New owner, new rider

[blaine]

Originally Posted by tcrave

If you decide to change the oil yourself, make sure you use the right oil plug. There are two plugs right next to each other...one holds the cam shaft stopper, the other is the actual oil plug.

The one closest to the front is the oil drain plug. :lol:

[tcrave]

Originally Posted by blaine

The one closest to the front is the oil drain plug. :lol:

yep, learned that one the hard way :whistle:

[technocat]

Originally Posted by blaine

You should not add any additives to the oil as it will ruin your clutch.Also be careful not to use any oil that is labeled "Energy conserving".You may want to change your oil,to insure that you don't do any damage to your clutch.
:cool:

I guess I should have checked first. It's the Lucas motorcycle formula which I assumed was safe for wet clutches, but on second look on the label, it doesn't mention clutches at all...so I guess I'll change it to be sure.

[alantf]

Don't use any oil that says "energy conserving". It should tell you that in the owner's manual. :2tup:

[technocat]

Originally Posted by alantf

Don't use any oil that says "energy conserving". It should tell you that in the owner's manual. :2tup:

I got that from the manual, not worried about that part.

Also, thought I'd let everyone know I aced the drive test and am now endorsed! :rawk:

[alanmcorcoran]

Congratulations. Take it easy and have fun.

[mole2]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum from South Carolina. Ride safe.

[GZBrian]

Congrats on the new bike. I change my oil and filter every 3,000 miles. I clean and lube the chain every 750 miles. I used to use the grunge brush but that was a real pain. What I have found that works for me, is to use the chain clean spray and a toothbrush. I do about 4-6 links at a time. I put the bike on a rear stand lift, and a front in a drive in holder thing I got at Harbor Freight and secure the bike down. I then remove the chain guard and spray the few links down and scrub them down with the toothbrush on both sides the side facing you and the side facing the other side of the bike. I go on the other side so I can see what I am doing and scrub that side good as well. I then wipe them off. I then use a Q-tip with cleaner on it and scrub the rollers and links. Here is my newest thing that I have tried 4 times already and it works great. I use a very soft "pipe cleaner" cut about 6" long. I am careful not to jab the metal wire into anything and I dip the pipe cleaner into the chain cleaner. I then insert it in between the links and kind of rub as bit ariound the O ring, and do the same for the in between links. This gets the chain really clean and I have not damaged any O rings on my chain. Again I am VERY careful when using the pipe cleaner. This really does a good job on the chain that is why I go for about 750 miles instead of 600. I use the motorcycle 10-40 Mobil 1 that my local Auto zone had on sale in February. I buy my years worth of oil when it is on sale. Next year I am going to try the Synthetic oil as alot of people really seem to like the shifting with it. Hope this helps. GZBrian