1982 Honda CB450T-Hawk Oil Question

[skeepee]

Get a Clymer or Haynes manual for your bike. Synthetic probably would not cause problems but isn't necessary either. Stick with the dino juice and routine maintenance and you'll be finde...

[fumanchu]

a quick search on the net (amazon, etc.) didn't turn up a haynes manual for your particular motorcycle, but 10 seconds on google (search perameters: "how to change motorcycle oil") turned up these useful links...



1



2



3 (here on the MO servers)



4



5



if nothing else, see if there is a section in the owner's manual (did you get that from the previous owner?) which covers this very basic and necessary process.

cheers

[longride]

What would be the point in switiching to synthetic? It's just more money for a bike that will be just fine on dino oil.

[Kenneth_Moore]

The only possible reason would be if you're in a very hot climate and you're having a problem with overheating. My air-cooled HD consistently runs 50+ degrees cooler with synthetic oil than with mineral oil.

[rbitra]

Yes, that is a concern I currently have. When the temps get in to the 70's I noticed that the clutch pull becomes very rough. I am not sure if that's a indication for a hot engine or not. My bike doesn't have a temp guage and it is air cooled.

[Buzglyd]

It would be kinda cool to have the oil in the bike be worth more than the bike itself.

[The_AirHawk]

DING-DING-DING-DING!!!!!!!



I freakin' KNEW that someone was gonna say it!

[mctaggert]

Don't put synthetic in this bike. The gaskets and seals in the engine are 25 years old. If you put synthetic oil in it, it'll leak oil like a sieve. I don't think synthetic causes leaks, but it will find its way through places that regular oil won't, especially with old seals.



I had a '79 400 Hawk that I rode for years and just put regular oil in it. It's still running for the guy who bought it. The 450T will run great with regular oil.



Get a manual to change the oil. It's not hard to do, but these bikes don't have spin-on filters so the manual will give you some guidance the first time.

[fumanchu]

...links 4 and 5 have to do with your synthetic vs. dino dilemma. (i do agree with the others about just running decent dino oil in your rig and changing it at regular intervals, however.)

cheers

[TheFox]

Do you mean ambient temperature at 70 Farenheit, or engine temperature at 70 Celsuis? Because if it's giving you problems at 70 ambient I'd say it isn't the weather causing the problem.



You can get a cheapo IR point thermometer at pep boys. It will tell you the temperature of anything you point it at. Useful for finding hot spots on engines, tire temps, surface temps in general. Could come in handy for you.



--The Fox