KX Riders
Maintenance & Technical => KX500 Original => Topic started by: monster malibu on September 09, 2007, 12:11:09 AM
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Hey guys, I was wondering what rate you mix your gas/oil. I was told to run my bike at 32/1, does this sound right? Should my mixture be closer to 50/1? I mixed the first 2 gallons over 32/1 because it's got a new piston.
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You may want to read these posts!
http://www.kxriders.com/forums/index.php/topic,1347.0.html
You will find that the answer is anywhere form 32:1 to 100:1 and everywhere in-between!
It depends on the type of oil and how brave you are! I have been using Kawie Kem at 40:1 for years and I bought some Amsoil that claims I should mix it at 100:1 and I haven't been brave enough to try it yet!
:-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D
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when i bought my 500(new sept.99), i ran 32:1 and fouled plugs like crazy. now i run motul 800 @ 40:1 and haven't had any problems. i run my bike hard in the deserts of so cal, and i'm still on my stock piston and rings. pulled the cylinder off this summer, just to have a look, everything still looked good. my motto...if it ain't broke, don't fix it. like the above thread said, you'll be told everything from 32:1 to 100:1. just my 2 cents, 40:1 with a quality oil and you'll be fine....the 500 is a bullet-proof motor.
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it's your fuel mixture that doing it. not your oil mixture. i run my at 24:1. no oil dripping from exhaust. i will be going lower then that.
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my motto...if it ain't broke, don't fix it. like the above thread said, you'll be told everything from 32:1 to 100:1. just my 2 cents, 40:1 with a quality oil and you'll be fine....the 500 is a bullet-proof motor.
I agree. I recommend to all my customers at my shop to try 40:1 if they are fouling plugs. To go any leaner on the oil than that is really unnecessary. Spark plug selection also helps greatly. The racing plugs that are so expensive i.e. the GV and GVX plugs, have a finer center electrode that the spark is coming from. The finer electrode with the same amount of juice running through it as a standard plug's electrode helps the firing area keep from fouling without having to change the heat range of the plug. Basically, I think the better plugs are worth the money.
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More oil will give you a better ring seal meaning more compression and will also reduce friction...both of which will give better performance.
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i'm shooting for 8:1 oil ratio.
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Let us know the results
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I bought my KX500 new and was nervous about not using enough oil. I simply stuck with the factory 32 to 1. After two hundred fifty gallons of fuel through it, I took it apart to look at the rings and bore. Everything looked like new, but was a bit too oily to suit me. So I just went to 40 to 1 , plenty of oil for me. I have been thinking of dropping to 50 to 1 for next year. Now that the bike is no longer new, I am more confident to take risks.
Every one has an opinion and this is mine. John
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More oil will give you a better ring seal meaning more compression and will also reduce friction...both of which will give better performance.
Your motor will also run very hot. Oil burns way hotter than gas. Also, more oil means more spooge and clogged powervalves, along with carbon buildup, which also leads to overheating.
I ran 50:1 doing dragracing sometimes holding WFO for 1-2 minutes on the flats running a PVL which boosts the RPMS up about 20%. My motor ran cooler and jetting was easier after switching to 50:1 over 32:1.
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I agree with Gowen, more oil = less fuel and at ratios discussed above I would think it would definately generate more heat.
Taos cycle in New Mexico ran tests on Snowmobiles, at the end they determined to much oil was worse than not enough.
As a personal preference I use 40:1 and the important thing is to use a good quality oil, whatever brand. I won't use Maxima 927 as stated by BDI in one of these posts, it seperates when cold, you go to start your bike and it won't run because the carb is full of oil.
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you guys are right. but when i race we have a track that we hold the throttle wide open for 20 laps. and these motors are under a very high load. after ten hours of run time i have no carbon on piston dome or in exhaust port or kips aren't carbon up at all at 24:1.
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i'm shooting for 8:1 oil ratio.
