I just changed the oil this week on my '13 zx14r,
I used Kawasaki conventional 10/40, it seems ok,
but it seemed to drop into gears smoother with
the old oil, and I have no idea what was in it,
when I changed it.
Also, noteworthy to me is that there was/were
6 qts in it lol, I can see why though,
not everyone is aware of how to go about
properly checking the oil level, on this bike
and many others for that matter.

EDIT;
I may be posting this question in the wrong sub
forum, apologies if so. ....

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 10/18/2025 @ 4:59 PM *

The previous oil might have been a quality synthetic oil like Amsoil. I once used a very expensive Honda synthetic race oil in my Gen1 and the shifting was extremely smooth and quiet for the first couple hundred miles. Other than that, I've used Rotella T6 full synthetic and I don't feel it's any smoother than conventional. It is cheap enough to change every 2500 miles though.

There's probably a great number of oil threads on here. Just use the search function and I'm sure you'll find a lot of recommendations.

I'm still using conventional oil in my 2024. I've always heard it's best to wait a few thousand miles before switching to synthetic. That Honda synthetic I tried was at about 3000 miles and that's also when my head cover gasket started leaking. I'm sure it would have leaked eventually no matter what but the synthetic didn't help.

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my mechanic here uses Motul semi syn i think , goes ok. He used to ride moto gp many moons ago . and my other mechanic who knows his shit on kwakas, and zx14 in general used normal oil no synthetic just oil outa the ground stuff.still had no problem with gear shifting .if u arent racing it in competition ,, just normal oil will suffice ,hope this bit of intel helps u out Stratovarious .but to much info different types etc will confuse i guess. all the best buddy , hey i like your bike man,.

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Set bike upright. Like use a wall and the left handlebar to butt up against the wall. Broomstick and a toolbox to brace the open side of the bike so it wont fall over. Check the sight window so it shows oil in the middle of the upper and lower gauge points. This is done when changing the oil, topped off with 3qts, light it up for a minute or so, shutoff, lean it upright, sit and wait for the level to level out. Top off watching the level raise to the half in between marks.

Check level mark cold before a ride: say every second time out.

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my mechanic here uses Motul semi syn i think , goes ok. He used to ride moto gp many moons ago . and my other mechanic who knows his shit on kwakas, and zx14 in general used normal oil no synthetic just oil outa the ground stuff.still had no problem with gear shifting .if u arent racing it in competition ,, just normal oil will suffice ,hope this bit of intel helps u out Stratovarious .but to much info different types etc will confuse i guess. all the best buddy , hey i like your bike man,.

Cool, I think I'll make sure on the next order to not
accidentally go with syth, I think Rook mentioned synthetic
being more likely to lead to leaks.
And these bikes, yeah they do look good, lots compliments
passersby.
I'm not planning on drag competition anytime soon, but what
do 'they' go with when in competition?

Set bike upright. Like use a wall and the left handlebar to butt up against the wall.

Last three changes I put a jackstand under the right side axle nut,
and shimmed underneath the kickstand till my bubble level
across the tank read level. But yeah, your plan sounds like
a good one.

I think Rook mentioned synthetic
being more likely to lead to leaks.

These aren't my words but they're good words so I'll repeat them, "all engines leak eventually. If you use synthetic oil, the engine will leak sooner." I don't think that means NEVER use synthetic oil, just if you have a potential leak point, synthetic oil will dissolve the goo left by conventional oil that's stopping it up. If that happens, you fix the leak. Lots of current engines in cars come with synthetic oil and that's all they ever use. My 2018 Toyota Tundra for example. Mobil 1 is what the book calls for, that's what the dealership put in it and that's all it's had since I got it. Fifty thousand miles and no leaks. Motorcycles, I kind of go by what the book calls for on that too but synthetic is touted so well, I switch over after I'm confident the engine is worn in. If it leaks (and it did on my Gen1), I find it and I fix it. No more leak. I do believe synthetic oil is considerably more slippery than conventional and it does reduce engine wear. ...but the worst thing is dirty oil so no matter what you use, change it often. I wouldn't run synthetic oil for ten thousand miles even if it says you can. I'd rather run conventional for 2000 miles and put new conventional oil in the bike. ...but that's me. I use Rotella and I change it every 2500. It costs about the same as conventional oil so it's cheap enough to change often plus its synthetic.

