[Onur Soysan]

Which oil should I use ?? Any long-term advice ??

 

[Diploman]

Hello Onur, Welcome!

The Manual prescribes 15W-50 fully synthetic oil because the 390 engine is high output and runs hot. The recommended brand is Motorex 4T. However, any good quality fully synthetic oil from a major company will work. Silkolene, Amsoil, Mobil 1, Shell Rotella, Motul, Valvolene and others have been used successfully. Just be certain you have a 15W-50 fully synthetic oil.

Recommended oil change interval is 7,500 km. Some owners change earlier, at 5000km. It is good to use a new oil filter at each oil change , but if you use a short change interval you probably can change filters every second oil change.

Ride safe!

 

[duke200]

same as diploman said.

one small detail: KTM recommends 10W40 for external temperatures -10 to 40oC (14F το 104F), and 15W50 for 0C-50oC (32-122F). This means that for average and cool climates you can use 10W40 and for hot climates 15W50. I use 10W60 motorex cross power.

I have read meny tests for oils taking into account different oil parameters and characteristics, and i agree with diploman about the fully synthetic oils, they do the job

but some oils are slightly better in tests, such as mobil1 racing 4T, motul 300V factory line, amsoil, redline, torco. Also motorex, only for the US market has the racing pro 4T, the only oil that motorex has given the technical specifications.

 

[640]

Everyone seems to run Fully synthetic, but (surprisingly, given the engine's fast and high revving nature - for a single) the recommended oil stated in the owner's manual is actually a semi synthetic (Motorex Formula 4T).

Here in the UK at least, Motorex is not a cheap oil though, you can buy an equivalent fully synthetic for similar money.

According to the service receipt, my KTM dealer used Motul 7100 fully synthetic (10w50).

 

[rotorbuddy]

Here, in India, most KTM service centers use Motul 7100 10W50 Fully Synthetic Oil. Motul 300v 15W50 comes highly recommended by a number of enthusiasts, through. Here, we don't get a hard copy of the owner's manual these days...only a booklet with service coupons. These are printed by Bajaj. This specifies 10W50 (and recommends Motul 7100) for Duke 390 (and 20W50 for Duke 200). Of course, the user manual downloaded from KTM site specifies 15W50.

 

[Diploman]

The "W" part of the specification refers to the oil's viscosity and ability to flow in frigid wintery conditions. In India's climate that should not be an issue, except perhaps in the far north Himalayan regions. The "50" spec, viscosity when heated, is the more significant figure.

 

[LNICK]

I already tested all kinds of oil mainly from Motul. Everybody forget that almost 100% of bikes use wet clutch so you have to see all aspects of oil including it.
At the end the result mainly with bikes with problematic clutch / gearbox the 300V factory was the best result for the pretty hot whether from Rio de Janeiro. We are in the winter and yesterday the highest temperature was 37C.
I know that it's pretty expensive but considering that it high performance engine with Nikasil on the cylinder I prefer to spend a little more in the oil but I never have a single problem and I use my bike every day.
Luis

 

[duke200]

and off course better oil means lower temperatures so less failures at head gasket for the 390.

 

[rotorbuddy]

The "W" part of the specification refers to the oil's viscosity and ability to flow in frigid wintery conditions. In India's climate that should not be an issue, except perhaps in the far north Himalayan regions. The "50" spec, viscosity when heated, is the more significant figure.

Absolutely...which is what gets me wondering why KTM service in India is using 10W oil. I plan to switch to 15W50 (Motul 300v) soon! I have experienced smoother shifts too, while using Motul 300v on my RE Thunderbird 500, whose recommended oil grade is 15W50.

 

[duke200]

for india i would use a 10W60 oil.

 

[malJohann]

Motul 4T 7100 10W60 is what I use.

 

[duke200]

for some members that use motul 300V, the oil has outstanding performance (i believe that its No1 racing oil), but it is NOT a longlife oil so it must be replaced once a year or every 3k miles.

 

[Trimapa]

for some members that use motul 300V, the oil has outstanding performance (i believe that its No1 racing oil), but it is NOT a longlife oil so it must be replaced once a year or every 3k miles.

Indeed , I'm very happy with the 300V . It's recommended to use 15-50 viscosity .

 

[LNICK]

for some members that use motul 300V, the oil has outstanding performance (i believe that its No1 racing oil), but it is NOT a longlife oil so it must be replaced once a year or every 3k miles.

Duke200 Could you show where did you find the information? I used it in several bikes and normally it arrived better than 7100 at 10k km. Just to take a decision to keep or not.
Luis

 

[duke200]

you won't find this at the motul technical data. I have learned this from experienced automotive engineers and recently i found also this
At this link it said that you can keep them also for 5K miles if you don't push hard the engine. APR is a well respected automotive engineering company.

like i said in my opinion motul 300V is the best oil in market, but i would replace it every year. its only 1&1/2 lt, and surely worths.

 

[LNICK]

you won't find this at the motul technical data. I have learned this from experienced automotive engineers and recently i found also this
At this link it said that you can keep them also for 5K miles if you don't push hard the engine. APR is a well respected automotive engineering company.

like i said in my opinion motul 300V is the best oil in market, but i would replace it every year. its only 1&1/2 lt, and surely worths.

Thanks a lot duke200.
Luis

 

[CDN Duke]

I'm planning to run Amsoil Dirt 10w50... hope it's ok as I bought 16 quarts to get a good price ;-)

 

[zippy49]

Nothing like an oil thread to get folks arguing. Wheee!

I note that website does not show any blend with more than a 35 point difference between the two numbers, which are measurements of viscosity at low and high temps. Multi-grade oils are made from a relatively low viscosity base stock (for example, 15W), and then "viscosity improvers" (zinc, magnesium, various hydrocarbons etc.) are added to raise the viscosity at higher temps. More VI means less actual oil so I'm not convinced that more is always better. I use 15/50 300V in both the KTM and our Hyperstrada, and change it per the manual. The SV650 gets 15/50 7100. And it gets plenty hot here in the Summer!

OTOH, the Velocettes run on plain 50W or it leaks out too quickly...

 

[The Mariner]

Velocettes run on plain 50W or it leaks out too quickly...

That's not leaking... that's 'leaving their mark'

 

[Partha Saikia 2]

300v 15w 50 = flawless performance.