Mineral Oil for early first oil change during break in?

[RoninJames]

Hey just got my bike here in the states used from an older guy who bought it new but neck issues made it uncomfortable for him to ride.

He put 239 miles on the bike, did nothing to it. I just rode it home from his place and put another 100 miles on it... so we are at the 339 mile mark and i wanna do a first oil change and start cleaning out the shavings and debris i expect to see from previous posts.

I read and saw videos saying stick with mineral oil until the 600mile service.
Also the manual calls for 15w 50 oil.

At a local shop they only had the Bel Ray 10w40 mineral oil. The mechanic there said they use it for all engines during break in and the weight wont make any difference?

I grabbed 2 quarts of it but just wanted to check here first for feedback.

 

[JKBC]

Did you keep a receipt in case people say you shouldn't use it and take it back?
And in the meantime just see about having 15W-50 synthetic put in it at the 1st scheduled check.
That's what I'm going to do and after that I think I'll do my own oil changes and just take it to the dealer for valve clearance adjustments which aren't frequent on DOHC engines with shim adjustment.

 

[RoninJames]

yea i kept the receipt just in case.
i plan on doing the 15w 50 synthetic at the 600 mile first scheduled service.
also anyone know how much oil this bike holds???
i didnt see it anywhere in the owners manual

 

[DCMoney]

yea i kept the receipt just in case.
i plan on doing the 15w 50 synthetic at the 600 mile first scheduled service.
also anyone know how much oil this bike holds???
i didnt see it anywhere in the owners manual

http://www.rc390-forum.com/forum/engine-and-technical-discussion/303-oil-level.html

 

[RoninJames]

http://www.rc390-forum.com/forum/engine-and-technical-discussion/303-oil-level.html

thanks DCMoney!

 

[RoninJames]

http://www.rc390-forum.com/forum/engine-and-technical-discussion/303-oil-level.html

thanks DCMoney!

 

[Treachery]

I'm not a motorcycle or petroleum engineer. My opinion only: I wouldn't go 10W-40. I think that for this time of year, that might be too light for a bike that runs as hot as the RC. Dino (mineral) or semi-synth (which is the Motorex/KTM spec oil) should be fine. Having said that, 10W-40 is the spec oil for a lot of bikes. So, for a couple hundred if you're not thrashing it? Prolly fine.

More than my 0.02...

 

[RoninJames]

I'm not a motorcycle or petroleum engineer. My opinion only: I wouldn't go 10W-40. I think that for this time of year, that might be too light for a bike that runs as hot as the RC. Dino (mineral) or semi-synth (which is the Motorex/KTM spec oil) should be fine. Having said that, 10W-40 is the spec oil for a lot of bikes. So, for a couple hundred if you're not thrashing it? Prolly fine.

More than my 0.02...

well it is the dino oil Treachery, but i could only find it in 10w 40. and yea its only for about 250 miles then going to get the first service done

 

[Fasteddy]

Here is an interesting bit I found on the Duke 390 forum in a KTM doc, SSM902.

"The lubricant used has to conform to the SAE 5W40 or 10W50 grade."

2013 model year, same engine.....

 

[Formula390]

Here is an interesting bit I found on the Duke 390 forum in a KTM doc, SSM902.

"The lubricant used has to conform to the SAE 5W40 or 10W50 grade."

2013 model year, same engine.....

Which raises the question... was 15W50 standardized on then because failures were showing up when 5W40 or 10w50 were being used? When I bought my oil yesterday it was a hell of a challenge finding ANY 15W50. Eventually I had to settle on Valvoline Dino 20W50 as that was the closest option available after checking in three different shops. Given it's summer time here in Central Texas (read balls it's hot out there!) I figured the 20w for cold rating would be just fine. It's not like I'm pushing the motor hard before it's up to temp anyway.

 

[t3ddftw]

Hate to bump an old thread but I'm coming up on 300 miles and I wanted to do a "halfway between new and first service" oil change (because I have broken the <= 7500 RPM rule on a few occasions). I got Motorex 15W50 Mineral Oil - Is this the OE break-in oil?

 

[Treachery]

There is no "break-in oil." The factory fill is the Motorex 15W-50 semi-synthetic, same as the manual specifies. That being said, the conventional oil will be fine.

 

[t3ddftw]

There is no "break-in oil." The factory fill is the Motorex 15W-50 semi-synthetic, same as the manual specifies. That being said, the conventional oil will be fine.

Apologies for being thick but I'm a bit confused. By "conventional" do you mean that the mineral oil I purchased will work or that I should ditch that and go with the recommended Motorex semi-synth?

Thanks!

 

[Treachery]

My bad: Conventional=mineral=dino. It'll be fine for this, and probably all changes. Motorex is good stuff. The recommended semi-synth is gawdawful expensive, so lots of others have gone to high-quality alternatives. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[t3ddftw]

My bad: Conventional=mineral=dino. It'll be fine for this, and probably all changes. Motorex is good stuff. The recommended semi-synth is gawdawful expensive, so lots of others have gone to high-quality alternatives. Sorry for the confusion.

Got it, thanks for clarifying! I'll likely switch to the recommended semi-synth once out of break-in. Funny enough, the Motorex is ~$2/L cheaper than the 10W60 my car takes so I'm jumping up and down for joy.

 

[sturge]

Focusing on correct weight is a good start but...also need to get oil that is formulated to correct standard (JASO-MA) which is produced specifically for 4-stroke motorcycle applications that use the same oil to lubricate gearbox and clutch.

Lots of info on this here...
http://www.rc390-forum.com/forum/kt...k-running-oil-using.html?highlight=oil+change

I found local Cycle Gear has Castrol Power RS Racing 4T oil in 10W-50 at about $10/qt. Not sure what folks are paying for Motorex but seeing it's shipped from europe I'm sure it's expensive!

For what it's worth...I frequent similar forums as this for all my vehicles (cars and bikes). Oil threads regarding syn-vs-dino oil have gone around and around for years. There's so much BS out there regarding oil...un-substantiated theorys, opinions, assumptions, old wives-tales, etc (lots of it comes from some uneducated a-hole behind a service desk at the dealer).

Bottom line...For ANY vehicle, if you conform to the STANDARDS and oil change frequency associated with your mfg manual then the mfg has to honor your warranty (it's the LAW). Regarding who does the oil change, what brand of oil, whether it's syn or dino, should you change it at recommended mileage or more frequently, what kind of filter, etc...that's all a personal choice we are faced with.

For all my vehicles, my choice has always been to go with synthetic oil and a top quality filter to support longer oil change intervals while maintaining engine life. Many car mfg are now at 10K miles for oil change interval.