I've started using Walmart brand 20w-50, which is half the price of anything else. Only have a couple hundred miles with it though. I figured if it's good enough for 5T's punctilious predilection, then it's worth trying.
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Finding Neutral while stopped and in gear
- Thread starter TwoManyXS1Bs
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- neutral shifting transmission
I dunno, guys. These new oils are a bit of a learning curve for me. I don't mind the extra expense if I can be assured of minimal engine wear, and reliable clutch operation. Maybe it's just a temperature thing, sump oil temps exceeding 230°F and the dino oil and/or additives fouls the clutch? Not something easily figured in a couple days. Mrriggs had mentioned awhile back that dragging clutch for him meant time for an oil change.
I'll keep monitoring this new Valvoline VR.
Considering trying a full synthetic after that...
I'll keep monitoring this new Valvoline VR.
Considering trying a full synthetic after that...
Hey, Pete. Just an FYI.
Oil capacity on the early, starterless, 70-71 XS1/XS1B is 3000cc.
After that, 72-on, the starter took away some of the case capacity, reducing it to 2500cc.
Case bottoms, Background- XS1, Foreground- 72-on.
I simply put in 3qts at oil changes...
Hey, Paul. Straight-weight 50s and 60s are available. Not sure about their wet-clutch ratings. This could turn into a long, dragged-out evaluation, eh?
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5 quarts? Huh?
Hey, Marlin72xs. I add 2 qts back in March, for the tow-hitch project.
http://www.xs650.com/threads/motorcycle-tow-hitch-tms800-800lb-front-wheel-hauler.51206/
http://www.xs650.com/threads/motorcycle-tow-hitch-tms800-800lb-front-wheel-hauler.51206/
Straight weight might be OK in TEXAS, up nort firing up a cold bike with straight weight can be impossible AND ill advised. Then again 10 minutes with a hair dryer will probably get it up to liquid state in cold temps. not so easy in the boonies. LOL
Finding neutral has been a problem for a while but now it is almost impossible especially when warm. I have given up and just have the clutch in at stop lights.
I was browsing Mike's and came across this:https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs650-needle-bearing-with-thrust-washer.html
Is this an improvement over stock?
I was browsing Mike's and came across this:https://www.mikesxs.net/yamaha-xs650-needle-bearing-with-thrust-washer.html
Is this an improvement over stock?
No, it doesn't help at all. That part of their sales pitch is bullshit. It may improve clutch operation if the original bearing is shot but even then, it won't make finding neutral any easier.
I've just trained myself and gotten into the habit of selecting neutral before I come to a complete stop, while the bike is still rolling. It goes in easy then. Barely rolling is all it takes.
I've just trained myself and gotten into the habit of selecting neutral before I come to a complete stop, while the bike is still rolling. It goes in easy then. Barely rolling is all it takes.
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Yes, besides, who the heck downshifts to 1st when coming to a stop. I never did even when i was a stupid kid.
2m. On rhe road now, but i can't wait to read ur tow-hitch project. I'm still breaking her in on short trips.
By the way, anyone know of a rear brake light switch that doesn't break in half?
2m. On rhe road now, but i can't wait to read ur tow-hitch project. I'm still breaking her in on short trips.
By the way, anyone know of a rear brake light switch that doesn't break in half?
I used the same system as ggggary and 5Twins. Have the bike just rolling and with the foot weight off the peg just a quick flick/tap with the toe to downshift to neutral.
On the West cost, of the North Island under Mt Taranaki in NZ it gets cold, frosts, - Degrees some bad days in winter, snows down to my home town every 10 years or so.
We had snow that day
I used to use SAE 30. Never had a problem, though on cold mornings i would roll it out to sit in the sun out of the wind for 1/2 an hour before starting. Especially if it wouldn't start after the second crank with the starter motor. never used to crank it over more than 6 times in a row using the motor...........at any time..
Here in the Far Northern tropics of Queensland, 20/50. Tried 15/40 once, took it for a quick ride, got home and look at the sight glass and the oil was literally, boiling
On the West cost, of the North Island under Mt Taranaki in NZ it gets cold, frosts, - Degrees some bad days in winter, snows down to my home town every 10 years or so.
We had snow that day
I used to use SAE 30. Never had a problem, though on cold mornings i would roll it out to sit in the sun out of the wind for 1/2 an hour before starting. Especially if it wouldn't start after the second crank with the starter motor. never used to crank it over more than 6 times in a row using the motor...........at any time..
