Just bought 1981 seca 750 - OIL CHANGE HELP !!!???

So i just bought an 1981 yamaha seca 750 and the oil light was on, i added oil and obviously put too much in bc it stArted coming out the overflow tube,

The light went off maybe 500 miles after the oil went down to the right level, and stAyed off for a while, but now it's back on.

SO I DECIDED I BETTER JUST CHANGE THE OIL FILTER AND OIL COMPLETELY.... I GOT THE OIL FILTER BUT DIDNT KNOW WHAT TYPE OF OIL TO PUT IN, one guy said just put synthetic in it, but nothef guy said synthetic is too light/runny of an oil and will seap through gaskets and what not since the motor is so old.

SO BASICALLY ALL I NEED TO KNOW IS WHAT TYPE OF OIL WORKS BEST IN THIS THING??? I live in Indiana and am planning on riding all this winter S long as roads are dry, DO I NEED TO USE A DIFFERENT OIL FOR SUMMER VS WINTER.??? Thanks a bunch!!!! And if any one has a link to show an oil change step by step that would be sweet! Oh and does it hold 5 qts?

 

Completly drain and refill to fac specs with a good 10w40
(in summer go to 20w50) from castrol,penn,valvoline etc.
Then see how the light respones with the correct level in the
bike.You may need to get a new sensor.

 

Get motorcycle specific oil, which is an older spec and won't cause wet clutches to slip. Other than that, ditto what parts said about weight and sensor.

Oil volume is stamped on the clutch cover, near the oil fill hole. Should read 2300cc, which is 2.3 L. 5 qt is WAAAAAY too much. The engine doesn't "fill" with oil!

You'll likely need to add up to another 0.5 L to get just a little bubble on the top of the glass. That is, on the CENTER stand, NOT kick stand.

 

Still new here, but maybe I can help.
#1. Get a manual, and go through and do a complete safety check. change all fluids and filters, check brakes and hoses (replace if older than 4 years), check dates on tires and replace them if they are old.

Use motorcycle oil (it's a little more expensive, but doesn't have all the additives automobile oil has)..

 

You do want to use motorcycle specific oil, and you can use either synthetic or conventional. In the early days of synths they had problems with swelling/shrinking of seals, but that has since been fixed.

I changed the oil&filter for my XJ550 with conventional MC oil the first time. Rode for about 100 miles and then after a good warm up, parked it on the center stand and put in a little sea foam (1-2 ounces) in w/oil, ran the bike for about 2 minutes to distribute. Promptly drained the oil and tipped the bike forward on a jack to remove as much as possible. Then replaced filter&oil w/20w50 synthetic MC oil-weather is still warm here.

When you fill, put in about 2.2L, start&idle (no high reving) for 1/2min, hit the kill and wait about 2min to let it all settle down. If you can't see through your sight glass try using some SeaFoam on a q-tip and clean it. Then you should able to carefully add more oil to bring it up to just a bubble left at the top of the sight. You're done.

Keep in mind that these engines although "air-cooled" rely on the oil being distributed all over to help cool.

As far as step-by step it's fairly straight forward, but here a manual would be helpful. As you go keep track of your removal procedure and how everything goes together (inside the filter cover). Oil your filter before you put it in, and don't overtighten your bolts.

Listen to the previous advice as well-must check everything off your list to be sure you'll be safe and so will your bike. Enjoy!

 

To summarize; use motorcycle specific oil, synthetic if you insist but conventional is fine.

Run 20W50 until you find that you're riding in temperatures below about 41 degrees F. Then switch to 10W40, but still use motorcycle specific oil.

Castrol 4T is widely available.

 

Yamalube!! I find it is the best in my bike!! Just my $.02

 

Mobil Delvac 15w40

 

Welcome to the site IndySeca750 !!

Here are the "don't's" -

Don't run an "energy conserving" oil (has the starburst on the label)
Don't touch the "middle-gear" drain screw (it's 10MM and hidden underneath)

and the reasons we fill until there's just a little bubble in the window,
- the carbs can flood the motor with gas. If the bubble is gone, there's trouble.
- the "low oil" sensor flashes while riding ~~ yours needs attention.

 

Also note that, while synthetics are nice for smoother shifting in cold weather and better resistance to heat in hot weather, the Seca starter clutch doesn't like them much. If you go to synthetic, like the Amsoil motorcycle oil I run, you'll probably find the starter clutch letting go and making a nasty grinding noise very easily, especially if/when the battery's a bit low.

 

This temperature factor is ABSOLUTELY important, and should not be ignored. Bigfitz checked me on it a couple weeks ago, because my oil use was excessively high (the low-oil light was coming on after every 70 miles of riding). I was using "winter" viscosity -- 10W-40 Yamalube, and it was vaporizing out the crankcase breather in the warmer weather.

I switched to 20W-50 Castrol 4T and oil consumption dropped dramatically.

If you go to buy Yamalube, the dealer may tell you "20W-40 isn't available anymore, but 10W-40 will be fine". Walk out and don't look back. Get the right stuff.

 

I know im bumping a old thread here, but how much oil should be put in? all i see is the 2300cc. so yea.

 

The 2300CCs to start (2.3L.) You'll want a 200CC or so "overfill" to keep the oil level warning light happy, so you'll end up using about 2.5L (2500cc.) Maybe a tad more, as below.

Once the bike has oil in and you've run it a bit to circulate it, shut it off and put it on the CENTERstand. Wait about 10 minutes then check the sight glass. You should be just above the upper set of marks but with a bubble still showing at the top.

 

Thank you. I saw merc mans but Manbots post was the one that wasnt making sense to me. Thanks for the clear up!

 

This might come in handy, if you haven't found it yet:



Those hex-socket plugs on each side of the motor below the ends of the crank are NOT drain plugs and should be left alone. We've had more than one new XJ owner mistake them for the oil drain plug.

 

lol Yea i looked at in the book.

 

i know i know bumping a thread again. But my oil filter housing doesn't have a normal bolt head on it. It is just a little rectangle. So crescent wrench maybe? Nothing seems to fit it.

 

picture would be helpful. if its not a regular hex head you should probably order a new one. To get the old one out if a regular wrench doesn't fit try the crescent, if that doesn't work try a pipe wrench.

 

here is a picture of it.

 

Do yourself a favor and get a new filter bolt - that one looks sad and abused.