Kawasaki FR/FS/FX V-twin initial oil change

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New tractor with Kawasaki FR691 726cc "24 hp" V-twin. Nice motor - smooth, instant starting, surprisingly quiet, fuel-efficient, perfect speed regulation v. load, all in all, looks very good so far in the 3 hours it has on it. Not only that, it's laughably easy (5 minutes for everything, tops) to change the oil on this thing. They clearly had easy serviceability in mind when they designed this series of motors.

Last time after 40 minutes of mowing, the temperature on the oil filter was 231F. That seems a little on the high side, given that the ambient was only 81F at the time and it had been running at full speed, 3480 RPM, so air flow should have been adequate.

What's the factory oil in these motors? Some kind of dino oil, presumably. They don't tell you what's in it, only that you need to change it (without filter change) at 8 hours.

I'm kind of thinking that with this relatively high operating temperature, it wouldn't be a bad idea to switch it over to M1 5W-30 and a new filter right now.

Any opinions one way or the other?
 
I'm running Mobil 1 TDT 5w-40 in my Scag Zero-Turn with a 26hp Briggs ELS engine and my Kawasaki Prairie 650 ATV with a V-Twin. I live in Lower Alabama, where it gets HOTTTTT! Consumption is nil on the Kawi and the Briggs sips only a few ounces per cutting season.
 
Freedom-Z. That's a NICE machine. I almost bought one of those (the narrow 36" one) but decided against it because of towing a Cyclone Rake on all the slopes around the house. There's not a single square foot of level ground around here.

Does yours have the ZT-2800 or 3100 hydros in it? What oil are you using in those, the M1 5W-50?
 
I think I've got the ZT-2800s. I think they went to 3100s in either '08 or '09. I used Mobil 1 15w-50. Best money I've ever spent on lawn equipment. My yard is flat as a pancake, so you probably made the right choice with all those hills.
 
I've switched all my equipment (except for the water pumps and generator) to Mobil 1, 5W-40 TDT. It's a robust oil, well up to the challenges of small engines.

The generator and pump use Mobil 1, 15W-50 with stellar results. (remember that the 11HP aircooled generator may run at 100% for hours, powering the water heater)
 
All my aircooled equipment gets an xw-40 or xw-50. It runs too hot, IMO for an xw-30.

I have a Kohler V-twin with thousands of hours at work using cheap 15w-40 Napa all fleet.

All my home equipment is 5w-40 M1 turbo diesel truck or Mobil1 15w-50.
 
Thanks to all for the recommendations. FWIW, Kawasaki recommends a 30wt oil for all ambient temperature conditions.

My question really centered around making a change prior to the 8 hours of use Kawasaki recommends. I think a synthetic, any one, is likely to let that motor run cooler. I doubt that there's a lot of wearing-in that's going to go on after 3-4 hours of operation at full speed, too.

So what's the consensus? Change it after the next mowing, which would be about 3.5 hours, or wait until 8 hours is on it?

BTW, I have a total of 6 four-cycle small engines, all of which use M1 either 10W-30 or 5W-30, and all of which see intermittent/seasonal usage. They all stay pristine clean in the crankcase and none of them (even the ancient, beat-up Tecumseh on the $70 rotary push mower) uses a drop of oil. It's an impressive track record.

(I like that "car54" UID. Hahaha. I haven't thought of that program in years.)
 
I have an 08 JD Gator with a Kawi 19HP, I run 5w40 Schaeffers in it...doesn't even seem to change color in the 25+ hours its been in use (some of it in 100* weather).
 
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