Concours 14 has crazy long oil change intervals ?

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My Concours 14 list 7,500 miles for oil changes, I know other brands spec the same type long (5,000, 6,000, 7,500) oil change. It does not say anything about using synthetic or mineral oil, only list the oil spec's (SJ)10W-40 recommended.

Now, most of us here know that motorcycles can really chew up shear down even the best of oils. Reading most of the UOA's years past to present have shown oil's really sheared @3,000-4,000 miles. Concours 14 UOA's with SRT 15W-40 looked real beat up long before 7,500 miles. I would think that the engineers who design the engine's & tran's take all this shearing into account. Not knowing what brand of oil the owner might use that meets spec the engineers would need to account for broad range of shearing. If this is true then our motorcycles can thrive on thin oils and we really shouldn't be worrying about shearing.

What do the engineers focus on that 7,5000 miles oil change interval are safe ? The way things are today I would think they error on the conservative side even @7,500 mi.

Would any of you leave dino or syn. motorcycle oil in for recommended 7,500 miles knowing that it may have sheared down 20 wt. oil, even if TBN and everything else is good ?
 
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They might have taken the shear factor into consideration when the spec'd what grade of oil is sufficient.Even Blackstone says in several UOA"S, that being the oil sheared a grade or two , it didn't show an increase in wear particles, and said to keep going. I feel how you get to 5k or 7k miles,long highway rides vs short around town miles, would determine how often to change the oil.,,
 
Shear is less of a problem with synthetic oils which require less
VI improver. The VI long chains get chewed up by the gears. Some bikes like BMWs use external gearboxes just like cars and don't have the problem. There were a few front drive cars in the early days of the switch over which used a common sump and had very low oil change intervals as a result. 1500 miles was not umcommon.
 
My Ducati specs 7500 miles, but no way I run it that long. I actually run it half that @ 3750, and that is using a top tier 15W50 full syn. Frame sticker specs 15W50, manual allows 10W40 though.
 
FastGame said:
My Concours 14 list 7,500 miles for oil changes, I know other brands spec the same type long (5,000, 6,000, 7,500) oil change. It does not say anything about using synthetic or mineral oil, only list the oil spec's (SJ)10W-40 recommended.

Now, most of us here know that motorcycles can really chew up shear down even the best of oils. Reading most of the UOA's years past to present have shown oil's really sheared @3,000-4,000 miles. Concours 14 UOA's with SRT 15W-40 looked real beat up long before 7,500
would think that the engineers who design the engine's & tran's take all this shearing. into account. Not knowing what brand of oil the owner might use that meets spec the engineers would need to account for broad range of shearing. If this is true then our motorcycles can thrive on thin oils and we really shouldn't be worrying about shearing.

What do the engineers focus on that 7,5000 miles oil change interval are safe ? The way things are today I would think they error on the conservative side even @7,500 mi.

Would any of you leave dino or syn. motorcycle oil in for recommended 7,500 miles knowing that it may have sheared down 20 wt. oil, even if TBN and everything else is good ? [/quote

You're asking the same questions I've wondered about for some time now. My Can Am calls for
9300 miles between changes, yet the lab I use, ALS, recommends dumping it when it gets down to 30W, around 3000-4000 miles depending on type oil. It chews up the oil pretty rapid it seems, yet some owners have the opinion that BRP knows best and if they say 9300 is good on an oil blend then thats good enough. I've found that using one quart of 20-50 (not on their recommended list)to the 10-40 weight will hold any synthetic to 4000. Basically, thats what I do now although I'm still playing with diff brands just to see what I like best.

Like you, I would surely like to know what/how the company engineers come up with these
long terms.
 
There is no way I am leaving any oil in my Suzuki GSXFA for 7500 miles. By 3500 miles, shifting becomes more difficult to kick down gears.Engine becomes more rough. Always change oil every 3000 to 3500 miles. I ride to work everyday and for my leisure.
 
Just because a company recommends something does not always make it wise. I know my 1986 Monte Carlo SS manual said I could have INSANELY high OCI's of 7,500 miles in the days of terrible sludging oils and carburetors.

And anyone who has seen the Type IV ATF UOA's knows that when Toyota slapped a sticker that said "Lifetime Fill" on our dipsticks they were way off. Fluid was shot by 40k and they were saying it was good for 2.5x that long.

