Kawasaki Er6n

12DrinkMore · September 17, 2009

Veloil 100% synthetic, which really isnt that important. Excellent mineral oils can be far better quality than cheap synthetic oils. What is important is the API spec, SG, which is a very high quality oil. Even more important, from sealed bottles, I get what I pay for Hate it when they come with a dirty bottle of oil from barrel.
The thing is, Kwaker service/oilchange is more expensive than my 3,0 diesel Vigo. But who cares, its just a couple of times a year.

Not wishing to be argumentative, but the API SG spec is obsolete, although admittedly there are still a lot of oils around produced to that spec.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/API_ratings.pdf

and Veloil do not have a fully synthetic motorcycle oil in their product lineup

http://www.veloil.com/products/four/engine.htm

although they do offer

http://www.veloil.com/products/passenger/engine1.htm

which is fully synthetic but is API SL and not the SG you mentioned, they also state that this oil is outstanding for motorcycles, although I would be a bit cautious and check to make sure that there will not be a problem with any friction modifiers which could cause clutch slippage in wet clutches.

The oil (API SL) I currently have in the engine is

http://www.motul-asiapacific.com/thailand/.../4stroke21.html

I can't remember what oil Kwacker in Chiang Mai put in, seem to recall Yamaha being on the box, so it might have been something like this

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/appare...452/detail.aspx

I spent some time a few months ago researching oils and the overwhelming opinion is that fully synthetic oils are well worth the cost premium, as they reduce wear, deposits and last longer. May also have performance benefits, but I doubt whether these would be noticeable outside of a race track or on a dynostand.

The question of whether passenger car oils can be used in bikes is down to the additives. With a dry clutch, for example Ducati, there is no problem. With a wet clutch there is the possibility of clutch slippage due to the friction modifiers in some, but not all oils.

Pricing, I have not found any fully synthetic oil in Thailand substantially less than 300 Baht/litre.

soundman · September 17, 2009

The problem with fully synthetic oils in Thailand is that they are considered a premium product and incur a retail mark-up of between 35-60% on the wholesale cost, before any bulk-buying rates/specials are applied which can put that mark-up in the 75-95% region.

In comparisson, std oils (your bread & butter in the retailing game), generally only have an 7-17% base retail mark-up.

NormanW · September 17, 2009

oh man where do i start?

I went to the kwacker dealer Pattaya tonight to see if they could do something with my handle bars (they were slightly offset by about 4mm).

Yeh the demons in me head were at it again.

so as luck would have it there were 3 quality assurance lads from the factory in Rayong there. so they got involved and sorted it for me by adjusting the front forks etc etc.

Then i pointed out a dribble of coolant on the right hand side indicator coul.

so they stripped it down and replaced the coolant, arhhhh!

Then we got on to the oil debate and the chief man said he prefers semi synthetic oil as opposed to full. my Thai is not fluent so i couldnt really get to the bottom of what he was saying, sorry. you just cant win can yer?

they tried on one wheel my 41 baht green tape but it didn't work so they are going to find some 3M stuff that should do the job. they will phone me when they can get their hands on some.

I also saw the new 250 Ninja in red. see photo. cool wheel paint as was also on the new green ninja which wasn't in the showroom but out the back.

the coolant i put in was Motul at 350 per litre bottle and it took a full litre in the engine and radiator then a further 200ml to fill the overflow bottle.

Cant wait for the weekend and rain holding off until night fall hehe.

here are the pics from tonight.

12DrinkMore · September 17, 2009

oh man where do i start?

Hey Norman, you seem to be under some kind of stress here, maybe suffering from Thai-mechanic-itis?

Stay cool, at 350 baht/litre , keep the green tape off the wheels, black is fine, never let guys with white gloves near your bike, they know <deleted> all.

Fully synthetic is the way to go, and always keep an image of that guy with the "thumbs up!" in mind.

"The one to avoid"

Roll on, rock on, do your own maintenance and ride on!

And I wouldn't be seen dead even looking at that Ninja 250 with the curly squiggles, fugly beyond.

:D

Oh, and are you sure those guys came from the Kawasaki Quality Assurance Department? Maybe the Rayong Karaoke Quality Assurance?

:D

Edited September 17, 2009 by 12DrinkMore

nikster · September 17, 2009

Kawa dealer head honcho in CM also recommended semi-synthetic. He claimed it's better than fully synthetic for Thai weather conditions, e.g. high humidity and heat. Said something about synthetic oil was developed in Europe ... anyway, I'll do semi for that reason.

