Oil For New Kawasaki Brute Force 750

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Gang,

I have a new BF 750 and will need to change the oil before too long (first OC is at 10 hours of operation). Knowing that any oil I use must be JASO MA or MA2 (no friction modifiers that will interfere with the clutch). Here is what I am considering:

For synthetic:
  • Mobil 1 Racing 4T 10W-40
  • Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W-50
  • Shell Rotella T6 Full synthetic (10W-40 or 20W-50)
  • Amsoil Synthetic Motorcycle Oil (10W-40 or 20W-50)

For conventional:
  • Shell Rotella T 15W40
  • Pennzoil Motorcycle Motor Oil (10W-40 or 20W-50)
  • Castrol Actevo X–tra OffRoad 4T (10W-40 or 20W-50)

It is really hot here during the summer, so the 20W-50 in one of the aforementioned would likely be a good choice.
Thoughts and experiences anyone?
 
Shell Rotella T 15w40 and change it more often if you ride alot in water. Thats my two cents. A high dollar synthetic doesnt really make sense, the oil will get contaminated before it actually wears out, so you will never reap the benefits or the higher cost difference. The Mobil V twin and 4t are gimmick oils. They are cheaper blends, with less sditives and a lower api, yet they sell for more money, because they are "Speciality" oils and bikers see the little V twin thingy and think total bad A.
 
Originally Posted By: Panzerman
Shell Rotella T 15w40 and change it more often if you ride alot in water.


Thanks Panzer!

The Shell or the Pennzoil will likely get the nod. Although the synthetic may be appealing, it will not remain in the bike long enough to make a difference.
 
What weight oil does Kawasaki recommend in your operating range of temps? I'd probably use whatever weight they recommend in the cheapest oil that would suffice and change it every 10 hours or so. Clean your air filter often too. I ride a lot in east Texas and the dust can get really bad.

Nice quad BTW.
 
Originally Posted By: ccdhowell
What weight oil does Kawasaki recommend in your operating range of temps? Nice quad BTW.

Thanks CCD! The OM states between 75F and 100+F the following can be used:
  • 10w-40
  • 10w-50
  • 20w-40
  • 20w-50

I would be inclined to use 10w-50 or 20w-50 since cold temps are really not the problem it is the hot temps that have to be monitored.
 
Originally Posted By: ccdhowell
I ride a lot in east Texas and the dust can get really bad.

PS...where do you ride and is it racing or trail riding?
 
Can anyone verify that the brute force uses a wet clutch set-up?I was thinking I read somewhere before that it does not.I own a 2007?
 
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Originally Posted By: ccdhowell
I ride a lot in east Texas and the dust can get really bad.

PS...where do you ride and is it racing or trail riding?


I race in a cross country series out of Longview, the ATVCCS. We race all over east Texas, mostly at the mud parks, but we don't really "do" mud. I trail ride for fun at the same parks and at Highlifter Park in Shreveport and a few other places around.

You know given the price differences in motorcycle oils and the fact that your BF doesn't have a wet clutch I'd say you'd be in great shape with a 20w50 automotive oil, something like Penzoil yellow bottle or Castrol GTX and change it every couple rides. I'm not familiar enough with the BF to know if the trans oil is separate from the engine oil or not, but if it is, change it once after 10 hours but then you can let it go and probably change it every 3 or 4 oil changes. If the trans oil is separate that means there won't be any combustion contamination in the oil and it won't really need changing any more often.

I hope I got that right, I ride a couple times a year with some guys on BFs, but never really got into the maintenance specifics with them.

Enjoy your new BF.
 
Originally Posted By: Jjones
Can anyone verify that the brute force uses a wet clutch set-up?I was thinking I read somewhere before that it does not.I own a 2007?


It does not have a wet clutch, the BF has a belt driven CVT, which is essentially a dry clutch.
 
Originally Posted By: Jjones
Can anyone verify that the brute force uses a wet clutch set-up?I was thinking I read somewhere before that it does not.I own a 2007?

My 2010 OM states that a JASO MA or MA2 oil must be used. I do not think it has a wet clutch (several posts on www.kawieriders.com), but I have a 5 year warranty (included with the deal for free) and so I want to make sure there is no problem with it should I need to invoke a warranty claim.
 
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Originally Posted By: Jjones
Can anyone verify that the brute force uses a wet clutch set-up?I was thinking I read somewhere before that it does not.I own a 2007?

My 2010 OM states that a JASO MA or MA2 oil must be used. I do not think it has a wet clutch (several posts on www.kawieriders.com), but I have a 5 year warranty (included with the deal for free) and so I want to make sure there is no problem with it should I need to invoke a warranty claim.


I looked in my OM and it says the same as yours.If you Are still under warranty I would follow their instructions.
What API spec would exceed the jaso requirement?
 
There you are then, you are limited to motorcycle oils in the 20w50 weight, or you could run the new Rotella, it's JASO MA rated right on the bottle. Probably fine either way really.

I used to put lots of thought into oils for my race quads but then my last quad changed my mind completely. It was a Raptor 700 that I ran really hard and changed the oil after every race or practice ride. I used oils ranging in weight from 5w30 to 10w60 and many weights in between(5W40, 10W40, 20W40, 15W50 and 20W50)and then engine most certainly never suffered any oil related problems, or any problems at all for that matter. In the end I started basing on oil on shift quality and clutch feel. The 5w30 made the engine sound like I had dropped a couple bolts in the bottom end, but it didn't blow up during the one race I ran it. The 10w60 certainly felt like it made the engine suffer from parasitic drag and again the engine didn't blow up. I had over 150 hard hours on that machine and would still be riding it feeding it a variety of oils but the garage I kept it in burned last July along with my 4 race quads.

Sorry this got long, but hopefully I got around to a point that made sense.
 
JASO MA
Japanese standard for special oil which can be used in 4-stroke motorcycle engine with one oilsystem for engine, gearbox and wet clutchsystem. Fluid is non-friction modified.
 
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