Are you trying to cover your trail with smoke? :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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you guys are right. but when i race we have a track that we hold the throttle wide open for 20 laps. and these motors are under a very high load. after ten hours of run time i have no carbon on piston dome or in exhaust port or kips aren't carbon up at all at 24:1.
You are wasting oil. But, if it works for you, that's fine. 24:1 is extreme - 8:1 is just crazy.. Slightly more than 1 1/2 quarts of oil? I'm going to assume you are not serious.
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here are the ratio at one gallon of gas.
100:1 1.28oz
80:1 1.6oz
50:1 2.56oz
40:1 3.2oz
32:1 4oz
24:1 5.3oz
16:1 8oz
12:1 10.6oz
8:1 16oz
so if a guy went from 32:1 to 50:1 that's only 1.5 oz less oil. if a guy went from 32:1 to 24:1 that only 1.3 oz of oil.
i have seen on the dyno 8% hp increase from 27:1 to 20:1 at max power. and 2% more at 16:1 ratio.
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What are you trying to accomplish? do you think the more oil will keep your motor from seizing? It might, not because of the lube properties but because it will run so crappy that it doesn't generate enough power to produce the heat to seize it. You will reach a point of diminishing returns, in other words the adage of if a little is good alot is better doesn't apply, more oil will not necessarily seal your rings better, or reduce friction either. Your doing more damage to your motor than you are good, jet it right and use a good quality oil and you can run it 100 laps wide open with no issues. I'm not sure about the HP increase at the various settings, but, hey maybe stewart can try this on one of his dyno runs, I would think the opposite would be true.
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here are the ratio at one gallon of gas.
100:1 1.28oz
80:1 1.6oz
50:1 2.56oz
40:1 3.2oz
32:1 4oz
24:1 5.3oz
16:1 8oz
12:1 10.6oz
8:1 16oz
so if a guy went from 32:1 to 50:1 that's only 1.5 oz less oil. if a guy went from 32:1 to 24:1 that only 1.3 oz of oil.
i have seen on the dyno 8% hp increase from 27:1 to 20:1 at max power. and 2% more at 16:1 ratio.
I don't believe it. Oil does not generate power, it takes it away. It burns hotter than gasoline and does not produce power at all.
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i would think it would depend on how long you ran at wide open throttle my buddy that built the 125 cart moters that won the nationals siad more oil more power for longer mm he ment giong from 50 to one to 32 to one on caster oil not the belray ,,,,, that saved it saved rings at 24 to32 to one i like belray hr1 at 50.to1 but it works great at 40 to 1 i like my kips valve to stay clean ..... and im not wide open all the time .... if you did that on my bike you would not live long enough to wear the rings out
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Why not try an oil fuel....like diesel?
:roll: hahahaha hahahaha. :roll:
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what do you think happens when you check your compression when the motor is cold and hot.
this what i do with my kx 500 motor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e33W8FQNjw
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Poor, poor engine :cry:
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Sorry, but while the oil may make the rings seal better, it is also leading to the failure. fuel and proper jetting are your best friends. I don't know what your limitations are for fuel, but in your case high octane race gas and good quality oil, can you run alky, that would help from the cooling aspect.
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if it adds more power then i will run it. back to the oil deal.
if i run 50:1 then i have more fuel going thru the jet. and if i run more oil then i run less fuel thru the jet. and what of the two makes more power.
I pull my reed cage every other raceday and check the buttom of the crankcase it see if i have any oil setting down there and i don't. most bike that i see are over rich on the pilot and thats way they do burn the oil and that why it's carbon up there motor.
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C'mon man. 8:1? This is my understanding.
More than 32:1 is good for beginners, tight trails, or putting around quads or weedeater gas.
32:1 for stock riders, obeying owners manuals, mechanicaly conservative mind-set
40:1 for seasoned rider, open trails, and mild caliber racing.
44-50:1 for seasoned rider in open trails, on sand and harescrambles/ motocross
50-100:1 for Hillclimbing, drag racing, loose sand, screamin' the r's.