BTW if you go there and proclaim fully synthetic the best they're Thai so they'll all agree with you and smile of course, who are they to argue with farang

Edited September 17, 2009 by nikster

ScubaBuddha · September 18, 2009

my Thai is not fluent so i couldnt really get to the bottom of what he was saying

and they rely on that

they will phone me when they can get their hands on some.

No they won't. As a general rule, Thais do not call back when they say they will.

katabeachbum · September 18, 2009

Veloil 100% synthetic, which really isnt that important. Excellent mineral oils can be far better quality than cheap synthetic oils. What is important is the API spec, SG, which is a very high quality oil. Even more important, from sealed bottles, I get what I pay for Hate it when they come with a dirty bottle of oil from barrel.
The thing is, Kwaker service/oilchange is more expensive than my 3,0 diesel Vigo. But who cares, its just a couple of times a year.

Not wishing to be argumentative, but the API SG spec is obsolete, although admittedly there are still a lot of oils around produced to that spec.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/API_ratings.pdf

and Veloil do not have a fully synthetic motorcycle oil in their product lineup

http://www.veloil.com/products/four/engine.htm

although they do offer

http://www.veloil.com/products/passenger/engine1.htm

which is fully synthetic but is API SL and not the SG you mentioned, they also state that this oil is outstanding for motorcycles, although I would be a bit cautious and check to make sure that there will not be a problem with any friction modifiers which could cause clutch slippage in wet clutches.

The oil (API SL) I currently have in the engine is

http://www.motul-asiapacific.com/thailand/.../4stroke21.html

I can't remember what oil Kwacker in Chiang Mai put in, seem to recall Yamaha being on the box, so it might have been something like this

http://www.yamaha-motor.com/outdoor/appare...452/detail.aspx

I spent some time a few months ago researching oils and the overwhelming opinion is that fully synthetic oils are well worth the cost premium, as they reduce wear, deposits and last longer. May also have performance benefits, but I doubt whether these would be noticeable outside of a race track or on a dynostand.

The question of whether passenger car oils can be used in bikes is down to the additives. With a dry clutch, for example Ducati, there is no problem. With a wet clutch there is the possibility of clutch slippage due to the friction modifiers in some, but not all oils.

Pricing, I have not found any fully synthetic oil in Thailand substantially less than 300 Baht/litre.

Hmm, great post on oils 12drinkmore.

Too bad i didnt take a picture of the veloil kwaker phuket, it said synthetic on the bottle and API SG, and sticker didnt look like any of the website veloils.

I just have to assume its good enough for now

12DrinkMore · September 18, 2009

Hmm, great post on oils 12drinkmore.
Too bad i didnt take a picture of the veloil kwaker phuket, it said synthetic on the bottle and API SG, and sticker didnt look like any of the website veloils.

I just have to assume its good enough for now

Just to round it off, the other important oil specification is the JASO (Japanese Automotives Standards Organisation)

They rates oils for use in 4 stroke wet clutch motorbikes and have two ratings

JASO MA: high friction

JASO MB: low friction.

For wet clutch bikes, unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise, only oils that meet the JASO MA standard should be used.

The Veloil car product above does not, according their website, carry this specification. It may simply mean that the Thai owned company Veloil can't be bothered to spend the money on having the oil certified, or that it doesn't meet the spec. It won't be finding its way into my bike until I can see JASO MA on the label....

NormanW · September 18, 2009

Kawasaki have just phoned (not about the green tape for the wheels) but to invite me to some sort of track day instruction or get to gether.

Meeting at 8am on the 3rd road opposite X-Cite.

Too early for me as I get up at 6am every morning to go to work. I'm sure if any of you who are keen turn up they wouldn't refuse you????????

Keep those times rolling!!!!

BigBikeBKK · September 18, 2009

Kawasaki have just phoned (not about the green tape for the wheels) but to invite me to some sort of track day instruction or get to gether.
Meeting at 8am on the 3rd road opposite X-Cite.

Too early for me as I get up at 6am every morning to go to work. I'm sure if any of you who are keen turn up they wouldn't refuse you????????

Keep those times rolling!!!!

Hey NormanW!

Sounds like you are loving the new bike!

Great to hear that Kawasaki Mityon is organizing some events for Kawasaki owners and even called to tell you about it- not even Rama 9 does that! Hope other dealers will do also organize events. It's great PR for Team Green!

If they're offering to let you ride BIRA at tomorrow's event you should make every effort to get up early and hit it!

Happy Trails!

Tony

NormanW · September 18, 2009

Kawasaki have just phoned (not about the green tape for the wheels) but to invite me to some sort of track day instruction or get to gether.
Meeting at 8am on the 3rd road opposite X-Cite.

