There have been a flurry of "Which oil" questions once again, I am piling few useful ZMA related things here. In future please use the search function as many things would already have been discussed before.

As you've done 35k kms, you can definitely go for higher grade oil. Semi synthetic oils are supposed to last longer as you have mentioned. But it totally depends on how you ride, riding conditions. If you rev frequently or if you ride in dusty areas, the oil deteriorates sooner, be it synthetic or mineral.

Below are some of the posts which have very good information related to engine oils suited to Karizma from one of the most knowledgeable members here, pay attention to the parts which are in bold.

So 10W30 does have some advantages - such as faster rpm increase (smoother gear shifts as indicated by some here). But thats the end of the list. 20W40 gives you more silent & cooler engine, less vibes throughout the rpm range, better engine life, better oil life (approx 2500 compared to 500km of HH oil), so you are better off taking the higher grade oil suggested here. But remember you might experience gear shifts to be bit more notchier or a little harder with mineral 20W40, but its benefits are way higher as you can see, so just enjoy the notifier shifts (that is if you feel that they are notchy, its reported by only a few here).

What he says makes a lot of sense too. 20W50 is a step above 20W40 when it comes to thickness. So it does take longer to heat up, and the engine oil works to its optimum level and circulates easily, only when it has heated up - so the ride wont be the best in the first few kilometers of the ride (till first 5 kilometers), but on long tours 20W50 would do more good to the engine and overall ride, as you will be cruising at high speeds most of the time, and wont be stopping much for longer instances.

So you can first switch to a 20W40 Mineral oil (which costs much less than synthetic, about 250 rupees for all). Keep checking the oil color/oil often (its a great habit if you can check oil level everyday!). It might last you more than 2500km too if you're not a ripper kind of guy. Just check the oil color and see if it has become too dark/black compared to the original color which would be brown/green, and when it has turned black, also check whether the oil is a bit gritty to the touch (make sure your hands are clean before touching the dip-stick!). Have a look after the oil change to know how original oil looks like.

If you find the gears to be really notchy and are making life difficult after the oil change (pun intended ), then you can try switching to a fully synthetic 20W40 grade oil (ex: Motul 20W40 fully synthetic) on your next oil change - though some would suggest that there wont be much change. I personally don't know if Synthetic 20W40 has smoother gear shifts compared to Mineral 20W40.

Anyway for starters, try finding Motul 3000 4 T mineral - its supposed to be the best among all 20W40 mineral oils, and should cost you ~250 rupees. If you cant find it, try getting Gulf 4T pride plus Jaso MA2 or any other variants mentioned above.

Another reason to stick to mineral, is that you get a can of mineral oil for ~200 rupees which can last anywhere between 200-3000 kilometers, where as can of good synthetic oil for about ~800 rupees and is supposed to last for about 6000 kilometers. Mineral will last 2000km even in harsh conditions (according to experience of many members here), but I wouldn't trust keeping the same oil (read synthetic) for a really long time even if the manufacturer/someone says so. So would definitely change sooner than that. And if I am on mineral, I can change oil 4 times in same distance/money bracket.

Again this opinion originally came not from me, but from experienced members here, like psr and others, who have tried different things and have come to this conclusion. HH Service center people might try to scare you off saying higher grade oil eats your machine or some conjured nonsense, but this bike and these oils have been around for a while, and have been tested by enthusiasts looking for better performance, stability and reliability. So go ahead with the change without doubts.

PS: PSR, I hope you don't mind me quoting so many of your posts, without asking you. I'm still a newbie, so cant trust my own words.

+1 to Prashk.

Additionally you & your engine will love the smoothness of the fresh oil each time you change it at 2000-3000km mark. I always make it a point to change the oil every 2K & stick to minerals is what my opinion is.

Bro this is what came out from my friends karizma R

+1 Prashant. A really detailed post there! Will help a lot of newbies.

Bought a can of Motul 3100 20W40 last week. There is an offer going on now and the mrp is 233 bucks. The dealer gave it for 200. Yet to give it a shot. Will do an oil change soon and give my feedback.

Thanks for your input. I was worried. Today I did increase the idle RPM. But the result didn't improve much. Actually today I started my bike almost after 32 cold hours. As you said for the initial ~2 km the throttle response was very inconsistent but after that it started improving. Unfortunate by next 1-1.5 km I reached my destination and thus could not see the full improvement. And that's the biggest pain, my each time commute is ~4 km only and therefore I spend most of my time in that inconsistent regime. It was not so in the first 2-3 days. Only since last 2-3 days this whole trouble of inconsistent throttle has started.

Thanks also for your detailed info about the engine oil thing. Some clarifications are needed. The manual says using any oil than JASO MA2 10W30 will void warranty. What about that? And by oil change do you mean top up or complete change accompanied by old oil draining and oil filter cleaning?

