[FirstBlood96]

S'up guys, My bike is a 96 Zx6R and for the last month and a half I've noticed that my oil has been slowly but surely receeding when I look into the oil level window. Due to the fact that I did not see any oil on the ground or on the bottom fairing, I dismissed it as just normal oil burnoff and added oil accordingly. But just yesterday I noticed oil residue on the left side of the engine block. So, what do you guys think? Maybe a seal or sometin? I should also mention that performance wise there's been no drastic difference, only sometimes when I replenish my tank w/ 93oct. I'm getting some hesitation on the revs, and a different less potent almost choking sound coming from the exhaust. I'm thinking that the plugs are dirty, but they should'nt be considering that I changed them myself like in mid June. If theres an oil leak could that be fouling up the plugs? And if so, how can I figure out whats causing the leak, and is it something that I can fix by myself? I'm going to pull the plugs and clean them, what else should I do to investigate this matter more.. I'm not sure of the name of the oil that I'm using, but it was recomended to me by a technician at the Kawidealer, he also advised me to get the fully synthetic 5w20. Told me that that was best for the summer. However, since I changed the oil to this shit its been not performing the same as before. (Bought the bike in April and do not know what kind of oil the kid was using previously owned the bike, but whatever it was it was good shit, cuz it held until mid june and never experience any loss in performance. I have access to Mobil 1 Full synthetic 10w40 4cycle oil, any of you guys use this oil? Thanks in advance for the feedback gentlemen, greatly appreciated...

 

[crazytexan]

Go back to regular oil and clean your engine with degreaser on the outside. Run that for awhile and see if the small leak will stop. Synthetic will leak as it can fit in smaller areas. And I hear that the regular synthetic shouldnt be run in a motorcycle with the wet clutch as it has detergents or something in it that arent good for the clutch. It really doesnt get hot enough or anything to need to run some kind of special oil in the engine in the summer, I run reg, non synthetic oil in all my bikes and always have and I am down south in Texas, your good with regular oil.

 

[bikerboy24]

Best thing you can do when you buy a second hand bike is take it for a service. And stop further problems arising (if there were any that the dodgy guy or dealer) didn't tell you about.


If it has over 40,000kms on it i'd go the extra mile and get a Major service done to check your valves.

Its always good to leave a little money in your bank when your out buying a second hand bike.. because if you don't and you ride it for months without service, all of those existing problems will become 10 times worse..

Better safe than sorry dude. I use Motul Oil either 10 40 or 15 50 if your KMs are high, i think 5 20 is definitely the wrong oil to be using.

 

[ffej]

5w20 is way too light weight to be running in your bike. You should be running 10w40, 10w50, 15w40, etc... ESPECIALLY in the summer...5w20 is an extremely lightweight oil, which is exactly what you dont want in the summer... You want lighter oils in the winter, heavier oils in the summer. I'd highly recommend avoiding your dealer if they told you to use 5w20.

You are doing more harm than good running an octane higher than what the bike needs, which I believe is 86 or 87 for the 1996, so putting 93 is a waste and could be adding to your problems. There are a billion articles you can read about octane, but the bottom line is use the LOWEST octane possible without causing the engine to knock/ping.

Hesitation can be a lot of things... Is it happening at all RPMs or just a specific range? What headers and exhaust are on the bike? A full system can/will cause hesitation if the carbs have not been rejetted.. Rejetting usually isnt required with a bolt on exhaust.

 

[FirstBlood96]

Thanks for the input gentlemen, Yeah i'm gonna service the bike this weekend. Clean the plugs and change oil. Gonna try that mobil 1 10w40.. Hopefully that will do the trick, and everything will be on point.. This is my first bike, and frankly its been a blast learning on this machine. But to be honest, i'm ready for an upgrade- zx9, rr954, or GSXR 1K. Really don't want to put anymore money in the bike. So I guess i'm keeping my fingers cross... Changing gears, I have a cheetah racing upper fairing that I need to paint kawi green, can I use paint from a paint store to match the color. Will oil based paint look good on fiberglass? Only need a half quart, dealer wants to sell me a quart for an obscene price. Thanks again...

 

[FirstBlood96]

....O' and by the way, I have a Vance&Hines Slip-on & I believe the headers are stock. I do have a aftermarket headders that I haven't put on as yet but I intend to do that soon too..

 

[gypsyracing]

Hello..............where is the Amsoil guy.................this looks like a thread for you.

This is a good reason to keep your bike clean..............you can tell what is new and what is old oil.

Alot of bike guys like the thin oil because they can squeeze out a little HP. Obviously there are con's to doing this.