600mi oil change, holy cow what a difference

[Gdubya]

Rolled past 600mi on my 07, so I changed oil/filter and filled up with Rotella T 5w40. HUGE difference. Overall, much quieter running at all RPMs, it was a little disconcerting at first since I had less feedback as to rpms. Also much smoother, especially from 7-8k where I used to be unable to see any detail in my mirrors from the vibration.

Almost ready to start spinning this bad boy up...

 

[wrightme43]

Here man, check this out.
New Motorcycle Check list, Break in

 

[Gdubya]

Yep, I had already pored over the calsci stuff. That's what made me head to the Shell Rotella. Actually learned enough about oil to talk to some of my Jeep buddies about + and - of various oils.

 

[jamesfz6]

Now you have it broke in you should ride it out to almost redline a few times so you know what to expect. Of course i tell myself the same thing everyday............:thumbup:

 

[nimzotech]

Another Service Question

My bike has about 442 miles on it. Having read about the importance of changing the oil and oil filter before the Yamaha recommended first 600 mile service, I too am convinced that it is better to keep the oil clean earlier. I touched the oil filter and felt some oil on its surface- it was packed thick with tiny metallic flakes. I was wondering if that is normal to have some amounts of oil/residue around the filter?

As my skills are getting better each time I ride, I noticed that on several occasions I hear a "grinding" sound when down-shifting from 4th or 3rd to 1st gear. This only happens when the bike is moving faster than I would be normally in 1st gear. I remember someone mentioning somewhere on the forum about adjusting the slack in the clutch cable. With that in mind should I take the bike to dealer for the first service and mention the grinding sound when down shifting to first from a higher gear?

Cheers

 

[reiobard]

My bike has about 442 miles on it. Having read about the importance of changing the oil and oil filter before the Yamaha recommended first 600 mile service, I too am convinced that it is better to keep the oil clean earlier. I touched the oil filter and felt some oil on its surface- it was packed thick with tiny metallic flakes. I was wondering if that is normal to have some amounts of oil/residue around the filter?

As my skills are getting better each time I ride, I noticed that on several occasions I hear a "grinding" sound when down-shifting from 4th or 3rd to 1st gear. This only happens when the bike is moving faster than I would be normally in 1st gear. I remember someone mentioning somewhere on the forum about adjusting the slack in the clutch cable. With that in mind should I take the bike to dealer for the first service and mention the grinding sound when down shifting to first from a higher gear?

Cheers

Well, i am not sure if the grinding is "Normal" or not i would not be shifting from 3rd or 4th straight to 1st. it is a control thing and also when your wheels are spinning that fast and you have to release the clutch you risk locking up the rear tire and also spinning the engine much faster than it needs to go.

On an side note isn't there something that stops the bike from going into first from a higher gear above a certain speed? I know my old bike would not drop into first above 15 or so miles per hour (same thing with my car)

 

[ped]

i think the metal in the oil is good for a while. its helping to seat the bearings. i leave it in til 600 then change it early at 1200.

 

[reiobard]

I am not sure how metal in the oil can help anything, I think that is why they want it changed at 600 miles, I do agree that it is probably good to change it again at 1200-1500 miles

 

[nimzotech]

Gratz on meeting the 600 mile mark and changing your OIL! :thumbup::thumbup:

I'm in the 500 mile range now, and plan on easily reaching 600 by the end of this week. The dealer is offering me 20% off of the first 600 mile service. Would you recommend I take the bike to dealer and have them service the bike or just do the oil and oil filter change myself?

I was thinking that they might check other things at the dealer's shop like, chain slack and lube it, clutch, brakes, etc...

Anyway I'm debating whether switching to Rotella synth oil you used and the better oil filter - recommended by wrightme43. I have heard both the pros and cons about changing to synth during the first 600 mile oil change. Some advise you change to oil after about a thousand miles.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Gratz on meeting the 600 mile mark and changing your OIL! :thumbup::thumbup:

I'm in the 500 mile range now, and plan on easily reaching 600 by the end of this week. The dealer is offering me 20% off of the first 600 mile service. Would you recommend I take the bike to dealer and have them service the bike or just do the oil and oil filter change myself?

You can read Buggerlugs recent post on how well his first oil change went and elect to get it done by the dealership, or you can follow the advice of this thread on how to do an oil change and save a couple of hundred bucks.

If you decide to do it yourself, many of us, including myself, encountered a very difficult time loosening the bolt that plugs the oil. It's on very tight.

http://www.600riders.com/forum/garage-mechanical-help/1573-how-do-oil-change.html

 

[nimzotech]

Ya, that is an excellent thread about the oil change, I had it in my favorites already. The answer I was interested more in is whether other things, besides the oil and oil filter like chain tension, clutch, bolts, idle speed, brakes, etc are worth having checkedby an authorized dealer?

