T2W KLR650 Maintenance Series: Oil Change 

I think it's good to do your own maintenance when able. You learn a lot and get to know your bike better. Thanks for the comments and for watching

+Patrick Thibault Thanks for the comment and for watching!

Thanks for the comment and for watching!

Thank you for your comments. I do appreciate the feedback. And thanks for watching.

+Dr. Pinetree Thanks for the feedback.

+Dirt Hammers Hey Richard, Thanks for the comment and for watching.

+Heartland Dual Sport you to my friend. Thanks for the comment.

Tim2Wheels You are very welcome buddy, Keep up the great videos. You are doing a wonderful job on all of them, raising the bar for the rest of us. Keep up the great work.

+Mordy Summers - Thanks for the comment and for watching.

Hey Cal, Good point on the tool list. Thanks for the comment and for subscribing.

how do you clean your filter? \\

It may pay for itself and it may ruin your engine. Most metal mesh filters do not filter nearly as well as modern paper element filters. Check the specs on the metal filter. Most only filter down to 30 microns whereas a good paper element filter will get down to 10 or even smaller.

You adjust your doohickey? I thought you have to open up the engine? Did you put a removable access panel in that area to expedite the adjustment?

Hi Ben, Thank you for the clarification.

Hi Ted, Discussing motor oil is like discussing religion and politics. People have strong opinions and it often ends in a heated exchange :) I am a fan of synthetic oils. There are numerous advantages with synthetic that I think far outweigh the one disadvantage (price). I use synthetics exclusively in my higher performance engines. However, some of the performance advantages are overkill for a KLR due to its low RPMs. It just doesn't tax the oil as hard as a high performance engine would. But that's one reason the KLRs last so long. You will gain the increased mileage between oil changes and if you ride in extreme temperatures, it's also a big plus. Most people that ride KLRs are "budget minded" and therefore prefer mineral-based oils. Traditional mineral oil is also more widely available in remote areas here and around the world. I think either are a good choice for a KLR if you keep to your oil change maintenance schedules. Thanks for the comment and for watching. Tim

In the KLR I don't use synthetic. In other more high performance engines I do. The KLR is a low revving, low stress engine and mineral oil holds up great. With regular oil changes, that engine will last a very long time.

The orientation of the holes in the tube does not not matter (just the shoulder end towards the motor). With 2.5L you should see oil in the sight glass with bike straight up and level (not on side stand).

ADD on: I saw your comment about "while running". When running it will be hard to see and may look empty. check the oil level with engine off.

On a new bike (under warranty) I would recommend following the manufacturer guidelines on maintenance including using the recommended oil and filter. This helps to avoid any warranty issues should they arise. Thanks for watching. Enjoy that new machine!

It has worked well for me and many other KLR owners for many years. It is not a "Motorcycle Oil" and I don't think I would use it in a high-end race bike. I have never had a clutch problem, but I don't abuse my bikes. Thanks for the question and for watching.

@@Tim2Wheels thank you!👌

I changed oil in the KLR every 2,000 miles. You can go longer, but oil is cheap and clean oil is the life blood of the engine. Thanks for the question and for watching.

Hi Tracey, This one is a 2009. The 2008 should look and work the same, so there should be a tube in the center of the filter. Thanks for the comment and for watching.

I have read that many owners have inadvertently discarded the tube at their first filter change. That is a bad idea. If the tube is missing, you want to replace it ASAP.

The KLR holds 2.5 Liters (2.64 U.S. Quarts) of motor oil.

That's a great idea, but I have not seen anything out there.

V Star 1300 Adventures Harley-Davidson is the only manufacturer who has gone to the obvious solution of equipping its bikes with a dipstick that's meant to be read with the bike on the side stand (jiffy stand in Harley speak). Duh !

@@CaptHollister Harley isn't the only one. My '95 Suzuki Intruder has a dipstick.

Techy Dog That wasn't my point. Lots of bikes have dipsticks. The issue is that the bike has to be held upright for the dipstick to read accurately, requiring you to either enlist some help or learn to hold the bike straight up with one hand while juggling the dipstick with the other, or develop the flexibility to reach down for the dipstick while sitting on the bike. which is a hassle and a bit risky. On Harleys you just park the bike and read the dipstick.

Fortunately, I find it very easy to pull my KLR off the sidestand while I have squatting beside the right side of the bike to view the sight window. I can hold it at the balance point with one hand and read the sight glass. I can’t do that with my LT, but it has a centerstand so that makes life easy there other than needed the (included with the bike) mini flashlight to see the sight glass inside the fairing. I would think it would be fairly easy to sit on the KLR and hold it upright and use a cell phone to take a picture of the sight glass and then use the picture to check the oil level. Have you tried that? When I had my Voyager XII, many folks glued a mirror on the foot peg in order to see the sight window while seated on the bike. The KLR doesn’t have such a convenient place to attach a mirror, but it seems like something could be rigged up if someone was so inclined.

Rotella is rated for motorcycles.

Marcos, There seems to be a lot of confusion out there about the oil change interval for a KLR. I change mine every 2,000-3,000 miles, replacing the filter every other oil change. That is more often than most, but Iike to keep clean oil in my bike. Some will say 5,000 miles, which I think is okay. Others will go 7,500 or even 10,000 miles between changes without problems. However, that's too many miles in my personal opinion.

i baby my killer 6 fitty lol i change it every 1000, that rotella t is so damn cheap i really dont mind

I do the same, but I abuse it. I ride it pretty rough and I get the speed up a lot sometimes....

Yes.

But I think you can't close the cover if it's not all in.

If you got the cover on it's all the way in.

17mm and 8mm respectively

🤦‍♂️ if someone can't figure that out they shouldn't be driving a motorcycle..Plus I'm pretty sure he said 8mm for the filter cap in the video..

Ian Culbertson What don't you agree with? It looks pretty sound to me. The only thing I do differently is change the filter each oil change. I probably run longer intervals than most.

Hi Ian, thanks for the comment. It's okay to disagree, I don't mind. These videos are not meant to be THE WAY :) I just show you how I do it. I always like to hear other options and techniques. Thanks for watching.