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Last three changes I put a jackstand under the right side axle nut,
and shimmed underneath the kickstand till my bubble level
across the tank read level. But yeah, your plan sounds like
a good one.

That method should be perfectly reliable as long as you do it in the same place on the same floor every time you do a serious oil level check. The key is really that the bike be in the exact same position every time. There's nothing wrong with doing a rough check but when you want exact information, replicate the exact conditions. Same place, same floor, same position, engine always cold.

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These aren't my words ...

Forgive me for paraphrasing and not searching for the exact, verbatim quote;

One more reason someone might prefer to avoid synthetic oil is that it leaks easier than conventional oil.

I wouldn't run synthetic oil for ten thousand miles even if it says you can. I'd rather run conventional for 2000 miles and put new conventional oil in the bike.

An excellent heads-up, makes perfect sense,
something that I doubt we'd ever read on the back of a can of synthetic.

What good is a 10k mi oil if after 3 or 4 thousand miles, it's a medium
for virtually the same amount of grime and grit as conventional oil,
maybe slightly less but how much less would that be, probably not a lot less.
The oil is still fine, but what its carrying isn't.

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 3/5/2026 @ 5:19 PM *

yeah stratovarious can i call u strato for short , just curious do u play the violin , your handle im thinking relates to stradavarkist .the 100 s year old violin , worth a mint mate,, back to ur beast ,, yes they look great in oz here we call them chic pullers ,and its true hey, and no my friend had my fun on lakeside motor sport track, many moons ago , and when i was younger, but not on the zx14r ,,,, yet lol they friggin corner exceptionaly well being on michy road 6 ,, the only go to tyre in my opinion,,i had pireli angel gt for a long while,, suggested to try michelin 6 tyres ,, 2 types . road and track,,take your pick,buddy i tell you no lie,, they stick like shit to a blanket .. cheers .

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yeah stratovarious can i call u strato for short , just curious do u play the violin , your handle im thinking relates to stradavarkist.

Absolutely mate (mate and G'day are is the only Aussie-speak I know).
Strat, strato, stratsht-crazy ,,,
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Stratovarious is a play on the word Stradivarius, and short for Stratocaster by Fender.
I've used it on and off for 20 some years, there are many guitar players that use similar
or even same spelling.
Chick magnet, yeah, it seems , I had a gal roll down the window
at a stop light a couple months ago rolling down the window,
telling me she loves the bike, lots of gals love it, tons
of comments.
The downside of this bike though, is that way too many
dudes start out asking about my bike then launch into
their life-story about how they used to ride R1's or Harleys
or their brother rode, or friend died on a bike, etc.....
so yeah some of that just has me keeping my visor down
trying to sneak away before someone says 'hey!'
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Road 6 ??
That is the tire I wanted to go with, but a lot of riders
said I should go Corsa, Super Corsa etc, I love the tread
pattern of the Michelin Road 6, it looks confidence building,
especially where 'sandy-patches' might hide,
also looks badass overall imv.
I'm on Pirelli Angels now, just got a new front Diablo Rosso 2 or 3,
the rear is still in great shape, so I have to wait on it.
The front is shot to hell. Which reminds me I should look up
how many miles I have on it, I'm thinking maybe 4k miles....

Cheers!

stratsht-crazy

Stratovarious is a play on the word Stradivarius, and short for Stratocaster by Fender.

I got that right away when you showed up.

Chick magnet, yeah, it seems , I had a gal roll down the window
at a stop light a couple months ago rolling down the window,
telling me she loves the bike, lots of gals love it, tons
of comments.

I had one. Right after I was divorced. I guess I missed my opportunity.

That is the tire I wanted to go with, but a lot of riders
said I should go Corsa, Super Corsa etc, I love the tread
pattern of the Michelin Road 6, it looks confidence building,
especially where 'sandy-patches' might hide,
also looks badass overall imv.

Slicks for cold tracks without tire warmers if you can find that. ...otherwise slicks for cold use as much as possible. You'll never get your tires as hot on the road as you can on a track. I haven't a gripe with the three or so set of slicks I've used.

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I had one. Right after I was divorced. I guess I missed my opportunity.

Yeah, I've missed a few.... and got dumped when I should have probably
been less scrupulous.

I haven't a gripe with the three or so set of slicks I've used.

What's your specific brand/model? You probably told me before,
but I forgets' .

My front tire is a virtual slick right now, what do you say on that,
the compound when worn out is that a lot different when new?
This thing is now dangerous or still pretty ok?

