I know its a noobie topic, sorry for that... searched around and didnt find much. Need to start getting the bike ready for spring, since its new to me i want to make sure everything is fresh and solid so i know when it was done last. Coolant, fuel system, oil, suspension fluids, brakes, adjustments etc.. what do you guys recommend? should i just take it to the dealer and have them do a complete service before i start riding it this spring? or is it something i can take care of w/o a problem

what octane fuel do you guys normally run in your 1krr? 89? 93? never put anything other than 87 in my old bikes cause...well... i just didnt care lol

what oil weights and brands do you recommend, and filters?

oh, i did download the service manual and printed it out, put in binders, and categorized (thanks to whoever scanned it, totally awesome).
Im going to read through it this weekend... is there a section in it that covers this whole thing?

It is recommended to use 93 Octane! The only thing I do over the winter is change oil, filter, lube chain, check tire pressure, etc. Mainly everything you check on a regular basis.

being you have an '04 I wouldn't think you'd need your fork oil replaced yet
so I would just focus on the basics.

-Stock oil filter. I don't use any other.
-Oil: I use Quaker State Semi synth SUV/4x4 10w40
-coolant: make sure you use coolant made for motorcycles for automoblie coolant will corrode our cooling systems. I reccomend running a 50/50 with watter wetter or engine ice and distilled water(use distilled water even if you use regular coolant)
-has your battery been on a battery tender or trickle charger in the last month? if not NOW is the time to get at that.
-fuel system: if you didn't put the required amount of Stabil in your gas and filled it to the top did you at least fill it to the top to eliminate condensation?
-fuel: even though it's mentioned to run 93 I run 87 and have had no ill effects
-brakes: you should be able to see how much left the pads have and also feel your rotors to make sure they are smooth on both sides.
-brake fluid: if you ride harder than snot and are on the binders all the time, do stoppies and whatnot you don't have to flush the brake fluid too often. maybe once every three years but it is cheap preventative maintanence..
-body panel fasteners and other hardware:
I go over Everything I can get a wrench or screw driver to. actually I stip off all the plastics and start from there. some use blue loctite on many things but don't use it on the plastic hardware ( :P )

and like lkirtley23 mentioned make sure to check your chain's tension and tire pressures

i religiously run 93 octane. you might be able to get away with 89 in the winter, but in the summer you will almost certainly experience some ping with 89. my Magnas run 87 octane, but i'm going to have to run Sunoco 94 on the blown one.

i use Shell Rotella T 5W40 synthetic in all of my bikes. it's an AMAZING oil. it's designed for extended intervals in diesel fleet trucks so it can take one hell of a beating, and it's NOT energy conserving so it won't make your clutch slip. and at $13/gallon at WalMart it's hard to beat.

i run a 50/50 mix of distilled water and prestone extended life coolant (amber colored shit). it's silicate-free which supposedly makes your water pump last longer. who knows.

if you use stabil, only use the recommended amount. more is not better. more is worse. it'll foul the shit out of yer plugs.

I'm going to have to try that oil Sailor, been eyeing it up everytime I've gone to wally world...
maybe it's the fuel in my area or it's my 600 mut I've never heard a peep out of it running 87, the idle is lower and mpg are different between running 93 and 87 but that's about it....

I experimented on the 54 w/ low octane
never had any pinging or any noticeable, anything
but I couldn't handle the idea & always put 91 in ever since

I would use a honda oil filter for sure, the oil is up in the air cause everybody uses something different. gas I've used all three octanes just depends on what I feel like.

all the other stuff like fork oil and coolant, I wouldn't change unless you have a lot of miles on it.

it's a great oil. i've been running it for years. the guys on the Honda V4 board swear by it. only Honda OEM filters though. i don't mess around with filters.

being you have an '04 I wouldn't think you'd need your fork oil replaced yet

bike has 3500 miles on it... has an extended warrenty too, but my guess is that its only seen mild tune-ups.

i'll make sure to toss the battery on the charger (2amp trickle) for a day or two... has fresh gas in it as of late Nov. I'll do the oil change.. synthetic 5w40 and honda filter. All the plastics are coming off anyways... going to sand out the scratches and paint it to look like a WWII P40 warhawk - flying tigers... doing my little brothers 600 F4i like a P51 mustang w/ the checkered silver/red and a pair of stars'n'bars.

cool, thnx Sailor,

boostdemon, you are going to HAVE to post up pics of that stuff!

talking about the filter,
is it true the honda one shorter than the K&N?
so I dont have to loosen the headers on the 54?

talking about the filter,
is it true the honda one shorter than the K&N?
so I dont have to loosen the headers on the 54?

what about an oil relocation kit?

