KTM Oil Recommendations

[bigjohn]

Having now owned three KTM's, there is an interesting little secret that few are aware of.

If you speak with the dealer for oil recommendations for most of the KTM's, they will point you to the oil rack..... where quarts of Motorex 10w60 resides at about $20 a quart.

As I mentioned, I have owned three and on all three bikes, this sticker was affixed to the frame of the bike, under the gas tank.

And I can say without a doubt.... all three bikes seemed to perform the best on HDEO 15w40 Conventional. This oil burned the least and all the bikes purred like a kitten..... (until I twisted the throttle and the FMF's came to life!).

 

[Snagglefoot]

Here you go. (Non discounted Canadian Price) JASO DH2 MA/MA2

 

[bigjohn]

$12.97 a gallon at Walmart.


........... or $3.25 a quart.



.............

 

[Superflan]

It’s a 950 Adventure. We should check on newer bikes (690, 1090...) what does stickers says.

 

[alarmguy]

Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
Here you go. (Non discounted Canadian Price) JASO DH2 MA/MA2




What size is that, 9.5 liters = 2.5 US Gallons?

 

[Snagglefoot]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: Snagglefoot
Here you go. (Non discounted Canadian Price) JASO DH2 MA/MA2




What size is that, 9.5 liters = 2.5 US Gallons?


Correct. That container showed up recently at Walmart.

 

[bigjohn]

Originally Posted By: Superflan
It’s a 950 Adventure. We should check on newer bikes (690, 1090...) what does stickers says.


My 2005 950 Adv manual states 10w50 is the right oil. The sticker on the frame states 15w40.

I seriously doubt the tolerances, the engine heat, the shearing, etc. are any different with the 950 LC8 engine, when compared to any 2018 KTM's engines.



I was told by a US dealer that 15w40 was consistent with the lubrication recommendations for the 3rd world countries where KTM's are owned..... but where it is difficult to get the boutique oils. .............That stinks to high heaven of marketing to 'push' oil that is $20 a quart.

My 2007 525 EXC also had the 15w40 sticker.

And my buddies 2012 690 had the 15w40 sticker.

.......

 

[weasley]

My manual requires either a "fully synthetic" 10W-50 or a "synthetic" 5W-40, meeting JASO T903 MA. I haven't had the tank off yet to see if there are any frame stickers.

You can be sure mine will never see a synthetic blend or mineral oil.

 

[JasonK94Z]

My 1190 Adventure says 10w-50. I just poured in Redline 20w-50 the other day.

 

[DoubleWasp]

My Duke and 525 have the same sticker.

There is actually a guy who pulled apart his 640 LC4 engine after 34k miles. Everything looked very good internally. He used RT6 the entire time he owned the bike. I'm erring on the side of caution and using SAE60, since we ride sand down here, which is very hot and heavy riding.

 

[bigjohn]

So here's the real story.... three months ago, I purchased a 2005.5 KTM 950 Adventure S. It is the second 950 I have owned in the last 7 years.

I will not pay for Motorex or any other boutique oil promising to keep my motor running long and smooth.

Today, I did a full oil change on the bike and I am trying Shell Rotella T4 15w40. I cleaned the oil screens, new filter and now have her buttoned up and took her for a spin. The bike had Mobil 1 15w50 that the previous owner poured in a year ago and I wanted to drain that stuff out. (Not a fan Mobil 1 15w50 in a shared sump bike....shears crazy fast and just doesn't shift well.)

Instantly the bike sounded smoother running and it shifted so much better and neutral wasn't so hard to find.

I don't believe the KTM OEM [censored] about synthetic only..... HDEO's are beast of oils and will do well.

I am only going to run the oil for 1,400 miles, dump it and refill with the same thing, which will put the bike exactly at 35,000 miles. At that point, 5k OCI's will begin where the mileage is easy to remember.

At 40k miles, I am going to send a sample in to BlackStone for testing and will post here. It will take a year probably, as I have four bikes to ride and only put about 5k miles on the big Katoom a year.