That being said, if you run the thicker of the allowed viscosity such as a 20w50 instead of a 10w40, you are likely going to be okay on wear going longer, but like all here I never get to 6k on my Triumph. Hit 4k once on it before I dumped it.
 
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Originally Posted By: JetStar
The only way to know for sure is to pick your oil and do some UOA's. See ya after your next oil change.


I understand that and have for along time.....

The point of my thread and long OCI's is that Kawasaki (other brands as well) must not count shearing as a reason for shorter OCI. You know how many UOA post I've read and things are fine except for shearing and people jump in with don't use that oil because it sheared....I'm trying to get to a point of understanding that shearing shouldn't really be much of a factor, or is it ?

So

I will do as you ask and do the UOA @6000 (if I can live that long). If the UOA shows no fuel dilution, TBN is good, wear metals fine, then it shouldn't matter how far the oil sheared. Shearing shouldn't be a factor because Kawasaki must feel that thin oil is fine and dandy. I will use Kawasaki 10W-40 syn oil (rumor has it as made by Motul)and go from there.

Thanks to all.
 
I have been doing 8,000 mile OCIs (as recommended in the manual) on my Honda ST1100 for years and getting good UOA results. Most of the time I use a 15W40 or T6 5W40 although I have run 0W30 to 15W50 oils. I have posted a couple of dozen UOAs on this site. On my bike found that all of the shearing occurred in the first few thousand miles. After that the viscosity stays pretty flat. I even have one 12,000 mile UOA posted.
I have not noticed a difference between the Dino or Synthetic performance.
By the way, the bike has over 195,000 miles on it now and is running great.

Rick
 
Have you noticed no one is wearing out their engines so there is no good reason to fear the
shear... Kawasaki's engineers know the more an oil shears the greater the flow and flow is
what really lubricates our engines...
 
My Honda vfr800 manual recommends 8,000 mile OCI's. I haven't taken it quite that far yet. I'm hesitant to go beyond 3,500, though I am trying to work up to it. Having viewed some of Rick's UOA's has shown me that they can be done.
 
Originally Posted By: BusyLittleShop

Have you noticed no one is wearing out their engines so there is no good reason to fear the
shear... Kawasaki's engineers know the more an oil shears the greater the flow and flow is
what really lubricates our engines...
So why don't the oil companies "shear" the oil for you?
 
There is a point where you get too thin and no amount of flow will save you. I think this is especially true on oil/air cooled bikes with shared sumps. Otherwise we would all be using straight 5 weight oils. Like everything, oil viscosity is best in moderation.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
There is a point where you get too thin and no amount of flow will save you. I think this is especially true on oil/air cooled bikes with shared sumps. Otherwise we would all be using straight 5 weight oils. Like everything, oil viscosity is best in moderation.


I that case I think you'd see wear metals come up. Some would say if it shifts OK and isn't making any bad noises, let it shear, so long as wear is within tolerable limits. I'd be inclined to work up to the 7500 incrementally, but if Kawi says it'll go 7500, go for it.

BTW weather is looking good for riding this weekend, Be Safe
 
#1--what is the volume of the sump? If the engine needs, say, a 2 quart sump to work well, but they build on a 4 quart sump, twice as much oil will live twice as long.

#2--Only the engine design engineers know what actual oil viscosity the engine needs to run well. If it needs 30 wt, and they spec 40 expecting it to shear down to 30, well after several hundred miles they get the oil the engine needs.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
There is a point where you get too thin and no amount of flow will save you.


A blanket "too thin" warning without a corresponding cSt number in viscosity is vague...
 
[quote FastGame]The sump is the same as most cars, it holds 5qt. of oil.[/quote]

That's quite a bit for a 1.3 liter 4 cylinder, and for a long time was adequate for automotive small block V-8's.

More capacity takes more time for any effect on the oil to make a significant difference in it's properties or operating charcteristics. Maybe Kawasaki's intention is to make a long distance tourer that can compete with the Honda on long range mileage without needing an oil change.

Does the extra weight of the larger crankcase + 1.5 extra quarts of oil get noticed? Or would it be such a small percentage of the overall weight to be inconsequential?
 
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