First oil change | GTAMotorcycle.com

First oil change

jukon

jukon

Well-known member
Hi all,

I'm about to do my first oil change on my Ninja 250. I'm hoping it's been done a few times already since it's got about 9000 km's on it. I'll be following a guide so I pretty well know what to expect, but I have a few silly questions.

Do I really need a torque wrench?
Can I pick up the oil filter at Crappy tire or do I have to go to a bike shop? I guess I need to go to a bike shop to get the washer too.
Should I buy special oil or if I have some 10w40 for my car already can I use that?

thx
 
You don't NEED a tq wrench but if you're not that good with tools I'd reccomend one (don't crank the drain bolt). I'd suggest going to a bike shop for a filter and oil. Replace the washer. Don't use car oil in your bike, there's 100's of threads covering this.
 
I purchase the oil filter at the dealer.
- use K/N 401 oil filter (comes with both rubber type O rings)
- purchase 2 L of oil from dealer also (since I'm there) just use Kawi regular motorcycle 10w-40 oil.
- purchase oil plug crush washer from dealer
- I use a torque wrench, but to be honest the torque setting is so low (14.5 ft/lbs) that its difficult to tell when you reach it using a torque wrench. As the above poster mentioned just don't over tighten the filter housing bolt or oil plug bolt and you will be fine.

Just a caution. Don't over fill with oil. I find that using 1.75 liters is enough. Keep checking the sight glass for the oil level. Majke sure the bike is level and as vertical as possible, run engine for a minute, wait a couple of minutes and then recheck oil level.

good luck
 
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dricked said:
I'd suggest going to a bike shop for a filter and oil. Replace the washer. Don't use car oil in your bike, there's 100's of threads covering this.
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What u just said is not an absolute must!

You can use a regular oil filter, but you gotta make sure it fits. Since this guy is a noob, just get one at a bike shop so u have a guaranteed fit.

As for car oil, if u said there are lots of threads about them, then, I would assume you know better. Below in my sig is a test of an oil not motorcycle specific.
Use any old oil that is "not energy conserving". 10w-40 should be fine. Personally I stick with synthetic and just change the oil at 10,000 km; again please see my sig
 
Thanks for the feedback btw. It went really well, and I think the bike runs a lot better now.
 
If you don't have a torque wrench I find the best way to snug up the drain bolt is to hold the ratchet by the head. That way there is no leverage and it makes over torquing less likely.
 
another technique is Hand tighten, then use the ratchet to tighten from 12 O'clock to 3 O'clock. Then drop the ratchet
 
i wanna do mine too, bought 3 weeks ago 8500km, now have 9600. Not sure if previous owner changed or not...im guessing for a 07 250zzr is the same stuff as a ninaja ?
 
RockerGuy said:
You can use a regular oil filter, but you gotta make sure it fits. Since this guy is a noob, just get one at a bike shop so u have a guaranteed fit.
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This bike uses a cartridge type oil filter - there is no automotive equivalent that I am aware of.
 
nanobots said:
i wanna do mine too, bought 3 weeks ago 8500km, now have 9600. Not sure if previous owner changed or not...im guessing for a 07 250zzr is the same stuff as a ninaja ?
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Pretty much, but ZZR250s are known for burning oil, so make sure to keep an eye on the oil level in between changes.
 
I personally use Shell Rotella for oil. non-EC, cheap and my bike seems to like it.
 
skip said:
I personally use Shell Rotella for oil. non-EC, cheap and my bike seems to like it.
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You could arguably call that motorcycle oil - some/most types of Rotella meet JASO-MA specs and list it on the back of the bottle.
 
TwistedKestrel said:
You could arguably call that motorcycle oil - some/most types of Rotella meet JASO-MA specs and list it on the back of the bottle.
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Very true. I just like that I can get it at walmart for much lower price then i can get other "Motorcycle" oil for.
 
skip said:
I personally use Shell Rotella for oil. non-EC, cheap and my bike seems to like it.
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It is a decent oil however if you live in a hot climate, like me, they recommend going with a minimum 10w rating. 5w doesn't do as good when the temp never go below 15c and routinely hit 37c.
 
revrandy said:
It is a decent oil however if you live in a hot climate, like me, they recommend going with a minimum 10w rating. 5w doesn't do as good when the temp never go below 15c and routinely hit 37c.
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Doesn't the 5w is the ability at low temps, not high temps?
Meaning the part with the 5w has no play in how hot the ambient temp is. As long as the last number is not too low, say 30
 
The W between the numbers originally stood for winter, meaning the oil was tested at a colder temp.

Cold Viscosity W Hot Viscosity
 
RockerGuy said:
Doesn't the 5w is the ability at low temps, not high temps?
Meaning the part with the 5w has no play in how hot the ambient temp is. As long as the last number is not too low, say 30
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Not sure but I have had a couple of motorcycle mechanics in CA comment that Rotella is great in colder climates but here we need a 10W40. Doesn't have to be synthetic, DINO is fine, just don't go with a 5w40 or even a 10w30.
 
Time for some oil 101 since we haven't had an oil thread in 2 days.

The first number is the cold viscosity, the second number is the hot viscosity. The lower the number the more runny an oil is. So when cold a 5w40 will flow more easily then a 10w40. However when hot a 5w40 and a 10w40 will have the same viscosity.

5w and 0w oils are great in cold areas because they allow for easier starting i.e. when they are cold. You will note most of them have a w40 hot viscosity which is what most manufactures recommend for the viscosity of a hot oil. If you really want to know the specs that each oil has to pass the SAE has it all online.
 
There is a spin on adapter for the filter of your so inclined. The 250 has two drain bolts plus the filter cap. All are 17mm. Change the 2 o rings on the filter when you do it. The filter is KN-401 or HF-401 (sorry I use HiFlo so am familiar with that one).
No need for a torque wrench. I actually DONT recommend one. The specs are for brand new and dont take into account for worn threads etc. You just need tight enough to seal, like any other engine (car,snowblower,generator etc) Every year I do at least a dozen helicoils due to torque wrenches. Steel bolts into alluminum cases are a dicey thing. Just had to extract a broken Guzzi bolt last week.
 
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