Here in the Far Northern tropics of Queensland, 20/50. Tried 15/40 once, took it for a quick ride, got home and look at the sight glass and the oil was literally, boiling
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I suspect the boiling was some gas (or water) in the oil. I don't think you could get an XS650 motor hot enough to boil oil.
From reference.com
Q:
What Is the Boiling Point of Motor Oil?
A:
QUICK ANSWER
The boiling point of motor oil is very high, about 572 degrees Fahrenheit.This property is due to its molecular structure.
The old KZ1300 could boil the gas in the gas tank. A Very scary sight when opening the cap!
From reference.com
Q:
What Is the Boiling Point of Motor Oil?
A:
QUICK ANSWER
The boiling point of motor oil is very high, about 572 degrees Fahrenheit.This property is due to its molecular structure.
The old KZ1300 could boil the gas in the gas tank. A Very scary sight when opening the cap!
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650Skull, nice photo of Taranaki. My Grand Father was the Mayor of Inglewood in Taranaki way back. I lived not far away just south of Palmerston North at Tokomaru opposite the steam Museum in the early 70s.
Good point. Maybe there was contaminants. It was a new oil change, the gas tank Vacuum petcocks were working, still work, there was no fuel leakage visually. Maybe a stuck float valve but there was no indication in the action of the motor that it was flooding. The run was on a hot day and the loop i took was about 50Klm with the first 20klm at 50 and 60kph, about 25klm at 80kph and the last 8klm at 60 and 50kph................
After i changed the oil to 20/50 it never happened again...........The oil was my first thought. didn't bother to think any further on it.
Lived in Palmerston north for a couple of years...........goddam windy place and flat, what one does for a woman
Still miss the mountain after 30 odd years, not the cold though. I lived in Eltham, the towns claim to fame was i was the first town in NZ to get a tar sealed road and perfected the art to make good rennet to make cheese, Made NZ's Blue vain cheese.
Well it freaked me out. Don't get a chance to see what really happens to oil, the bike has the sight glass and after seeing that i dropped the oil.........looked like i had been eating chilies for a week
........ Seemed to have no substance to the oil at all.
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That boiling could be just the moisture from changing your oil on a humid day. Some synthetic oils will tend to absorb moisture. That was a problem with large refrigeration systems when they experimented with synthetic oils and the new refrigerants in the early 90's.
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Just Marlin, please. I saw the hitch. That's fantastic. Like you, at this point in my life it would take 3 of me to push it on a truck and 2 of me for the trailer. If I broke down, I couldn't see my wife getting the hitch on, then the trailer, then the ramp. With your rig, i cud make a kit in a box with the hitch and tiedowns and that would cut down about 25% of the complaining.
Well, it's due for the 1,000 mile oil change. Couple of days ago, dumped 5qts of old oil, refilled with 3qts of fresh oil. Replaced my BOF (side filter paper sleeve).
Whut the........
Instantly, and after about 100 miles of riding today, I have my easy shifting, neutral finding back!
Son-of-a-gun.
It was the oil!
To be honest, I've not done enough miles on the XS to be aware of its oil peculiarities and preferences, and apart from that, there's a kind of total-loss / partial replace system running in it at the moment, so it's continually getting topped up with fresh oil, mostly a racing 20W50 I can get locally, with a high zinc content.
Otoh, one bike I know intimately over many long years and literally hundreds of thousands of miles is the Suzuki GS850.
Fwiw, here's my experiences with various oils over the years (by far and away, 90% car oil, as bike oil is overpriced here).
There's not an oil that lasts beyond 2000 miles in the Suzuki engine. Sure, you can run it to 3K if you want, or even 4K, but what happens at 2K is quite noticeable - the gearshift starts getting a bit clunky. In the early days, it was received wisdom to change out the oil at 2K, so that's what I was doing. From time to time, I'd try to extend the change interval, but without fail, at 2K, once again, the gearshift told me NO.
My view is that if I can feel a mechanical effect from worn-out oil allowing the change shaft / drum / gear shifters to touch each other more closely through an oil film that's definitely sub-par, then I don't know how the most essential element of the engine is doing - the crankshaft.
So, every 2K, without fail.
A few years ago I tried a synthetic 5W40 for winter (to eliminate cold clutch drag), and that was good, it even liberated an extra couple of horses, but it pegged out exhausted at 1700miles, so much for that.
The good news is that the Suzuki engine isn't fussy about the oil its fed with, so I'd keep an eye open for end-of-line (good brand names) oil bargains, and the cost of 2K oil changes was minimised. I'd be mostly running 15W40, some 20W50, sometimes 10W40.
