New Bike (to me , anyway)!

I just purchased an 08 with 2050 miles on it. This came from a dealer and they have no idea if it has synthetic or reg. oil. What would be the prudent course here when I change the oil? Never used synth, so not sure if I can drain it (if it is synthetic) and use regular? Thank you.

You can switch, but if you're not sure what it has in it, you should change the oil & filter, then change oil & filter again with same stuff within a few hundred miles to flush the old stuff out.

[image: View Post]SEBSPEED, on 21 July 2010 - 09:44 AM, said:

You can switch, but if you're not sure what it has in it, you should change the oil & filter, then change oil & filter again with same stuff within a few hundred miles to flush the old stuff out.


Seb, is that just if he wants to go from (possibly) synthetic back to dino oil or do you do that even when you go from dino oil to synthetic?

i wouldn't even worry about it (since you don't know brand/weight...etc, etc was last put in.). just put in what you want to use and change it at YOUR chosen intervals. even synth brands can cause change in bike attitude. just like what i'm experiencing with my FJR. i used to run AMSOIL, but was planning to do a nice ride up to WI last week, thought i had the right oil, gtg for an oil change, but lo n behold, Nope. well, too late to get AMSOIL, so i had to get Mobil 1 cycle synth. right off the bat, noticed bike makes more rattles on start-up. it goes away, but way too noisy for my taste. so, as soon as i can get some ASMOIL, i'm swapping back. metallic noise like a diesel on a bike, gives me the heeby-jeebies.

GL.

[image: View Post]USAFVFR2NV, on 21 July 2010 - 11:21 AM, said:

i wouldn't even worry about it (since you don't know brand/weight...etc, etc was last put in.). just put in what you want to use and change it at YOUR chosen intervals. even synth brands can cause change in bike attitude. just like what i'm experiencing with my FJR. i used to run AMSOIL, but was planning to do a nice ride up to WI last week, thought i had the right oil, gtg for an oil change, but lo n behold, Nope. well, too late to get AMSOIL, so i had to get Mobil 1 cycle synth. right off the bat, noticed bike makes more rattles on start-up. it goes away, but way too noisy for my taste. so, as soon as i can get some ASMOIL, i'm swapping back. metallic noise like a diesel on a bike, gives me the heeby-jeebies.

GL.


Never had that problem with Mobil 1 4T syn. I do have a problem with the price, so I put in Shell Rotella T6 syn a couple of days ago and so far smooth as silk for about half the price.

[image: View Post]spaceman, on 21 July 2010 - 09:42 AM, said:

I just purchased an 08 with 2050 miles on it. This came from a dealer and they have no idea if it has synthetic or reg. oil. What would be the prudent course here when I change the oil? Never used synth, so not sure if I can drain it (if it is synthetic) and use regular? Thank you.



It really doesn't matter. You can run either one in it and switch as much as you'd like. Synthetic and dino motor oils are fully compatible, you can mix them all day long and it won't hurt a thing. Check any oil manufacturer's website, they all say it. As long as it meets the requirements of the bike (MA rated), run it.

[image: View Post]tpierce(MP), on 21 July 2010 - 11:34 AM, said:

[image: View Post]spaceman, on 21 July 2010 - 09:42 AM, said:

I just purchased an 08 with 2050 miles on it. This came from a dealer and they have no idea if it has synthetic or reg. oil. What would be the prudent course here when I change the oil? Never used synth, so not sure if I can drain it (if it is synthetic) and use regular? Thank you.



It really doesn't matter. You can run either one in it and switch as much as you'd like. Synthetic and dino motor oils are fully compatible, you can mix them all day long and it won't hurt a thing. Check any oil manufacturer's website, they all say it. As long as it meets the requirements of the bike (MA rated), run it.


Thanks for that. I do however agree with USAFVFR2NV above...different bikes (even across the same make and model) seem to prefer different oils as far as the anecdotal evidence I've read over the last couple of years. Just bought a Kawi 650R for my gf this spring and the guy was putting in the same oil the BMW dealership used on the beemers but the Kawi shifted like hell. I changed it to plain jane Kawi 10W-40 dino and smooth as can be now. The oil I drained out looked almost brand new.

[image: View Post]2thdr, on 21 July 2010 - 11:26 AM, said:

[image: View Post]USAFVFR2NV, on 21 July 2010 - 11:21 AM, said:

i wouldn't even worry about it (since you don't know brand/weight...etc, etc was last put in.). just put in what you want to use and change it at YOUR chosen intervals. even synth brands can cause change in bike attitude. just like what i'm experiencing with my FJR. i used to run AMSOIL, but was planning to do a nice ride up to WI last week, thought i had the right oil, gtg for an oil change, but lo n behold, Nope. well, too late to get AMSOIL, so i had to get Mobil 1 cycle synth. right off the bat, noticed bike makes more rattles on start-up. it goes away, but way too noisy for my taste. so, as soon as i can get some ASMOIL, i'm swapping back. metallic noise like a diesel on a bike, gives me the heeby-jeebies.

