96 RVF400 - What Oil

[c0rrupt]

Hi guys,

What is the best oil for rvf400's? I see few threads on vfr's but nothing for RVF's or would you use the same oil?

Help on this would be greatly appreciated - also, when cold the dip stick shows that there is oil just on the lowest line, does mean she needs oil as I had a full service done about 2 months ago and this should have been done. I also notice that there is a bit of a 'knocking' sound which I think is due to there not being enough lubrication from oil, the gear driven cams are quite noisey too.

Cheers chaps!

[Cammo]

Hi guys,

What is the best oil for rvf400's? I see few threads on vfr's but nothing for RVF's or would you use the same oil?
Yes, essentially the same engine. Semi synthetic 10/40w is what I use for road and track. Full synthetic can give you clutch problems.

Help on this would be greatly appreciated - also, when cold the dip stick shows that there is oil just on the lowest line, does mean she needs oil as I had a full service done about 2 months ago and this should have been done.
Are you testing the oil level properly? Unscrew the dipstick, wipe off the oil, and put it back in without screwing it back in, take it out and read the oil level. The bike needs to be upright (not sidestand) when doing this. Very unlikely that a oil near the low level indicator will cause engine damage, there's a fair bit of safety margin built in!

I also notice that there is a bit of a 'knocking' sound which I think is due to there not being enough lubrication from oil, the gear driven cams are quite noisey too.

These engines are very tappety when hot, could it be this? Yes they sometimes make different noises depending on how hot the engines are (not water temp!). At least mine always have...

Yours sounds entirely normal, enjoy it!

[c0rrupt]

Hi guys,

What is the best oil for rvf400's? I see few threads on vfr's but nothing for RVF's or would you use the same oil?
Yes, essentially the same engine. Semi synthetic 10/40w is what I use for road and track. Full synthetic can give you clutch problems.

Help on this would be greatly appreciated - also, when cold the dip stick shows that there is oil just on the lowest line, does mean she needs oil as I had a full service done about 2 months ago and this should have been done.
Are you testing the oil level properly? Unscrew the dipstick, wipe off the oil, and put it back in without screwing it back in, take it out and read the oil level. The bike needs to be upright (not sidestand) when doing this. Very unlikely that a oil near the low level indicator will cause engine damage, there's a fair bit of safety margin built in!

I also notice that there is a bit of a 'knocking' sound which I think is due to there not being enough lubrication from oil, the gear driven cams are quite noisey too.

These engines are very tappety when hot, could it be this? Yes they sometimes make different noises depending on how hot the engines are (not water temp!). At least mine always have...

Yours sounds entirely normal, enjoy it!

Stickshift - thanks very much for the info, its appreciated. Just what I was after. Also see you are in Aus, so am I, currently in Melbourne. Where are you?

Cheers.

[Cammo]

[
Stickshift - thanks very much for the info, its appreciated. Just what I was after. Also see you are in Aus, so am I, currently in Melbourne. Where are you?

I'm in central Victoria tho I get to Melbourne pretty often, there are quite a few Oz owners on this forum, most are racers of various 400's. I have a race vfr and a road vfr, several now owned so fire any questions at me if you wish, chances are I've probably been in the same situation as you at some stage! I've sorted a few forum members bikes, and am more than happy to help out with tech advice and parts if needed.

These are fantastic bikes although they do have some areas where big improvements can be made. This forum should point you in the right direction for any queries you have.

Depending where you look on the internet you'll either find help or lots of rubbish ideas/info about vfr/rvf's (especially in Oz where info is somewhat limited depending who you ask), there are members on here who would be definitely be classed as experts when it comes to them however.

As a new owner (presuming you are!), here's some good info for starters:

Both of these sites have good info and stock some spares, race items and replacement parts, give them a call if you ever need anything:
http://www.rbimports.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.tw-performance.com.au/catalog/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Check out Mike's site for parts manuals, info etc:
http://www.akhara.com/nc30/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lastly, a champagne V4 site (100hp is the aim...enough said!):
http://mngforce.typepad.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are a heap of other quality sites around (let me know if you want another list!), but this lot should get you started!

Enjoy!

[c0rrupt]

Dude, you rock - all that info is great! I'll check it out soon. I've modified the bike slightly with a megacycle ful system -1 on front sprocket and +2 on rear. Full tyga kit also.

Look forward to chatting / asking more questions!

[Smitizen]

Great info mate! VERY handy indeed! Cheers!

[Cammo]

I've modified the bike slightly with a megacycle ful system -1 on front sprocket and +2 on rear. Full tyga kit also.

Nice mods, lowering the gearing gives them heaps more pep! The megacycle is a very good race proven system - many racers use them.

There are lots of other mods you can do depending on what you want from the bike and what your budget is. Raising the rear ride height is a nice cheap mod which dramatically improves the handling on rvf's and vfr's. They turn and tip in very lazy (but stable) as standard.

Once you sort the bike to your riding style you'll see juct how capable they are and why many return to them after owning bigger bikes.

[Cammo]

Great info mate! VERY handy indeed! Cheers!

No worries mate, there's shedloads of good quality info on these bikes out there.

When it comes to engine/carb/airbox tuning I would strongly recommend you ask before you do.

Some of these mods can be detrimental to performance. For every sweet running nicely modified NC out there, there are probably just as many that run like pigs because peeps have decided to have a go without the correct information.


You've been warned!