Maintenance Questions

Gents,

I bought my GRiSO from Moto International in Seattle and they went over the bike before I bought it including a fresh oil change, and checked all else out, and I dont plan any maintenance until the end of the summer, but I have a few questions. Forgive the NEUB nature, but this is my first MG and dry clutch motorcycle so..... yes... here it comes, an OIL question.

OIL: I have had a couple P cars and those motors are obviously air and oil cooled. In those cars I have been using Brad Penn and now the Gibbs "Driven" oils for their better suitability in air cooled motors. Being that the GRiSO has a dry clutch I'm wondering if these oils in the correct grade would be beneficial and if anyone uses these or if you stick with the Motul. Anyone using Redline or AMS oil?.

OIL FILTERS: Is going cross brand/auto filter doable? I ran a Bosch auto filter on my FJR, is there a compatible Bosh or other auto oil filter? or should I stick with the Euro Brands Mann/Mahle and OEM MG filters?

AIR FILTER: I only use the K&N style for track/race events, not daily driving, so will stick with stock air filter.

SPARK PLUGS: No real question here, I believe the NGK is the stock plug, I'm a big NGK fan, use them in all my cars/vehicles except my Jeep which only likes champion copper plugs. But....... I do want to ask are there any "SMART" plug alternatives? Also, what is the recommended change interval for the inner plugs? I cant get a straight story on this.

GEAR/TRANS LUBE: I'm really liking how the trans shifts and such, am assuming with only 9K miles it is the stock lube in the trans and rear diff. Any smart upgrades here?

FOG/VISIBILITY LIGHTS: I'm looking at some small LED lights to mount on the front forks, either lower at the fender bolt point or maybe the Dart screen mount/headlight bucket bolts. Anyone have experience here?

Thanks for the input!

Oil: 10W-60 Full synth
Oil Filters: OEM/Euro
Trains/Gear oil: 80W-90
Air Filter: OEM

Hey Bulldog9 let's see if I can give you some stuff to chew on here.

For the 1100 motor in GRiSO ver. 1.0

Crankcase oil:  Original spec was 5W40 full synthetic.  Current spec is 10W60 full synthetic (which may help with the false "low oil" dash warning.  I use the Motul stuff because I did the red color and it smells like fabric softener!  (In the past I've also used Redline and AGIP)  Any 10W60 full synth will do.

Oil Filter:  I usually go with the HiFlo HF551 which are inexpensive and readily available.  Others I have used are the UFI 30153000, and the Bosch 3330.

Air Filter:  The K&N or the BMC rock strainers won't improve anything over the paper filter on the GRiSO.  Just stick with the paper filter part #8104329.  As Roper is fond of pointing out, if the Aprilia Tuono can breath fine through that filter, then surely the GRiSO and Stelvio can...

Spark Plugs:  The NGKs are all I've ever used.  I generally opt for the Iridium version for the outer plugs, NGK BPR6EIX.  NGK PMR8B, CPR8EB-9, and BPR6ES plugs are also compatible.  For the inner plugs (not necessary to change very often) NGK PMR 8B, but you will need an extra thin plug socket to remove and install.  This one from Motion Pro works well.

Gear/Trans Lube:  I've been using the Motul Gear 300 75W90 full synthetic in both boxes.  Manual calls for 80W90/85W90.  If you really want to take the clunk out of your junk fill the boxes with Redline Heavy Duty Shockproof gear oil, the thick and clingy pink stuff...

Auxiliary Lighting:  I don't currently have anything on the 1200SE, but [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]