I just finished my "pre-break-in-oil-dump" as per some of these insane race types (of few of which I am acquainted with) and with a grand total of 109 miles on the odo, I dumped 4 liters of pure gold. I think Now I did see maybe 10-15 little specs of metal in the oil (I filtered it out, you see) but anyone familiar with auto transmissions knows that 10-15 dust sized particles of metal don't amount to JACK SQUAT!!! Now maybe I just got a particularly clean engine but I doub't it. I don't think these motorcycle engines are more fickle that their respective automotive counterparts - but I digress...
My opinion is the break-in oil changes are OVERKILL
Could be but until you tear open your oil filter you don't know what may have been laying in your oil. The fact is that so much of these bikes are aluminum, thats why, also suggest going by factory manual.
If its not overly expensive it seems like a good idea.... I have opened my first filter (many moons ago) and my last two, I haven't seen any thing to be concerned with in any of the three.
These bike are made to take a beating at high revs but they rarely ever see 10K on the street.
I think I am the only guy I know that rides my 6R to 14k almost all the time, thats how I burn R1, gsx's and hondas. Only straight aways do they catch up =)
I got a magnetic oil plug made by Super Plug. Here is a link http://www.superplug.com/. They are really nice. They are machined for a solid piece of stainless. The magnet is awesomely powerful. I have one on my old Chevy truck and it takes two hands to get it in. The are also kinda expensive. When I change bikes I keep my plug. One plug fits just about every Kawasaki. When I change oil there is always some fuzz on it.
I think a magnetic drain plug might be overkill but If it's picking up metal it can't be that bad.
I think the filters trap anything big enought to do damage and unless you are really beating the piss out of the bike and/or have some major oil contamination, the need to change the oil/filter shouldn't be greater than any other small engine out there - notwithstanding the shared engine/trans oil.
I run my bike to 14,000rpm pretty much everytime I ride, over 17,000 miles and still no smoke or oil usage. I also change my oil every 2,000 miles and plugs every 4,000 miles. When I do 3rd gear standups my bike sits in the 13-14,000rmp range the whole time unless I shift into 4th.
I absolutely love Charleston, SC! I was stationed at Charleston AFB from 1993 to 2000 and I was ready to call Charleston home....until the USAF decided it was time for me to go to friggin' Texas. I plan on someday getting back to Chucktown and staying there for good.
I dont like Charleston, Im from TX but I dont want to leave the C17 and go to TX and be on 130's. Charleston is cool for awhile but it gets old real quick.
Okay then, let's do a swap. Are you a 2A571J SSgt? You come to Dyess and I'll go back to chucktown <img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle> I know what you mean about not wanting to work 130's, they suck. What AMU do you work in? I was in Gator Flight and worked mids.
I'd be willing to bet they didn't throw them in for free. The local Kawasaki shop sells plugs for more than $8 apiece. I by the exact same plug at the autoparts euporium for less than $4. Plugs ought to last a least 10,000 miles.
Hey slapshot, I will put on ssgt in march. I was in a gator also, we had to work together, I was in cuda back in the day then went to gator. I would consider trade if my wife wasnt in school and i wasnt buying a house. email me at [email protected] When did you leave charleston?
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