First oil change

[SportsterDoc]

At 10 days old, my CB1100E turned 519 miles today.

With blowing dust forecast for Las Vegas Valley, tomorrow, I decided to forgo a ~100 mile ride tomorrow (to reach 600 miles) and change the oil today.

Gave her a coat of wax while the engine was cooling…saves dropping the drain bolt/crush washer in hot oil…not that I have EVER done that!

1. Drain bolt broke lose easy (too easy?) I have a new crush washer, but reused factory.

2. Factory oil filter over torqued. It required a factory cap wrench, 17 mm 6 point socket and a breaker bar to break lose. Cap wrench came off old filter with the tap of a mallet.

3. Cleanest break-in oil I have ever seen. Color only a tad darker than new Honda GN4 10W-30.

4. Four quarts took it very close to max level on site glass.

5. Oil pressure light went out about one second after start-up.

Lubed the chain for the first time. Had some PJ1 left over from my XT250

A couple sheets of cardboard made cleanup easy

Maybe Saturday I can find out if the snorkel mod makes any difference climbing from 3,000 to 8,500 feet. Probably not discernible, especially since I have not previously run it steady over 5,000 RPM, but I do like the intake sound.

Post 7: http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=11787

 

[the Ferret]

This bike is so ridiculously easy to change oil on. THey should all be like that. Unfortunately most aren't.

 

[greekcb_imp]

Very cool. I agree with Ferret, stupid easy oil change. I did mine at 525 miles and it looked very clean as well. Feels good to get that break in oil out though dont it? I got my new 14 back in September and im just assuming the oil was from when it was built and really wanted to change it right away but i just said screw it and racked some miles on it pretty quick and then dumped it. Feel good now hehe

 

[SportsterDoc]

This bike is so ridiculously easy to change oil on. THey should all be like that. Unfortunately most aren't.

I like the spin on filters and all is very accessible, especially on the center stand.

Don't want to start an oil thread (not even winter!), but probably will switch to 10W-40 as the weather warms. Not uncommon to ride at 115 F+ here.

My owner's manual only lists 10W-30 and I have read of valve noise issues using 10W-40 (think that was my pre-purchase research on this forum).

GN4 is not expensive at $6.99 a quart (and much less by the gallon), but since the local dealer does not recycle my GN4, I am annoyed and considering Castrol 4T or maybe Castrol Power 1 synthetic, as used in my 2012 Bonneville. Seems fair to buy from where I will recycle (AutoZone or O'Reilly's).

Used Castrol 20W-50 in all my bikes until the Sporters, then used H-D 360 (2.8 quarts per change) for them.

The Bonneville was prepped with Castrol Power 1, so I continued to use it. Don't know if it was the factory oil cooler, twin oil pumps and/or synthetic oil, but the Bonneville never seemed to know it was hot. Went across the desert to SoCal and back more than once.

The recent Yamahas used Castrol 4T ($6.49/quart)

The Moto Guzzi required 10W-60 (not a typo), so I got introduced to Motoul. Good oil, but VERY expensive.

Concern switching from GN4 10W-30 to GN4 or Castrol 10W-40 would be valve noise. Switching to synthetic should not affect clutch, as it had no issues on the Bonneville.

However, the recommended 4,000 miles between changes with dino oil is farther than my comfort zone. Probably will go only 3,000. Maybe 4,000 if synthetic used.

 

[the Ferret]

Use/do what makes you comfortable. It doesn't get much above 90 here or much below 32. I change oil every 4000 in all my bikes.

 

[SportsterDoc]

Very cool. I agree with Ferret, stupid easy oil change. I did mine at 525 miles and it looked very clean as well. Feels good to get that break in oil out though dont it? I got my new 14 back in September and im just assuming the oil was from when it was built and really wanted to change it right away but i just said screw it and racked some miles on it pretty quick and then dumped it. Feel good now hehe

Yep, the messy part was getting the old oil into the 4 bottles!
The dealer did not have 10W-30 in gallons.

The dealer prep mechanic referred to the factory oil as break-in oil.
Don't know if it is any different than GN4, but I like to do the first oil change early on any vehicle.

Both the 2017 and 2018 Yamahas had metal particles on the oil filters/screens at the first change. I did not cut open the filtger, but think the CB1100 motor was assembled sanitary!

Use/do what makes you comfortable. It doesn't get much above 90 here or much below 32. I change oil every 4000 in all my bikes.

The northern part of Las Vegas Valley gets about one week of slightly below freezing weather every 2-3 years. Bit rough on our citrus trees.

But we get snow in the nearby mountains.

I have finally become accustomed to 4K intervals in my 4WD, using synthetic blend...but it is mainly long distance miles to SoCal or AZ (Canada when it was new).

A significant plus with the CB1100 is the oil capacity.

 

[LongRanger_imp]

I live at 8,000' and have taken my CB to 14,000' many times (also joined by the Ferret and Offroad on their CB's). No issues with the stock air intake, or anything else, at those elevations. The bikes work great up there and have plenty of power, precise fueling, and excellent drivability. No need to overthink this.

 

[Gumby 1100_imp]

Very cool. I agree with Ferret, stupid easy oil change. I did mine at 525 miles and it looked very clean as well. Feels good to get that break in oil out though dont it? I got my new 14 back in September and im just assuming the oil was from when it was built and really wanted to change it right away but i just said screw it and racked some miles on it pretty quick and then dumped it. Feel good now hehe

Yep, the messy part was getting the old oil into the 4 bottles!
The dealer did not have 10W-30 in gallons.

