1. Some members were not receiving emails sent from XJbikes.com. For example: "Forgot your password?" function to reset your password would not send email to some members. I believe this has been resolved now. Please use "Contact Us" form (see page footer link) if you still have email issues. SnoSheriff

    Hello Guest. You have limited privileges and you can't "SEARCH" the forums. Please "Log In" or "Sign Up" for additional functionality. Click HERE to proceed.

Oil change - No center stand

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by nickbrit16, Jun 6, 2015.

  1. nickbrit16

    nickbrit16 Member

    Messages:
    126
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Ohio
    Hey guys, I just purchased a 1981 XJ650 Maxim. The bike does not have a center stand. How should I go about changing the oil? Any tips on best oil/filter to use? Any help is appreciated!

    Thanks guys!
     
  2. Mototimothy8

    Mototimothy8 Member

    Messages:
    84
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Location:
    Lewisburg, PA
    You could use a small hydraulic jack with a piece of wood holding the bike up under the swing arm pivot. Don't lift the bike up at this point, just have the jack up to hold it upright to drain the oil. I use valvoline 10w-40 in the winter and 20w-50 motorcycle specific oil in the spring/summer with a frame filter. It is possible to do the screw on filter mod, but I don't see the point to it, the stock design works just fine. One major thing is DONT NOT USE CAR OIL!!! Most car oils contain friction modifiers and will eat your wet clutch. Look on the bottle and find a silver circle with API... in it, make sure it doesn't contain friction modifiers. Synthetics personally have not worked well in my 750 seca, so I use conventional oil. I hope this helps. Also if you search on the forum "what oil should I use in wet clutch motorcycles" there's a whole forum post about this.
     
  3. nickbrit16

    nickbrit16 Member

    Messages:
    126
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Ohio
    Thanks a lot for the help!
     
  4. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Messages:
    13,199
    Likes Received:
    3,861
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Great North Woods
  5. Mototimothy8

    Mototimothy8 Member

    Messages:
    84
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    8
    Location:
    Lewisburg, PA
  6. bullheimer

    bullheimer Member

    Messages:
    147
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    washington state
    if yours is similar to mine, you could fill oil to the very bottom of the site plug and that should be about the middle/upper middle, when it's on the stand, but hard to say cause i dont know how much your bike leans over on its kick stand. you want the oil in the upper third when it's on center stand, which translates to in the middle when it is idling. anybody correct me if i'm wrong. best way is have a friend hold the bike straight up and down while you fine tune the oil level. oh yeah i used Rotella 15/40 like alot of others recommended. Yam actually stocked the oil filters for about $7/ea so i got two. they're small
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2015
  7. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

    Messages:
    19,647
    Likes Received:
    6,756
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The City of Seven Hills
    You should get yourself one of these, unless you plan on refitting a center stand. http://www.packjack.ca
     
  8. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Messages:
    13,199
    Likes Received:
    3,861
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Great North Woods
    you could always buy a container that is marked off. in ounces.
    i get an oil and filter change plus an oil change from a gallon of oil. I pour the oil change qty into the sealable container and then pour the balance into the motor for the filter and oil change ,

    that pack jack is so simple an cool
     
  9. nickbrit16

    nickbrit16 Member

    Messages:
    126
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Ohio
    Thanks a lot guys!
     
  10. tabaka45

    tabaka45 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    2,400
    Likes Received:
    513
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Brunswick, Georgia
    I have used motorcycle specific Amsoil Synthetic and Mobil One synthetic in my XJ700 (and all my bikes) and have never had a problem. I have also doubled the miles between changes with no issues. With the price of a quart of oil it's actually less expensive to use synthetic if you double the mileage between changes. A lot of folks don't subscribe to that, but like I said I have done it in all 5 bikes with no problems at all. Of course, I don't ride my bikes aggressively and my bikes have been well maintained, so if you are hard on the bike or it has not been well maintained that might make a difference. But I like synthetic oil.
     
  11. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

    Messages:
    19,647
    Likes Received:
    6,756
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The City of Seven Hills
    tabaka, have you had an oil analysis done at that longer change interval?
     
  12. tabaka45

    tabaka45 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    2,400
    Likes Received:
    513
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Brunswick, Georgia
    Haven't had an oil analysis, but the information I've read supports the longer intervals. I've had no problems in any of my bikes and when I change the oil it still looks clear and good. We did oil analysis in the Army on military vehicles and the oil lasted a good bit longer than the stated intervals, and that wasn't synthetic. I know some folks don't agree with this but it has seemed to work for me.
    t
     
  13. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

    Messages:
    19,647
    Likes Received:
    6,756
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    The City of Seven Hills
    I like longer intervals, but mainly do that on water cooled engines. My truck has oil changes whenever I feel like it, so about every 10k to 12k miles. 200,000 miles from new and it still doesn't burn oil, and I don't use synthetic (being a cheap ba$tard).
     
  14. tabaka45

    tabaka45 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    2,400
    Likes Received:
    513
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Brunswick, Georgia
    I'm convinced that modern engines are so well made and the modern oils, natural or synthetic, are so good, that unless an engine is abused they will stay very clean on the inside and can easily tolerate the longer intervals.

    When I was a kid--about 60 years ago-- my dad had a grocery store, but offered many things other than food. One was a Franz Oil Filter. This was an add-on filter that used a roll of toilet paper as the filter. The idea was that if you changed the roll of toilet paper every 2000 miles and added enough oil to top it off you never needed to change the oil. Our local government put them on police cars, garbage trucks, etc and never had a problem. I had a VW that I got 140,000 miles out of before rebuilding the engine. Although I haven't used one in years they are still in business and all over Ebay and Amazon plus their own website. I don't think they still suggest never changing the oil, but they do advertise extended intervals.
     

Share This Page