How did you grapple the problem loosening the bolt plugging the oil?

 

[reiobard]

Ya, that is an excellent thread about the oil change, I had it in my favorites already. The answer I was interested more in is whether other things, besides the oil and oil filter like chain tension, clutch, bolts, idle speed, brakes, etc are worth having checkedby an authorized dealer?

How did you grapple the problem loosening the bolt plugging the oil?

well... average 600 mile service is $200, 20% off is $160, it might be worth it if you are nervous about checking that stuff yourself, but it is the first step down the road of having a dealer maintained bike.

 

[CanadianFZ6]

i think the metal in the oil is good for a while. its helping to seat the bearings. i leave it in til 600 then change it early at 1200.

What? Where did you learn that? Bearings don't need to be seated (valves maybe)... There should be "virtually" (obviously there is some breakin on bearings) no wear between say the main bearings and the crank journal for the health and longevity of the bottom end. The better (more true) they are machined the longer they will last. The last thing you want is abrasive material between the main bearings and the crank journal... the surfaces would polish instead of mate (mate being a mirror image of each other)... Breakin comes from metal surfaces temporarily breaking through the oil film allowing the two surfaces to mate not polish or glaze.... Oil with the abrasive consistency of toothpaste is not going to mate these surfaces but rather create excessive clearances.... The shiny flakes and black paste you see after a breakin oil change comes mostly from the gear box and piston rings....

 

[reiobard]

What? Where did you learn that? Bearings don't need to be seated (valves maybe)... There should be "virtually" (obviously there is some breakin on bearings) no wear between say the main bearings and the crank journal for the health and longevity of the bottom end. The better (more true) they are machined the longer they will last. The last thing you want is abraisive material between the main bearings and the crank journal... the surfaces would polish instead of mate (mate being a mirror image of each other)... Breakin comes from metal surfaces temporarily breaking through the oil film allowing the two surfaces to mate not polish or glaze.... Oil with the consistancy of toothpaste is not going to mate these surfaces but rather create excessive clearances.... The shiny flakes and black paste you see after a breakin oil change comes mostly from the gear box and piston rings....

thats what i though...

 

[ped]

What? Where did you learn that? Bearings don't need to be seated (valves maybe)... There should be "virtually" (obviously there is some breakin on bearings) no wear between say the main bearings and the crank journal for the health and longevity of the bottom end. The better (more true) they are machined the longer they will last. The last thing you want is abrasive material between the main bearings and the crank journal... the surfaces would polish instead of mate (mate being a mirror image of each other)... Breakin comes from metal surfaces temporarily breaking through the oil film allowing the two surfaces to mate not polish or glaze.... Oil with the abrasive consistency of toothpaste is not going to mate these surfaces but rather create excessive clearances.... The shiny flakes and black paste you see after a breakin oil change comes mostly from the gear box and piston rings....

i learned it from experience. im not getting into another oil/break-in thread though.

 

[HavBlue]

Anybody ever work with diesels and oil samples? It's actually very interesting how wear patterns develop and how these samples can tell you what is wearing and how fast. Machining technologies have become so acute it is actually possible to build a hydraulic system that uses no gaskets and Toyota did this with the A40 automatic years ago. Engines built pre-OBD1 I would consider old school and I would be changing the oil and filter within that first 500 miles. After say 1986 I'm not worried about it because things started getting real good in terms of that new engine. I don't warm things up while static. Rather, I drive/ride them at a slow pace for the first few miles until the gauge begins to move and then I am off. The reason for this is simple, engines warm up faster and more evenly under load. I do however agree with the writer's break in methods on the check list posted by Steve. The only way to do it faster is on a roller for about $100 and some tech time. I switched my bike to Mobil 1 20W50 automotive at 300 miles and the bike loves it as do I.

 

[Roboco]

YIKES! Rotella seized my engine at 850 miles so be careful!!!:justkidding:

 

[madmanmaigret]

I switched my bike to Mobil 1 20W50 automotive at 300 miles and the bike loves it as do I.

aren't the friction modifiers in automotive oil bad for the clutch? That is why they make motorcycle specific oil.

 

[reiobard]

YIKES! Rotella seized my engine at 850 miles so be careful!!!:justkidding:

did they tell you that it was the oil or something else wrong with the engine that was not allowing oil to get to the necessary parts?

 

[nimzotech]

I asked several mechanics and technicians at the local Authorized Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, and Kawasaki bike shop about changing to synth oil. All three recommended waiting till about few thousand miles were on the odometer. The reasons given were: allowing to engine to fully-break in during the couple of thousand miles, and possible clutch/gear slips on synth oil. And so I decided to use something that yamaha recommends. I will stick with regular oil.

Cheers.