Too early for me as I get up at 6am every morning to go to work. I'm sure if any of you who are keen turn up they wouldn't refuse you????????

Keep those times rolling!!!!

Hey NormanW!

Sounds like you are loving the new bike!

Great to hear that Kawasaki Mityon is organizing some events for Kawasaki owners and even called to tell you about it- not even Rama 9 does that! Hope other dealers will do also organize events. It's great PR for Team Green!

If they're offering to let you ride BIRA at tomorrow's event you should make every effort to get up early and hit it!

Happy Trails!

Tony

Cheers Tony, I will try honestly.

I think they are providing the bikes as well.

Right leaving Rayong now to go to BKK airport to pick up some friends.

No time for the wicked.

roll those times out for me will you.

Norman.

BigBikeBKK · September 22, 2009

I finally had a chance to have dual-sport/enduro tires installed on my ER6n earlier today- looks so cool!

Can't wait to hit Cambo and some of the dirt roads that Bard has sniffed out in Rayong and Chantaburi.

Pirelli Corsa MT60RS Dual Sport:

I bargained the price down at ShowPow to 10,465 Baht. (The normal retail price is 11,628 Baht) Tell K. Go that you're a friend of Tony and you can probably get the same discount as well

RIDE ON!

Tony

thaicbr · September 22, 2009

Go easy on the tarmac bits though. wouldnt like to see ya rubber side up.

Showpows tyre storage needs sorting. All the tyres squashed on top of each other like that.

ScubaBuddha · September 22, 2009

Very cool. I wanna see some pics of ya kicking up some dirt!!

LivinLOS · September 22, 2009

Thats does look tough !!

BigBikeBKK · September 22, 2009

Go easy on the tarmac bits though. wouldnt like to see ya rubber side up.
Showpows tyre storage needs sorting. All the tyres squashed on top of each other like that.

Thanks Allan- don't worry- I'll take it easy on the black top because indeed, these tires don't stick like the supercorsas did. I've already found myself doing a couple of motard style slides around the corners. Pretty fun but I honestly have no idea what I'm doing as I've very little experience on dirt.

Yeah- ShowPow moves amazing numbers of tires and has a pretty deep inventory- while I was getting mine fitted they must have shipped out a good 30-40. I believe they are the only authorized Pirelli dealer in Thailand. Maybe Graham at High Side Tours is another? But his prices are so high that I'm thinking maybe he gets his tires from ShowPow and then adds on his markup...

Ride On!

husskydog · September 22, 2009

I would get one of these tony, before the dirt....that front will kick up some serious loose stuff...HD

LivinLOS · September 22, 2009

I was thinking about the er6n with dual purpose rubber..

hel_l it wont like wet dirt (mudguard clearances) and its not going to offer off road travel suspension. But as long as its mild offroad, which is probably the kind of 'road riding' you can find doing the Laos / Cambo bits, I see nothing wrong with it. Kinda upright, light enough, etc.

Just emphasises what a good all round tool it is.

thaicbr · September 23, 2009

Umm yer i agree with husky and livin. a rad guard and up the front mudguard a little would be a very good idea.

NormanW · September 23, 2009

I would get one of these tony, before the dirt....that front will kick up some serious loose stuff...HD

I've seen some with 'er6n' engraved in somewhere.

Edited September 23, 2009 by soundman
Fixed quote tags.

BigBikeBKK · September 28, 2009

Kawasaki have just phoned (not about the green tape for the wheels) but to invite me to some sort of track day instruction or get to gether.
Meeting at 8am on the 3rd road opposite X-Cite.

Too early for me as I get up at 6am every morning to go to work. I'm sure if any of you who are keen turn up they wouldn't refuse you????????

Keep those times rolling!!!!

Hey NormanW!

Sounds like you are loving the new bike!

Great to hear that Kawasaki Mityon is organizing some events for Kawasaki owners and even called to tell you about it- not even Rama 9 does that! Hope other dealers will do also organize events. It's great PR for Team Green!

If they're offering to let you ride BIRA at tomorrow's event you should make every effort to get up early and hit it!

Happy Trails!

Tony

Cheers Tony, I will try honestly.

I think they are providing the bikes as well.

Right leaving Rayong now to go to BKK airport to pick up some friends.

No time for the wicked.

roll those times out for me will you.

Norman.

Hey Norman- were you able to check out the Kawasaki Rider Course in Pattaya? Didn't see you in any of the pictures but looks like it was a fun event-

NormanW · September 29, 2009

Kawasaki have just phoned (not about the green tape for the wheels) but to invite me to some sort of track day instruction or get to gether.
Meeting at 8am on the 3rd road opposite X-Cite.

Too early for me as I get up at 6am every morning to go to work. I'm sure if any of you who are keen turn up they wouldn't refuse you????????

Keep those times rolling!!!!

Hey NormanW!

Sounds like you are loving the new bike!

Great to hear that Kawasaki Mityon is organizing some events for Kawasaki owners and even called to tell you about it- not even Rama 9 does that! Hope other dealers will do also organize events. It's great PR for Team Green!

If they're offering to let you ride BIRA at tomorrow's event you should make every effort to get up early and hit it!

Happy Trails!

Tony

Cheers Tony, I will try honestly.

I think they are providing the bikes as well.

Right leaving Rayong now to go to BKK airport to pick up some friends.

No time for the wicked.

roll those times out for me will you.

Norman.

Hey Norman- were you able to check out the Kawasaki Rider Course in Pattaya? Didn't see you in any of the pictures but looks like it was a fun event-

I was invited but it was too early for a Saturday morning for me to participate. I need a lie in sometimes. I've been riding since I was 6 so I felt I didn't need the tuition. Not that I'm being complacent or anything. Just too early Tony.

Maybe next time eh?

Travelmate · September 29, 2009

Why do they have green numbered vests? Motosai?

BigBikeBKK · October 1, 2009

Hey Guys,

For any of you who might be thinking about trying out dual sport / enduro tires on your ER6n- Go for it! They rock!

Went for a ride to Chaiyaphum with the guy who bought my ER6n on Sunday. Fun ride- not so many twisties, but a beautiful new road and great scenery. Just before we reached Chaiyaphum the heavens opened up and in no time the town was completely flooded!

Cool!

The Pirelli MT60's are awesome on wet pavement! They performed far beyond my expectations.

Ride On!

Tony

ScubaBuddha · October 1, 2009

Ah so you sold the n. Did you leave the goodies on it?

Water that deep do you need to start worrying about wheel bearings?

BigBikeBKK · October 1, 2009

Ah so you sold the n. Did you leave the goodies on it?
Water that deep do you need to start worrying about wheel bearings?

Hi ScoobieBooty!

Yeah- finally sold the old girl. Was quite sad to see her go but fun to see the big perma-grin on the face of the new owner. Really enjoyed the last week with the Dual Sport tires- found myslef riding around Bangkok looking for dirty shoulders and broken pavement. Trent says I caught some pretty good air over the rail road tracks on Asoke/Ratchada

Wheel bearings... Hmmm... Yeah- suppose that could be an issue though to be honest we didn't ride any great distance in the flooded streets. (except Saturday night in Khon Kaen, but my recollection of that night is a bit hazy 'cept it was more like jet skiing than motorcycling! )

Ride On!

T

NormanW · October 2, 2009

Ah so you sold the n. Did you leave the goodies on it?
Water that deep do you need to start worrying about wheel bearings?

Hi ScoobieBooty!

Yeah- finally sold the old girl. Was quite sad to see her go but fun to see the big perma-grin on the face of the new owner. Really enjoyed the last week with the Dual Sport tires- found myslef riding around Bangkok looking for dirty shoulders and broken pavement. Trent says I caught some pretty good air over the rail road tracks on Asoke/Ratchada

Wheel bearings... Hmmm... Yeah- suppose that could be an issue though to be honest we didn't ride any great distance in the flooded streets. (except Saturday night in Khon Kaen, but my recollection of that night is a bit hazy 'cept it was more like jet skiing than motorcycling! )

Ride On!

T

Holy S*** Tony, you don't do anything by halves man.

Hehehehe.

Go for it.

Norman

NormanW · October 4, 2009

Yes I got Mityon Pattaya to change the oil again and clean and lube my chain.

I also took the opportunity to get the rims painted with the fine green line just like the ZX10R in the showroom, only it didn't work out as I expected. Look at the pics and tell me if you see a difference.

Disappointed is all I can say and 1700 baht out of pocket. Oh well.

I'm going to take them off with some thinners when I get time! Obviously they are too thick compared with the ZX10R's discreet lines.

Arhhhhhhh!

NormanW · October 4, 2009

Anyone know where I can buy a Simpson Bandit helmet here in Thailand?

I know they are expensive around $600????

Edited October 4, 2009 by NormanW

BigBikeBKK · October 4, 2009

Sorry Norman, I've never seen the Simpson brand in Thailand...

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