GL.


Never had that problem with Mobil 1 4T syn. I do have a problem with the price, so I put in Shell Rotella T6 syn a couple of days ago and so far smooth as silk for about half the price.

i used to run Mobil 1 in my previous bikes (didn't notice much difference and never had any problems) and then i found i could get AMSOIL cheaper, so jumped ship. but the difference on start-up was quite noticeable between Mobil and Amsoil. freaked me out at first. thought i had not put enough in and rechecked for the umpteenth time and yep still in the right zone. WTF?!? so i'm kinda glad i couldn't go on my trip, for fear of something worse happening. now i can flog it and make sure it's not a fluke or whatever. but if it keeps doing it consistently, i'm swapping back to Amsoil. any extra noise is a bad thing in my book.

[image: View Post]2thdr, on 21 July 2010 - 11:39 AM, said:

[image: View Post]tpierce(MP), on 21 July 2010 - 11:34 AM, said:

[image: View Post]spaceman, on 21 July 2010 - 09:42 AM, said:

I just purchased an 08 with 2050 miles on it. This came from a dealer and they have no idea if it has synthetic or reg. oil. What would be the prudent course here when I change the oil? Never used synth, so not sure if I can drain it (if it is synthetic) and use regular? Thank you.



It really doesn't matter. You can run either one in it and switch as much as you'd like. Synthetic and dino motor oils are fully compatible, you can mix them all day long and it won't hurt a thing. Check any oil manufacturer's website, they all say it. As long as it meets the requirements of the bike (MA rated), run it.


Thanks for that. I do however agree with USAFVFR2NV above...different bikes (even across the same make and model) seem to prefer different oils as far as the anecdotal evidence I've read over the last couple of years. Just bought a Kawi 650R for my gf this spring and the guy was putting in the same oil the BMW dealership used on the beemers but the Kawi shifted like hell. I changed it to plain jane Kawi 10W-40 dino and smooth as can be now. The oil I drained out looked almost brand new.


The can be because depending on which oil was being used, it may not have been approved for motorcycles. Their car oil aren't always and many BMW bikes still have clutches so they don't need MC specific oil.

Congrats on your new-to-you VFR, spaceman! :fing02:

Seb's suggestion is a good one, but I don't think it's completely necessary. I just switched to full-synthetic my last oil change and am planning to stick with it, but if I changed back I wouldn't worry too much.

Just a shot in the dark, but I'm betting the oil in the bike is regular old dino oil. With the bike at such low mileage I'm guessing the oil has only been changed once so far, probably by the dealer around 600 miles, and they likely would have used dino oil and a Honda or no-name filter for that first change. Even if it was done by the original owner, I don't think most people switch to full-synthetic right away.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have plenty of 10w40 dino on hand, so I'll just drain it and change the filter at the same time.

Is there a specific size filter wrench for this bike? Not too familiar with this bike yet, and the shop manual is on the way.

[image: View Post]spaceman, on 21 July 2010 - 12:26 PM, said:

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have plenty of 10w40 dino on hand, so I'll just drain it and change the filter at the same time.

Is there a specific size filter wrench for this bike? Not too familiar with this bike yet, and the shop manual is on the way.

Order the Honda cap wrench(better fit/cost more/will make a difference).

[image: View Post]Monk, on 21 July 2010 - 12:37 PM, said:

[image: View Post]spaceman, on 21 July 2010 - 12:26 PM, said:

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have plenty of 10w40 dino on hand, so I'll just drain it and change the filter at the same time.

Is there a specific size filter wrench for this bike? Not too familiar with this bike yet, and the shop manual is on the way.

Order the Honda cap wrench(better fit/cost more/will make a difference).

Thanks.....is there a website for it, or do I get from a Honda dealership?

[image: View Post]spaceman, on 21 July 2010 - 12:26 PM, said:

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have plenty of 10w40 dino on hand, so I'll just drain it and change the filter at the same time.

Is there a specific size filter wrench for this bike? Not too familiar with this bike yet, and the shop manual is on the way.


You probably know, but make sure your 10W-40 doesn't say "Energy Conserving" on it and is JASO "MA" rated. I use the type of wrench that fits over the end of the filter like a big socket, but make damn sure you get the all metal one and not the plastic POS. Sebspeed uses one that looks like a grappling hook and swears by it.

I hope the existing oil filter isn't cranked down too hard. I only fasten mine about finger tight. Spin on 'til it stops, then another 1/2 to 1/2 turn. I have an oil filter socket but I hate using it b/c the old filter always gets stuck in the socket. :mad: