Oil Suggestions - General Service

Hello VFR World,

So I've got an interesting weekend ahead of me, I'm replacing the R/R and stator on my 6th gen. While I have the side cowlings off I'm also going to be running general service. You know, checking the coolant, tire pressure, and changing the oil/filter.

Speaking of the latter, do any of you have a suggestion for an oil brand/blend? I have 25,XXX miles on the clock and was wondering if there are any products out there that would be more appropriate for a higher mileage engine.

I'm new to VFRs in general and was wondering how the rest of you like to take care of basic service on your own bike too, any advice as to how I can take better care of mine is more than welcome! I know these bikes can be quirky, so what better folks to ask then all of you!

Attached also, is a picture of my pride and joy. Hope you like it!

 

Welcome, nice color, there are those here that say Red is the fastest color! I like it.

My preference is Amsoil pure synthetic, if you live in a hot climate, then 10W-40 will work fine. 25K miles is just getting broken in!

 

I use Mobil 1, but have used Amsoil in the past. As long as it is a true synthetic you can't go wrong.

 

MasterP, welcome! Your bike is a beauty.

This Honda V4 is robust, just like their car engines. Some tourers take this bike from 150,000 to 200,000 miles. So 25,000 miles is low miles for this vehicle. Keep good maintenance habits and you will have no worries.

The topic of oil is a religious topic. Beware of anyone who "swears by" a particular brand LOL. 10W40 is recommended and will work from cold to hot weather. The wet clutch requires at least JASO MA1 compliance, but if yours still has its catalytic converter, MA2 is specifically certified for modern cats over MA1.

As you can imagine this topic is popular so you can check out these threads:

[DLMURL]https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=site%3Avfrworld.com%20oil%20types[/DLMURL]

FYI the OEM filters seem to be highly rated by vfr owners.

You should search this site for electrical maintenance. Switches should be cleaned of their original dielectric grease which has burned and caked on. The wires into ground terminal blocks should be checked for tightness and for any sign of burning. The wires to the ground points, and the ground points, should be cleaned. If there are additional electrical accessories, or if lights were changed for other versions, those changes need to comply with the available power. (I am trying to catch anything here that may have contributed to the burning out of the existing charging system.)

Inspect the brake fluid well. It is a complicated mess including proportioning valves, where old contaminated fluid will collect. So if it is dark or shows any bad signs, run a large amount of clean fluid through the many many purge valves.

 

I use Mobil 1, 10W-40 motorcycle oil. I have found that synthetic oils provide for smoother transmission shifting. If you just follow Honda's owner's manual, you will be fine though. Honda cars and bikes like OEM parts and I own both Honda cars and bikes. Considering what you spend on your bike in tires, etc, a few bucks for an OEM filter is insignificant. Amsoil has foamed on two track bikes I've had so no more of that stuff. Someone has already disagreed but that is to be expected in oil threads. Everyone has an opinion on oil so you've opened up a can of worms and this thread will expand in a hugh one before it's over. Others are right in that 25,000 miles is a new bike from a miles standpoint. Pay attention to Anne.Marie's post.

 

Another vote for OEM filter. The sealing area on the K&N is slightly smaller than the surface area on the engine. When torqued to factory spec the seal can get pinched & will leak. YES voice of experience!

I will say I never had a problem with K&N's on other bikes.

 

I'll jump out of the box since I have nothing better to do. Wix filter here. yep just about any motorcylce synthetic 10-40 will be just fine. Here's a news flash, Wally world carry's it.

 

Ive been using motul 300v 5w40 for a while changed every 5000ish miles with a Bosch 3323 filter. Even With 81k miles the bike can lift the front coming out of a corner =D

 

Mobil 1 4T and OEM filters for me every 5,000 miles on '04 - bike is smooth as silk and well-protected!

 

Hi everyone, Im a new VFR owner--just got a 2007 Anniversary edition with only 2500 miles--so I wasz reading the users manual and it says to use 10W30--so that's what I ordered. But I see a lot of you guys are running 10W40--will I be ok?

 

No problem following Honda's specs. Some of us who live in hotter climates use 10W-40. My '83 VF750 calls for 10W-40, so I buy Amsoil Synthetic by the gallon for both bikes.

 

Lots of differing opinions on this ... and they're mostly all good.

You need to find what works good for you and your bike. So far, the only oil I've found that my transmission likes on my 6th gen is the Shell Advance Ultra 4T 10W40. It's smooth as butter shifting, but when you put something else in, it gets clunky. I'm going to try some Rotella T6 5W40 on my next oil change based on a number of recommendations, if it sucks I'm going back to my Shell AU4T 10W40.

I run a Wix oil filter.

 

This is from the 02-09 Honda service manual. It only shows 10W40, is the 10W30 recommendation in another area of the manual?

 

I think you'll be OK. I really doubt anyone here knows more about Honda's than Honda engineers and the......EPA.

 

Other oil weights are listed in the mini owners manual.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

Yeah, because they did such an amazing job on the charging system right??? Lolllllzzz

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

How about the ring problems with 08+ CBR's and the oil burning? lol

 

The engineers that designed the charging system all got fired and went to work for HD.. This from a recent study.

 

And they doubled their salary. Their bonus was free HD T-shirts from China.