Motorcycle oil change time

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mechanicx

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It's time for the yearly Spring oil change in my Kawasaki Ninja 500. I have been using a K&N oil filter and Valvoline conventional motorcycle oil. I know a lot of people like Rotella in place of the motorcycle oil. I'm going to try Rotella this time.

What I have been doing is buying the motorcycle change special with K&N filter and it worked out to about the price as Rotella and an FRAM motorcycle filter. But if a buy a K&N filter separately it's quite pricey. Would anyone use a FRAM motorcycle filter? Is it really just an OCOD?
 
Thanks. I think I have seen that before but long forgotten it. It's saying type 5. I might use a Purolator classic this time. I might reuse the existing filter but I don't know, I don't normally ever reuse oil filters.
 
The Fram Ultra at Walmart is clost to $9 but you can get them on Ebay for as little as $7 shipping included if you buy several at a time. Haven't priced the Tough Guard but it should be cheaper.
 
There isn't anything wrong with fram. Internet hype.
Rotella is all I use in my shared sump bikes and my Harley's primary and this year I'll be testing rotella in it too.
Why are you switching. K&n is a decent oil filter and valvoline good oil. I'd stick with that deal if its cheap.
Either way I would not worry about the fram filter. Millions of engines run them without incident and I've got one on my hemi and on my 5.0 right now,and they seem to be handling it just fine
 
I haven't really seen a great oil change special with the K&N filter lately. Last time I got it at Autozone, a place I rarely go for parts, and the manager substituted the K&N since they didn't have the Mobil 1 filter. So that's part of the reason I got such a great deal. The oil change before that I think it was like over $30 for 4 qts of conventional MC oil and the K&N. It's not worth that much.

Between a FRAM motorcycle filter and a Purolator automobile filter, I'm leaning toward the Purolator. It's less expensive too. Also I'm curious to try Rotella.
 
I have been using the Fram MC filters for years. There is one on my Triumph right now. Never an issue. Great construction. Amazon had the Purolator MC filters for $4 a few months ago. I bought 3 of them because the Fram was more at WM.
 
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After seeing an orange can nearly cost a fella one heck of a nice MOPAR big block, I swore em off. Only Fram I would use is the Ultra now. I will stick with my K&N and in a pinch Purolator or Wix.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
After seeing an orange can nearly cost a fella one heck of a nice MOPAR big block, I swore em off. Only Fram I would use is the Ultra now. I will stick with my K&N and in a pinch Purolator or Wix.


I saw a car accident once. I still drive.
 
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
After seeing an orange can nearly cost a fella one heck of a nice MOPAR big block, I swore em off. Only Fram I would use is the Ultra now. I will stick with my K&N and in a pinch Purolator or Wix.


I saw a car accident once. I still drive.



apples and oranges. And I didn't bash the whole line just the standard orange can. And one I think does not hold up well in some applications. All I know is the motor had near zilch oil pressure till we swapped filters. Ive had and seen other brands fail, but mostly just leaks or defects that effected filtration. Run what ya want, I was just sharing my story.
 
OP
Car filters have different by-pass pressure settings and may open earlier than the MC filter. Make sure you know the specs before blindly using an automobile filter in place of the mc filter.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
After seeing an orange can nearly cost a fella one heck of a nice MOPAR big block, I swore em off. Only Fram I would use is the Ultra now. I will stick with my K&N and in a pinch Purolator or Wix.


I saw a car accident once. I still drive.



apples and oranges. And I didn't bash the whole line just the standard orange can. And one I think does not hold up well in some applications. All I know is the motor had near zilch oil pressure till we swapped filters. Ive had and seen other brands fail, but mostly just leaks or defects that effected filtration. Run what ya want, I was just sharing my story.


You tell that story a lot on here. So yes..you are just bashing. Don't pretend you aren't. I have seen several oil filters fail. All from the base gasket. So your friend probably put the wrong filter on his car and maybe was too stupid to know the difference.
 
The Fram bike filters are just fine and you can get them at Walmart at the same time as getting a gallon of Rotella for the best price you can buy it. Rotella and a Fram is the combo I live by with my Ninja 250.
 
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
It's time for the yearly Spring oil change in my Kawasaki Ninja 500. I have been using a K&N oil filter and Valvoline conventional motorcycle oil. I know a lot of people like Rotella in place of the motorcycle oil. I'm going to try Rotella this time.


I did just the opposite. I started with Rotella and then I switched to the Valvoline conventional...and I'm still using it...and I wouldn't use ANY Fram filter...
 
Half are telling me to use the FRAM motorcycle filter and half are saying no way. Most are saying to use Rotella and now your saying to stick with the Valvoline motorcycle oil lol.

I'm inclined to try Rotella 15W40 and a Purolator car filter over the FRAM motorcycle filter unless anyone thinks this is a really bad way to go.
 
Only if the bypass settings on the car and bike filter are the same would I do that. And even then, you can get steals on Purolator bike filters through Amazon. Purolator publishes the PSI rating for each on their website if you know the part numbers.
 
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