Hey guys, I'm about to do my first bit of maintenance work on my bike since I got it about a month ago. I'm a noob at this stuff with my bike, but I'm pretty handy and learn pretty quickly The guy I bought it from had been taking pretty good care of it and I wanna keep that up. He gave me some suggestions of oils/lubes to use, but I wanna get some more advice from other people as to what they use and how to use this stuff.

1. Engine oil - Synthetic Mobil 1 Red Cap, 15W-50. Is this the best I can use or is there something better or similar. Do I also need to get new oil filters/gaskets? anything?

2. Brake fluid - Motul DOT 5.1, now on my bike it says to only use DOT 4 brake fluid, so will this be okay. How do I know when to change/refill it?

3. Chain Lube - Motul Chain Lube, I know I need to clean the chain first, but what should I use to clean it. I've heard a lot of people use WD-40, but others have said not to.

4. All purpose lubricant (levers, cables) - Belray 6-in-1, how do I use it? where do I actually put it?

Is there anything else I should do to maintain my bike. Other parts I need to lube or oil or tweak to ensure it runs properly? I know these must be pretty trivial questions for some of you, but I really want to do it right and don't wanna mess anything up. I appreciate any help anyone can give me. Thanks [sm=hail.gif]

 

I believe you'd find answers to most if not all these questions in your owner's manual.

 

Bought it used, guy didn't have the owner's manual.

 

I don't recommend synthetic oil for the first 6-8,000 miles because it wont allow the rings to seat because it's so slippery.
After 6-8,000 mile break-in, one word says it all....AMSOIL synthetic racing oil. 20-50w. You need to find a dealer as it isnt usually sold in stores. go to amsoil.com to find your nearest dealer. It is the BEST! They also make synthetic lubes for your chain and cables, etc. use them right away for the best life for the chain and cables...

 

1. Engine oil - only go synthetic after about 5K miles or engine damage can occur. also once you put in synthetic you have to stay with it or your gaskets will atart getting brittle and leak.

2. Brake fluid - any DOT brake fluid will work. DOT 4 is better for street riding because it lasts longer than DOT 5. you CAN NOT mix the two or you will have some serious brake issues

3. Chain Lube - WD-40 works great and so does PB Blaster for cleaning the chain (kerosene is the best). just make sure after cleaning you get as much of it as you can off the chain and then go over it with a good quality chain WAX, not a chain lube. there is a diffrence and the chain lube will not last on a sportbike chain because its so thin and flings off. with a chain wax you will need to take a 3-5 mile ride to heat up the chain then spray it on. let it sit for about 15 minutes to dry the wax and you are ready to go. i personally wipe off the excess wax after spraying it on so it doesnt fling all over my wheels and bodywork.

4. All purpose lubricant (levers, cables) - good stuff, use it on any moving part. especially the cables where they meet up with the levers.

 

please tell me youre not using CAR motor oil in your bike????? car motor oil and bike motor oil are completely different in the fact that car motor oil has to lubricate and protect only the enigne while motorcycle oil has to lubricate and protect both the engine AND transmission.

 

20W50 oils is far too thick this is a car oil not suitable for bike engine 15W40 is the max viscosity to use in your bike but only if your using synthetic oils, the hight the number the thicker the oil and it'll make your clutch drag,
and if your going for a really good oil use CASTROL R4 its 5W40 this is what all the racing teams use here

There is a lot of bad advice given on here regards engine oils, check with the manual and it insists on 10W40 only, just because someone uses a particular brand in their engine dosen't always make it right. their problems will develope later in the bike life, Eg CCTs Clutches etc.....................