I got an 06 Kawi Ninja ZX-6R. (the 636)
I finished my first oil change today, it has about 575 miles on it.

I went to the dealership and got a new filter and Respol 20W50 (Non-synthetic motor oil).

1. I checked the oil level (the glass window) prior to the oil change. The window only showed about 1 millimeter of oil level. It was almost not evenshowing oil in it. From myunderstanding it should be at about half full, between the 2 lines along the side of the window. Is this somethingI should be worried about, is my bike burning/loosing oil already?

2. I got 20W50 oil. Is this the recommended oil weight. If it is not exactly the correct weight,is it still ok to run in the bike. Will it hurt any motor components? The guy at the shop said I could use 10W40 or 20W50and it doesn't reallymatter. What are your thoughts?

3. The sticker on the side of the bike said the following:
engine requires 3.4 amount of oil without changing the filter.
engine requires 3.6 amount of oil with a new filter.
engine requires 4.0 amount of oil total.

I put on a new filter and assumed I would use almost a full gallon (which is 4 quarts I believe) to get to the 3.6 amount. Well after putting in the full gallon the glass window showed oil at the center level. I cant imagine I put too much oil in the bike, did I? If I did put in a little too much oil is this harmful?

After the oil change I ran the bike for a few minutes at idle and everything looked and sounded good.
I had to go to class so I haven't ridden it yet. Cant wait to get the plastics on it in the morning and get it back on the road!

Thanks in advance for all your input!

 

WELL MY FRIEND I WOULDN'T WORTOO MUCH ,BUT AS TO THE OIL I KEPT USING THE KAWI BLEND OIL BECAUSE IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN IT HAS A WET CLUTCH AND THE OIL IS ALSO USED FOR THE TRANNY. WAIT UNTIL 1000 MILES AND THEN SWITCH TO SYNTHETIC BLEND. GOOD LUCK AND RIDE SAFE.

 

Just make sure that your bike is standing upright, not resting on side stand, when checking the oil level.

All sounds good, congrats on doing your own service, f- stealership

 

Yes, congrats on your first change.
This is winter time now. I prolly would have chosen the 10w-40.
Yes as mentioned, keeping the ride vertical on a sight glass check is crucial. And yes mid window level is ideal after warm up.

 

Thanks for the responses.

As for winter, I live in southern california, so I rarly get winter temperatures out here. Its usually in the mid 70's during this time of year...

I got it back together this morning and met up with a few friends from work. We went out and did some canyon riding. I'm not sure of the name but it was somewhere just north of Whittier, CA.

WOW, it was FUN!! Talk about a fun ride. It was the first time I had taken my bike (only been riding for about 2 weeks) through some twisty canyons. I did pretty good. I took it pretty slow the first few times because I didn't know the road nor was I very confident in my cornering/leaning sideways skills.

I got the hang of it pretty quick and had a blast! I didn't quiet get to the "knee dragging sideway-ness"like my moreexperienced co-workers but still had fun! Just a matter of time and experience.

 

congrats in your learning curve. No drag'in needed to learn. Sounded like a good time.