I have the new Diablo Rosso here. I had a center stand show up today,
was going to take the wheel off using the center stand to jack up
the bike, but alas, I don't have enough weight to get it
on the stand, so I'm waiting till monday to do the operation,
don't want to be without the bike over the weekend had I tried
to rush it today, especially since my brilliant center stand idea
failed.

What about slicks over occasional sand patches, any idea, I have to
concern myself with sand-patches and hidden gravel out here.

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 3/6/2026 @ 5:17 PM *

Yeah, I've missed a few.... and got dumped when I should have probably
been less scrupulous.

I'm very scrupulous at my age because my age dictates the age of the women that have any interest in me all. Old women, sex, yuck, puke. No thanks, I'd rather keep my lunch. I'll give them a chance but it has nothing at all to do with sex at this age. I'm holding out hope that one of them can work some kind of magic. It's not going to be sexual magic, that's kind of over. The problem is, they don't have any other kind of magic. If they don't have it, they don't and there you are looking at one another. ...so I'd be very happy to meet an old lady that has something else to offer but there are very few who do. Very few. I know of one and I don't really know for sure because I never went out with her although I did make an attempt. In the end, the sex thing is what really matters or should I say "mattered". That sex thing cured a world of ills, didn't it? If it's not there, all you have is ills. If a woman doesn't have serious ills past the age of 40, she's what we call "married."

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ha ha you guys rock , strato, you are on my wave length with the tinkin lol; practicel thinking and trust my intuition always most times get a great out come ,, so confucius say , lol,yeh mate im not for a fasion state ment on the zx just love to ride , but lookin good has its benefits , with the female variety ,, oops zip the mouth , rook ,hub and strato , we should form a band lol, great gas baggin here with you blokes wealth of info on the zx14s great to be part of this very helpfull site , cheers

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I'm very scrupulous at my age because my age dictates the age of the women that have any interest in me all. Old women, sex, yuck,

On point!
Age forces the scruples.


I created a personal meme a couple of years ago;
''My taste in women/chicks is quite sophisticated, but I'm not''

Occasionally I'll find an 'acceptable' female that doesn't
give me that ''talk to the hand'' vibe , and but for the most
part they don't tend to flirt, and that's understandable,
at my age. And I'd love to have an older gal around as
a close friend as I love their company, but 'sack-time' , pass....

If a woman doesn't have serious ills past the age of 40, she's what we call "married."

Much truth in that...

* Last updated by: Stratovarious on 3/7/2026 @ 4:05 AM *

ha ha you guys rock , strato, you are on my wave length with the tinkin lol; practicel thinking and trust my intuition always most times get a great out come ,, so confucius say , lol,yeh mate im not for a fasion state ment on the zx just love to ride , but lookin good has its benefits , with the female variety ,, oops zip the mouth , rook ,hub and strato , we should form a band lol, great gas baggin here with you blokes wealth of info on the zx14s great to be part of this very helpfull site , cheers

Cool brah!

Yeah, this site has been invaluable to me, answered a lot
of questions and raised just about as many, which get
sorted out just the same.
And I agree on the lookin' good point, it's actually a
pretty complex issue in my feeble little world,
but for me fundamentally,
98% of my vision/quest in shopping bikes, clothes cars, etc,
is that they aesthetically appeal to me, if the look
of a bike boils my blood for instance, that's
definitely the one I'll buy, provided it also has
good performance, not to negate the chick magnet thing
though, and there's bit of that 'honor' and respect
to those I ride with and the riding community in general,
at least this is how I approach sport bikes,
and to a lesser degree, touring bikes.
When riding in groups, I feel inherently obligated to
lean toward looking good, sharp, and not detracting from
the overall look of the group. I guess that's my 'pack'
mentality, but I never stress over it, and mostly ride
alone.
So a lot of the time I just say fkit, it is what
it is, like when the bike, jacket, boots get some o' that
good ole' dirt on them, I'm still going out for a ride.

Occasionally I'll find an 'acceptable' female that doesn't
give me that ''talk to the hand'' vibe , and but for the most
part they don't tend to flirt, and that's understandable,
at my age. And I'd love to have an older gal around as
a close friend as I love their company, but 'sack-time' , pass....

Yup. As for talking to the hand, surely there are lots of other men asking to spend some time with them. I don't really care if I'm rejected by a fifty year old woman. She made a mistake and I don't care enough to try a second time.

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