Well when I went riding last night, I noticed the following: 1) My bike hates standard petrol, premium only kthx. 2) My temp guage has stopped working all of a sudden :/ 3) Light furthest left on my dash intermittently comes on. Any help for 2 & 3 please?
2) could be the temperature sensor on the thermostat housing, or the gauge itself. But first, check the wires and make sure no wire is broken. 3) it's the red light correct? check the oil level through the sight glass and top it up if necessary
2) temp guage works now :/ 3) poured more oil in, doesn't light up anymore <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s -->
consider draining all the oil and putting in the specific amount (i forget how much it is, but there's plenty of posts on it in these forums). If you put too much in you can end up blowing gaskets and stuff. Oh, and how long since you've changed the oil filter? If you've burnt through enough oil to require a top up then I'd say you're well and truely due fora filter change.
That's 2 litres without a filter change. Even still i'd recommend putting 1.8L into it then doing the last 200ml by the sight glass. Oh, and i really wish people would stop doing the 'and a little bit more for good measure...'. If it specifies 2.3 litres including filter change, then do NOT give it more than 2.3 litres. The little man in his lab coat down at Yamaha didn't go to all the trouble of specifying that amount only to have some half-wit mechanic put 2.5 litres in 'for good measure'. Ok, i've had my whinge for this afternoon.
lol thats true hey does anyone know if there are any prformance differences between synthetic and standard oil?
Performance differences from oil are usually just all in your head. The thinner the oil the less resistance it will provide in terms of gearbox drag and pumping losses, but then if you go too thin you won't be protecting your engine from wear. I found that the little FZR250 loved 10w50. 15w50 would be ok, but it seemed a little laggy and sluggish, and 20w40/50 would just run like a pig.
I always understood that your better off using the cheaper oil and changing it more often than the far more expensive oil and not changing it as often. It all works out the same in the end anyway. Personally im using Motul 5100 at the moment as i see it as a good compromise between 'costs the freakin earth' and longevity. It's $50 for 4L. Just use whatever your favourite semi-synth oil and change it every 3000-5000km's depending on your riding style. Also, don't scrimp the $10 and re-use the oil filter. Just change it every single time.
