Copy of Oil - Filters - Oil Changes -


 


Note: Perhaps it's taken for granted that everything will be fine when changing our oil and filter, but there are two basic yet important things that will occasionally create a question or concern:

1. There is only ONE oil drain plug on the engine, located near the oil pan just to the inside of the kickstand.  It is a "17mm" bolt that is partially surrounded by a half-circle metal lip. 
It seems that Yamaha elected to place another bolt almost right next to the "drain bolt" just to try to trick us and keep us on our toes.   : )

2. PRIOR to removing the oil filter, be certain that all debris has been removed from around the filter.  Gravel and dirt have a tendency to become wedged around the little lip that surrounds the filter and can easily fall into the engine once the filter is removed.  This "helpful hint" was provided by SABER4, who happens to believe..... If Yamaha thought it was best to have debris fall into our engine, they would have already put it there at the factory.   : ) 

 

NOTE: Regarding the proper OIL "LEVEL" after changing the oil: 

Check to be certain that you end up with enough oil where it ends up at about the 3/4 level as seen in the bike's little tiny oil level sight window.  Even if it's at the half-way mark, it's very likely that you will discover the "oil level light" coming on during certain occasions while riding.  If so, add just a bit more oil to raise the level up to that 3/4 mark where the light should no longer be seen.        
 
As a handy little tool to assist you with this, consider getting yourself a telescopic mechanic's mirror ($5 to $7 at Advance Auto Parts, etc), which can make viewing the level fairly simple while sitting on and strattling your bike.  

 

Oil Filter Part Numbers

These are the recommended filters for the V Star 1300: 

 

 

 

Other filters:

 

 

Oil Change Intervals

This is based on what is stated in the XVS1300 Operator's Manual, using a conventional NON-full synthetic oil.

 

 

Yamaha naturally includes in the owner's manual blends of their Yamalube oil, not made by Yamaha, but manufactured to meet the minimum specs they provided for their bikes.

 

Oil debates will go on forever, therefore use the brand that suits you best.  Regardless, "generally speaking," unless you're riding in summer conditions where both the days and evenings are very warm, there will be advantages found with V Star 1300 when using oil with less than a 20w (cold/winter weight), i.e. a 20w-50.  Otherwise, when the engine is cold, that cold/winter weight of 20w will not lubricate the engine as quickly, nor as effectively or efficiently as a 5w, 10w or at the most a 15w (cold/winter weights) oil, i.e. a 5w-40, 10w-40 or 15w-50.  And this is important being that one of the times when engine wear occurs the most is from the time a cold engine is started up until the engine has been warmed up to its normal operating temperature. 

Recommended "Motorcycle" FULL-Synthetic Oils:

 

NON Full-Synthetics:
There are many very good oil brands out there within this category. 

 

NOTE: Regardless of oil being a full-synthetic, semi-synthetic, or a pure petroleum based oil, most of them displaying the appropriate viscosities for our 1300 do not include that dreaded "energy-conserving" label on their containers, a label which indicates that "friction modifiers" have been included in that oil, a BIG "no-no" for bikes with wet clutches.  Energy conserving oils will cause a wet clutch to slip and gradually worsen over time.  NOTE: Most "energy conserving" oils have a 10w30, or less, viscosity.        

 

Magnetic Oil Drain Plug, used by many 1300 riders, and others:   MAGNETICDRAINPLUG.COM