I know its probably way different - but on my car i run an adapter from AMSoil through SSB lines to a distributing block that runs 100% through an oem filter, and 25% after that through a mirco filter. all synthetic... 420,000 miles on 15-18psi turbo (which spins at nearly 100k RPM) has lasted almost 180k miles thanks to this setup. speaks for itself.

cool, thnx Sailor,

boostdemon, you are going to HAVE to post up pics of that stuff!

of the painting i assume? yeah i can do that... i'll be honest though, i suck at remembering to take progress pics. i get out the camera before i start, generally snap one somewhere in the middle when i take a smoke break... and the rest of the time i get all into it and totally forget. I'll try to remember though.

what about an oil relocation kit?


do they make them for these bikes?

yea you have my interest up

do they make them for these bikes?

well.. i have no idea. but esentially the only thing thats specific to the motor would be the thread on the filter bolt and the diameter of the seal... im SURE theres an adapter out there that would fit, we just have to find one.

question is, would the bikes oil pump be able to handle the additional line. about 4 feet of -6an SSB line and the 2 filter block dropped my oil pressure by nearly 10psi


defintely a topic of discussion IF i could find an adapter to fit. however not something im particularly going to do on mine... just a thought if the 'good' aftermarket filters were too big for the 1kRR

no doubt. though if there were such a thing I would definately consider it for my 600. after I put on the arrow headers I will no longer be able to change the filter without doing more than just loosening them up. :rolleyes:

no doubt. though if there were such a thing I would definately consider it for my 600. after I put on the arrow headers I will no longer be able to change the filter without doing more than just loosening them up. :rolleyes:

hmm... well im sure its out there. i suppose i'll look tomorrow if i have some time at work. if not, i can machine them custom just for us

Not to start an oil war, but why don't you guys use the Honda oil? I use the synthetic Honda oil , GN4 I think. Have to go to the dealer anyway for the filter... Plus, if anything happens to my engine, the extrended warranty can't blame it on that...

On the remote filter -- where would you relocate it? There's not much extra room in there like there is under the hood of a car.

I would like to buy, F* that, steal a 50 gallon drum of bad ass oil for the bike
& a reusable filter
hell I would change the oil every week
the worse part of changing is going where-ever the hell to get all the shit
& you cant do it on your bike, I go every where on my bike, but not to get oil for it
I have to drive my shitty truck for that & hell that just added $5 worth of gas the the whole oil change amount, which is already way too damn much


OK I'm done, find that thingamajig, I need something else to buy for the beast I don't ever get to ride anymore
& no jokes about the wife here

OK now I'm done
I am fantasizing about nurses again

Jardine makes one for the yam V-star 1100, like this one http://www.phatperformanceparts.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PPP-007

cant find anything else though. might be able to find one from a car that would work.

Not to start an oil war, but why don't you guys use the Honda oil? I use the synthetic Honda oil , GN4 I think. Have to go to the dealer anyway for the filter... Plus, if anything happens to my engine, the extrended warranty can't blame it on that...

On the remote filter -- where would you relocate it? There's not much extra room in there like there is under the hood of a car.

As somebody said oil usually comes down to preference. I do use the Honda oil. As you said I use it for warranty issues plus having worked for the dealer I know it is good oil (not to say it is the best but it is good).

Not to start an oil war, but why don't you guys use the Honda oil? I use the synthetic Honda oil , GN4 I think. Have to go to the dealer anyway for the filter... Plus, if anything happens to my engine, the extrended warranty can't blame it on that...

On the remote filter -- where would you relocate it? There's not much extra room in there like there is under the hood of a car.