The idea is to run the same amount of oil/minute regardless of average rpm's. Smart riders find a high quality oil and find a ratio and stick to it. If you change anything, it would probably be going leaner, due to the rider getting better on riding skills and wiser on mechanics. Synthethics protect and seal rings and smell good. If you want to ride green, ride it lean and mean. Any fatter than 32:1, you have a 2 smoker that has the powervalve all clogged up.
Look at the guys on here, that really know, and what they run. Well, what they RACE. Absorb the info Grasshopper!!
This web site is great at eliminating myth and rumor. Keep an open mind and consider the sources.
I personally run 44:1 and run Cam II, high octane pump gas. I know VP works Don, but I like to play ride my bikes too. Maybe work will pick up enough that an $80 Pail of good gas won't break me. Anyways, I have a 250 and a 500 and they both are running the best that I have ever had them. The best thing that I can recommend is to get jetting right. After that, ride it, till it needs rebuilt.
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The best thing that I can recommend is to get jetting right.
you are 100% right. free hp. sometimes worth 5hp. if you not in the ball park.
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http://www.maximausa.com/technical/oilmigration.html
This second article really speaks for itself. I know its old and oil has come a ways but the results are there.
http://www.bridgestonemotorcycle.com/documents/oilpremix6.pdf
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http://www.maximausa.com/technical/oilmigration.html
This second article really speaks for itself. I know its old and oil has come a ways but the results are there.
http://www.bridgestonemotorcycle.com/documents/oilpremix6.pdf
Oil has come a hell of a long way since the bridgestone article. With the Maxima, I don't rely on information coming from a specific oil company. Usally it always leads back to their products.
I personally use my own experience, inexperience, what worked for me, and what screwed me, to come up with my thoughts on oil mixture.
50:1 worked for me over the years of drag racing with only 1 nuked motor (due to my own stupidity, didn't shake my can of C12 after letting it sit for a few weeks). I also believe KXCam2 got about 10+ years out of his KX500 on a single top-end running 50:1+. I doubt he "took it easy" over the years.
But, whatever works for you. MC1 @ 50:1 worked for me.
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12 years at 60:1 with MC1, I am guessing 400 hours. Powervalve was clean with no wear, could have almost reused the piston but found a small crack. That 16:1 talk is from the 1960's. When I was a kid, my dad had an old outboard that called for 16:1. It was a 40 pull starter(my job). I switched it to my belray MC1 85:1 race mix (recommended by belray in late 70's) and it turned into a 1 or 2 pull starter. Oil definitely does NOT make power. Cam.
PS here's my proof. Go to any 4-stoke national. The more oil that starts comming out the tailpipe the less power the bike starts making - until it makes none at all.............HaHa
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well next month when i test on the dyno with my new programmable ignition i will test different oil mixtures to show the haters.
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It sounds to me like its not getting enough air, and when you are putting in more oil you are lowering the amount of fuel in the mixture and getting a better air/fuel ratio to your jetting.
Whenever I have changed from 32:1 to 40:1 from previouse owners I havent noticed much difference in power but if you then tune it for the extra fuel you will find a bit more power.
Maybe try running say 32:1 then change to 40:1 and lean off the jets or move the needle clip and see what results you get :-)
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i have a onboard computer that has alot of sensors.
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i would think it would depend on how long you ran at wide open throttle my buddy that built the 125 cart moters that won the nationals siad more oil more power for longer mm he ment giong from 50 to one to 32 to one on caster oil not the belray ,,,,, that saved it saved rings at 24 to32 to one i like belray hr1 at 50.to1 but it works great at 40 to 1 i like my kips valve to stay clean ..... and im not wide open all the time .... if you did that on my bike you would not live long enough to wear the rings out
I can understand in a shift-cart as they are running like 15,000 rpms without much airflow and the motors can easily fry at WFO for along time. Though I know the oil has NOTHING to do with the power, I can understand that it helps the motor last longer and maintain compression by keeping the rings lubed @ such high rpms.