Finding Oil

[Trigger]

I'm having a hard time finding OIL for my bike, Castrol seems to be non existant and Mobil 1 is $8 to $10 a quart.
Oil filters are a problem too, OEM I have to order and everywhere I read says don't use Fram (why not?)

Anyone know where I can order the oil and/or filter at a decent price or know anywhere from Houston, TX to Austin, TX that I can pick some up?
My son is in Austin and I go there every other weekend (daddy thing)

[NitrousGuy]

most AutoZones carry MX4T and valvoline motorcycle oil. If they dont have any in stock, they can order it.
Personally i swear by mx4t and use it in all my toys.

[kiba]

Re: Finding Oil

Oil filters are a problem too, OEM I have to order and everywhere I read says don't use Fram (why not?)

I just bought a couple OEM ones from RonAyers the other day...

Out of all the oil filters I've had apart, the Suzuki OEM one is the best to date... I highly recommend no one use the FRAM in any case.

KNOW THIS: The Suzuki OEM filter is the only one rated to go three oil changes

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

i won't say this is an old myth but based on old data. i've used fram motorcycle filters & cut the last one i used open. I found the construction to be just fine. the complaint most people had was the use of cardboard endcaps. the endcaps are used to glue the pleated filter into a rigid circle form & keep the filtered/unfiltered oil apart. say what you will about it but the motorcycle filter uses different construction. or maybe they updated all of them. the recall on some filters jan-march 1995 was a thread cut problem & i think i read somewhere about a crimp problem but have yet to read a published recall on the endcaps.

Rider Magazine's Mechanic's section noted (about three years ago) the problem with the Fram filter used on a GoldWing, where the glue itself disolved under the hot oil and moved into the block (and subsequently resolidified when the engine cooled off overnight). Gold wings run substancially cooler than Katana's because the Wings are water-cooled. That was about the same time as I cut open a Fram filter... I can't say whether Fram has changed their construction techniques since... but I won't be trusting one either way.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

Also, WERA (an amatuer roadracing association) currently outlaws the use of FRAM filters on racing bikes. This stemmed from a rash of bikes blowing the filters off and spewing oil in the past (this was some years ago, I believe). It seems they were built with less thread engagment than was neeeded to hold them on!

And I'd concur with the cardboard thing. That stuff dissolves over time and starts migrating in your engine. It's certainly a cheaper way to build a filter, but not necessarily a better one. Plus, why risk it when an STP or NAPA filter is about the same price and has superior all metal (except for the filter media) guts?

Good link to the craptastic Fram filter:

http://www.twocreeks.net/toby/oil_filters/fram.shtml

BTW, here's a very interesting link that shows the insides of various motorcycle filters:
http://www.motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/FilterStudy.html

/kiba