GN4 is dino oil (not synthetic). i used it for break in. their HP4 SEMI-synthetic (not even a full synthetic) runs almost $40 per gallon. that is absolutely ridiculous. for three bikes that's $120 in oil, and $30 in filters. i also like the extra pumpability of my 5W40 full synthetic on those 25* mornings.

when it comes to warranties, Honda can't deny a claim because you don't use their chemicals. as long as they meet or exceed OEM requirements (which the Shell Rotella does, by far) you're fine. as a matter of fact, i believe there is a federal law that protects consumers from the "you didnt use our chemicals, so we can't honor the warranty" bullshit.

I curently use hp4 oil in my o4 1krr... gonna switch to mobil 1 this spring, gold cap i think.
And I only run 93 octane in both bikes and my car... always have....

GN4 is dino oil (not synthetic). i used it for break in. their HP4 SEMI-synthetic (not even a full synthetic) runs almost $40 per gallon. that is absolutely ridiculous. for three bikes that's $120 in oil, and $30 in filters. i also like the extra pumpability of my 5W40 full synthetic on those 25* mornings.

when it comes to warranties, Honda can't deny a claim because you don't use their chemicals. as long as they meet or exceed OEM requirements (which the Shell Rotella does, by far) you're fine. as a matter of fact, i believe there is a federal law that protects consumers from the "you didnt use our chemicals, so we can't honor the warranty" bullshit.

It must be the HP4 oil then. I haven't gone to the garage lately. I agree completely that they can't deny you warranty because of non OE parts, but it certainly helps your case and makes it easy if you do have a problem. Besides, you probably won't encounter that situation if you use the OE parts.

I am the service manager at an Acura dealership. I know all about warranties and how they work. They can't deny it, but they can make you prove it and generally hassle you if they want.

I also know that Honda makes great products, including chemicals. THey work great. Like I said, I don't want to start an oil war... I like mine, you like yours. It's cool. I don't put enough miles on per year for the increased cost to matter much, so I don't worry about it. Besides, when I sell it, I can add that to the list -"always honda oil and filters". Might help sell it.


To answer the original question about fuel grade. The 954 requires 87 octane. Not sure about the 1krr. I generally use the 87 unless at the track and then maybe 89. If you use a higher octane than needed it can actually make less power than possible. Remember octane is the resistance to burn (simple version) If you use the high octane in a low compression engine, it will not fully burn, thus lower power. Opposite is use too low an octane in a high compreesion motor and it knocks. use what it needs, nothing more, nothing less. Every engine will be alittle different, as will conditions it is used in and quality of fuel. BTW 954 runs great on 87. Cheap too!

I know having all them nice statements and records like you say Does help in resale. I got over 1500 more for a trad-in when I did that with my superhawk.

but me, I run cheaper stuff because I don't even think I go over 1000 miles on it at the most and it's already got new oil in it. if I head out on Ral long journeys then I spend the extra dough because it's harder to do oil changes on trips. and another thing about gas is I've found 87 to be different in every single state I've been through and that is also true across this state alone.
it's all 87 or 93 or whatever but it's totally different fuel from place to place.

I love the gas from MO on down and west. real rich and 87 there is like modified 93 up here.

BTW 954 runs great on 87. Cheap too!

cheap??? where are you buying your gas, its not cheap anywhere around these parts.hahaha

Ok, not cheap, but cheaper... Especially compared to the race gas I run in the KTM at the track, or the gas in Europe. Friends in England are paying over $100US to fill a Focus... $2.50 is cheap compared to that!

I was just messing with ya.

Pretty much what gntbldr said will do ya. I don't use Honda oil filters, however, I use the Mobil1 M1-108. It's a great filter and much better than the Honda offering. Check my site below for information.

Also, I ran Mobil 1 15W-50 EP oil for a while, but switched over to Repsol 4T Racing 10W-50 and will never look back. The bike shifted much better and I just recently had analysis done of several oils and posted them on my site, again link below.

Any comments on full synthetic oils? I run the K&N oil filter and my oil is CLEAN when I change it

Pretty much what gntbldr said will do ya. I don't use Honda oil filters, however, I use the Mobil1 M1-108. It's a great filter and much better than the Honda offering. Check my site below for information.

Also, I ran Mobil 1 15W-50 EP oil for a while, but switched over to Repsol 4T Racing 10W-50 and will never look back. The bike shifted much better and I just recently had analysis done of several oils and posted them on my site, again link below.

I want one of those chain lube applicators!!!!