The dealer prep mechanic referred to the factory oil as break-in oil.
Don't know if it is any different than GN4, but I like to do the first oil change early on any vehicle.

Both the 2017 and 2018 Yamahas had metal particles on the oil filters/screens at the first change. I did not cut open the filtger, but think the CB1100 motor was assembled sanitary!

Use/do what makes you comfortable. It doesn't get much above 90 here or much below 32. I change oil every 4000 in all my bikes.

The northern part of Las Vegas Valley gets about one week of slightly below freezing weather every 2-3 years. Bit rough on our citrus trees.

But we get snow in the nearby mountains.

I have finally become accustomed to 4K intervals in my 4WD, using synthetic blend...but it is mainly long distance miles to SoCal or AZ (Canada when it was new).

A significant plus with the CB1100 is the oil capacity.

Did they have "synthetic blend" when Canada was NEW?
You could get away with some old pork fat on the axles in those days

 

[SportsterDoc]

Eh!
Circa 1987-1992, I managed contracts for the CA office of Automation Tooling Systems, headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario (ATS since moved to London, Ontario),so I can appreciate jokes with a Canadian accent. Traveled there yearly for sales meetings. Beautiful countryside.

 

[SportsterDoc]

I live at 8,000' and have taken my CB to 14,000' many times (also joined by the Ferret and Offroad on their CB's). No issues with the stock air intake, or anything else, at those elevations. The bikes work great up there and have plenty of power, precise fueling, and excellent drivability. No need to overthink this.

I like the intake sound, whether air flow is improved or not.
Reminds me of buying a taller air filter for a 4 barrel carb to allow air flow around the circumference, rather than just through the silencing tube...or the open element on the Carter AFB on the 350 in my Datsun pickup.

Also, the air filter can be inspected by only removing the right side cover.

 

[flynrider]

SportsterDoc,

If you're riding in very high temps, I'd recommend switching to a synthetic. The combination of high temps and an air cooled engine can be very tough on dino oil. Add to that the shear factor from the oil circulating through the transmission gears and you're asking a lot from a multigrade dino oil.

Several years ago I started doing oil analysis on my bikes and found that summer time riding temps ( up to 115F) were having a bad effect on my favorite multigrade dino oil. The viscosity was down to a straight 20 weight after only 2000 miles.

I ended up switching both bikes to synthetic oil. Subsequent oil analysis showed that it was holding up well beyond 3500 miles of summer time riding. Well worth the extra few bucks!

I use Shell Rotella T6 (5w-40) in both bikes now. It meets the JASO-MA spec required by Honda and is only around $21/gal at Wally World.

 

[Houtman_imp]

I use the 10/40 Mobil 1 synthetic motorcycle oil , when cold the 10 is the same as the 10/30 but when hot you have safety build in.

 

[redbirds_imp]

SportsterDoc,

If you're riding in very high temps, I'd recommend switching to a synthetic. The combination of high temps and an air cooled engine can be very tough on dino oil. Add to that the shear factor from the oil circulating through the transmission gears and you're asking a lot from a multigrade dino oil.

Several years ago I started doing oil analysis on my bikes and found that summer time riding temps ( up to 115F) were having a bad effect on my favorite multigrade dino oil. The viscosity was down to a straight 20 weight after only 2000 miles.

I ended up switching both bikes to synthetic oil. Subsequent oil analysis showed that it was holding up well beyond 3500 miles of summer time riding. Well worth the extra few bucks!

I use Shell Rotella T6 (5w-40) in both bikes now. It meets the JASO-MA spec required by Honda and is only around $21/gal at Wally World.

My favorite also because it works and it's cheap.

 

[the Ferret]

I thought I read somewhere that the Shell Rotella T is not a true synthetic (btw I used it in both my Yamaha FZ-1s for maybe 80,000 miles without issue)

 

[Lord Popgun]

Ferret, http://rotella.shell.com/products/t6-full-synthetic.html

 

[the Ferret]

I'll be darned. The things you read on the interwebs.

 

[Lord Popgun]

I have a really smart friend. His name is Google

 

[the Ferret]

Seems to me the stuff I was using was a 15w40. Not sure if it was a t5 or t 6 but there does seem to be some discussion on the net that the formula was changed, along with a name change.

Google informs but it doesn't discuss lol

 

[SportsterDoc]

I rode the Moto Guzzi this summer in temps past 115 (117-118F?) with Motoul 10W-60 synthetic.
I rode the Triumph two summers with temps past 115, with Castrol Power 1 20W/50 synthetic.

For the CB1100, figure one more oil change, probably February, with GN4 10W-30, then switch to 10W-40, probably in May/June.

The question is do I continue with Honda recommended GN4 or go to synthetic.

Since I have a proclivity to change oil frequently, switching to synthetic may be of less benefit.

If I do switch , then the question is Honda HP4 (MSRP $9.43/quart) or Castrol or maybe Motoul 4T 7100

Need to do more research, but I am presently inclined towards Castrol. Motoul is great oil, but VERY expensive.

Castrol is about $10.50 a quart at AutoZone or O'Reillys.

 

[Django]

Summer:

Winter: