so spring is here and I think I am finally goin to get the cane on the road!!

I need to fush the front brakes and probaly the rears, so what brake fluid should I get???

also I just picked up a fram oil filter and had no idea what kind of oil to get, my dad told me i probaly shouldnt use synthetic, so what do you guys use? and how much should I get?

I also heard on here i think about drianing the oil and pouring diesel in and running the engine for a minute or two to clear out all the gunk. is this a good Idea??

thanks,
Scott

 

doesnt sound good to me. Means in stead of oil in the cyclinders, you have more fuel. Probably make it run weird, or not at all.

 

Check out this thread, it contains a link to the shop manual which should answer most of your questions and be a good reference for the future:
https://cbrforum.com/m_448531/mpage_.../tm.htm#451658

To answer your questions, the manual recommends DOT 4 brake fluid and SAE 10w 40 non synthetic oil (you will need about 3.5 quarts).
I have never heard of the diesel idea, and would not try it myself.

 

i use spectro or castrol semi-synthetic 10-40. 10-40 is a good all around viscosity. i commute on the bike pretty often and have not had any problems. but at the same time i do my oil changes religiously.

 

thanks, do I have to use motorcycle oil or can i just use some kind of car oil? if so what type do you recommend?

 

That is kind of up to you if you want to use motorcycle or motor vechicle oil. I prefer to stick with what the bike came with from the factory, so i use the honda oil GN4 here a look at the product.

http://powersports.honda.com/the_goo...;TheGoodsDir=1


But as i have read there is a major debate between using motor oil and motorcycle oil. Its your choice.

 

Oil is oil. As long as it's not energy conserving meaning 5W-30 or 10W-30 then you'll be fine. Im running Walmart Supertech oil in my bike right now and it runs great. The whole motorcycle oil fling is nothing but a marketing strategy so oil companies can make more money. Do you know who makes Honda oil? The company who sends in the lowest bid. Thats the honest to God truth. If you got motorcycle oil analyzed, there would be nothing different about it compared to car oil. The best oil in my opinion that is the most cost efficient is any brand 15W-40 diesel oil. Diesel oil has extra amounts of zinc and phosporous plus extra calcium for detergents. My favorite oil in particular is Rotella 15W-40 or the synthetic form in 5W-40. I've seen used oil analyses showing "motorcycle oil" sheared into the next viscosity range where as the diesel oil holding its viscosity when ran for the same amount of miles. Motorcycle oils are in my opinion the biggest marketing scam and a waste of money.

 

so you suggest 15W-40 diesel oil? I can get that right at walmart right? is that synthetic or no?

 

Although I'm no expert when it comes to motor oils, I somewhat disagree with camoweasel's theory, unless he/she can back it up with some facts. I really mean no disrespect here camo, just different oppinion. The type of oil you decide to put in your engines is entirely up to you. Besides the bike, I also drive a PD diesel VW which requires a VERY specific type of oil, with good reason. Failure to do so has been proven on numerous occcasions to beproblematic(if not catastrophic)for internal parts. As a result, I am very religious about the type of oil I use and following the manufacturer's reccomendations. Having said that, I see no reason to make an exception in the case of my first bike, which required me to invest a considerable amount of money and effort to rebuild. As I understand it, the gearbox, clutch and engine share the same lubricant (oil) and the Honda GN4 oil is specifically manufactured to respond to its needs. Therefore, I will use what's said to be the 'good' type of lubricant for my bike's internals.I really don't want to find out next year that I have a major failure because I used the wrong stuff. Let's be realistic, you can throw olive oil into your engine and you won't find out what side effects were generated until it's too late, all the while thinking that the bike is still running strong...

Just my 2c but if it was me, I would stick with GN4 or any other type of compatible oil.

 

Dalex, I agree with your statement. Anybody can make outrageous claims but it's the evidence that can really change one's mind. I applaud you for questioning my rational and remind you to always do so in the future. Well here is my rebutal: The only way one can tell if their oil is better then another is to perform an oil analysis where one can measure the amount of additive in an oil as well as the amount of wear metal after an oil change is conducted. Keep in mind the four the things I look for in an oil analysis: Phosporous, zinc, calcium, and viscosity. Phosporous (spelling) and zinc are both anti-wear additves where as calcium is a cleaning detergent. Viscosity is also important because oil can be "sheared" meaning for example it can start as a 40 weight and go to a 30 weight after so many miles.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...88&fpart=1
In this link you will see four consecutive used oil analyses from a Honda ST1100. You will see 2 diesel oils (Rotella & Delo), German Castrol 0W-30 and Honda GP4 10W-40. In this post, the two diesel oils stayed within the 40 weight viscosity range where as the Honda motorcycle oil sheared down to a 30 weight in about the same amount of miles. You will also see that both diesel oils have more anti-wear additives and detergents.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...40&fpart=1
Here is another post showing 3 consecutive oil analyses where the Rotella diesel oil held its viscosity and contained quite a bit of zinc, phosporous and calcium.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...rue#Post734672
Here is a used oil analysis of Golden Spectro 20W-50 motorcycle oil. As you can see this oil does contain quite a bit of additves.But if you look atthe viscosity range it isnow a 30 weight oil after 1800 miles. I couldn't imagine paying 7-9 bucks for a quart of this oil and having to change it out every 2000 miles.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...16&fpart=1
Here is a used oil analysis of some Mobil 1 MXT 10W-40 motorcycle oil that sheared back down to a 30 weight in only 2800 miles. Also you can see it does contain less additive than the diesel oils I showed in the links above.

SO here is my rationale: Instead of paying 8-10 dollars for a quart of "motorcycle" specific oil that lasts about 2000 miles, I'd rather pay 2-3 dollars for a quart of diesel oil that will last a bit longer. Everyone has the precieved notion that diesel oil is thick as molasses and doesn't deserve to be put in motorcycles. Well the truth of this matter is that 15W-40 is the same thickness of any 10W-40, 5W-40 or even straight 40 when it is at operating temperture. I've read on this forum of riders using 20W-50 in their engines. 20W-50 is actually thicker then 15W-40 in both the W weight and nomal operating temperture weight.

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