317 made in U.S.A. filters, I don't bother with the Kawasaki branded filters.  A great motorcycle oil filter cross reference here:  http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/FilterXRef.html

ST7317 filter info here:

http://users.zoominternet.net/~capronem/Inside%20the%20ST7317.htm

Enjoy the ER-6n!


edited for link...

EXACTLY WHAT THE MANUAL RECOMMENDS!


Some bikes have a wet clutch and putting the wrong oil in them makes
the clutch slip, I did it before out of ignorance, so I know first hand.

If I recall it was Mobil 1 that I used, it made the bike almost unrideable.

On some bikes it is a pain to get it right again, you gave to drain
the oil and run some kind of solvent through it to clean it out,

Why not try to find a good motorcycle forum to ask questions about your new ride? I'm sure you'll have more questions.

Not saying that the general discussion fourm on a gun related board isn't the optimal place to find motorcycle advice.

(Or I'm I?)

what about chain lube?

assless chaps that look cool?

goggles for my half lid?


so many questions