4km commute distance is wayyy too short to decide anything friend. Just to make sure everything is alright (which I think is), take the bike out and just ride on the road with least traffic today evening or better yet in the morning for about 5 kilometers - just ride somewhere. Bangalore has a plenty of good roads within city limits, though everyone bashes the city's traffic. And while returning focus on the throttle response, as the engine would've properly warmed up and see if you can notice the inconsistent acceleration.

OT: You can actually buy a bicycle and ride to office as the commute distance is too small, and reserve the ZMA for better uses. Good exercise, no money spent on petrol and no petrol wasted due to cold engine. I have two bicycles myself, and ride the ZMA only if I am pressed for time and the distance is on the higher side. I cycle to office (23km one way, so 46 kms ride on 0bhp(?) on that day ) once in two weeks and it feels great, as you can negotiate the traffic easily on a cycle.

While commuting to office, you can actually first start the bike in neutral and let the engine idle for about 10 seconds as a mini warmup (you would have to give it some choke or give some throttle for it to stay powered up at that time), it will reduce the total warmup time on road.

About the warranty, first - the service center people wont really be able to notice the difference between grade 20W40 oil and 10W30 oil. Second - your bike has done about 35k kms already, and AFAIK Karizma is warranted for 2 years/30k whichever is earlier (do correct me if I am mistaken), so technically there's no warranty on the bike anymore.

By oil change, I meant draining the oil via drain bolt, putting the bolt back on and refill with the new oil. And when you drain via drain bolt, only about 900ml of oil can be drained, since the engine retains about 300ml of oil inside it. But it can be left there, you just need to drain the oil and fill with new. And you can top up with same grade oil, when the oil level is coming closer to the lower mark in the dipstick, or just make sure its near the upper mark (but not above the "upper mark"!). You might have to topup once in 1000 kilometers (it might be higher too, or maybe never, if there are absolutely no leaks/no evaporation/oil loss in any way in your bike - which is great ). The oil filter is actually a metal-mesh like thing which can be removed from the drain bolt side, and just needs a good wipe with a dry lintfree cloth so that any previously collected debri is removed, nothing fancy (should not be rinsed/washed as it will contaminate the oil).

To top up: you can simply get a sachet of any 20W40 Jaso MA2 grade oil, as the required quantity will be very less, say 50-100ml.

Guys difference in grade doesnt mean faster acceleration or anything.

Its all about warming up the bike.


Like when I was using 10W30 I didnt have to run for a few kms for my bike to be ready. just start the bike and after say 1 min.. the gears etc, were uber smooth.

Where as when using 20W40(current) I'd have to run for, say about 10~20mins for the engine to properly warmup. and the gears to start falling correctly..

But thats not the entire story,

Say I run with 10W30 for a contunuous 100kms, then the bike starts to vibe at rpms above 5k.

Whereas in 20W40 i didnt feel anything like that.

So in simple terms.
Lower grade - Street.
Higher grade - Highways.

Back from 3200kms of Ladakh trip on my Zma

Damn thing performed brilliantly.ABove my expectation.

0 cracks on plastics, No scratches , no damages , no things getting lose .
Oil used , 20w40 yamalube for the 1st half of the trip.
10 w 30 fully synthetic for second half of the trip.

Santa

same here 20 w 40 oil gets smoother the more you run did 450 km trip with it and after some 50 km it was just awesome silent engine smooth climb of rpm it was really a great feel

I think ,5W 4000K is not available in India.Try 9SMD LED from yash3 . 650rs + shipping. Very bright.

Yes,You wont feel difference in acceleration except the smoothness on acceleration.20W40 will be more smooth.

Prashk I have no objection what so ever, since you are honestly trying your best to help members here....and doing it good...
You are very patient to have gone through so many posts ,pick the correct ones, and put it to-gether in a very meaningful post for everyone to benefit.
You are no longer a Newbie, going by the depth of your understanding of the topic discussed and the relevant information you have assembled and posted here..
Thanks for the efforts.......we now have another oil expert.

10W30 - Superb initial smoothness but worthless for long runs.
20W40 - Sucks on initial smoothness but suberb for long runs.

Bought a few pairs of pilot lamps from ebay.com a couple of weeks back. They were delivered this afternoon. Just plonked one of each to check them out and find the cost and reviews below:

2 x 168 921 T17 WARM WHITE Light Mini Bulbs glass 12V

US$-0.99
Just our regular yellow pilot lamp. But the description told its white color so am going to fight with the seller.

2 X 8 SMD LED T10 168 White Side Car Light Bulb Lamp

US$-2.25
Each light has 8 SMD LED's plonked into it. Not very bright.

2x Bulbs T10 7-Led Light Bulb 194-2825-501 Super White

US$-2.95
The best of the lot! Has 7 LED's plonked into each light. What all these Chinese guys are capable of doing. Very bright and the light is spread out nicely. It is not focussed. Will be using this one for now.

If its 7 or 8 LED attached into one then how much power does it draw?

Good to hear that Santa. Congrats!! Wow Ladakh!!! A dream for every biker. Looking forward for a detailed thread from your side..