Oil color on a GSX 600F '2000

[Suture]

Hi all,

Beginner rider/owner with probably a very beginnerlike question.

What color should the oil be if you look at it through the side looking glass under the engine? Mine is black, as in pitch black. It was clear/brown before but after a rather long trip (500km or 310 miles or so) it turned black. I had filled it up a bit before the trip, synthetic (after reading through the forum :P )

So my questions are;

What color should it be?
Is my beauty in danger?
Any tips on engine care/bike care for a total beginner?

[katanarider]

What kind of oil, brand, weight ?
Did you change your filter ?
Did you drain the oil cooler when you changed the oil ?
Did the previous owner take care of the engine with regular oil changes ? I mean change the oil at 3000 miles, not 5000.
How many miles on the bike ?
Did you let the bike over heat/sit idle with out wind on the engine for too long ?

As you can see, there are lots of variables that determine why the oil appears black.
I've bought several used vehicles and because the previous owner didn't change the oil like they were supposed to, the fresh oil can become dirty quicker. Oils have detergents that help clean varnish and sludge.

[Suture]

Thanks for the reply

The oil I bought was Shell Advance Ultra 4T 10W40 Synthetic. The oil the previous owner used was a Semi-synthetic kind.

I didn't change the filter, I only topped it up with about 1litre (aprox 1 quart) because the oil was barely at the minimum mark.

I didn't drain the oil cooler, I just topped it up.

The previous owner stated the filter was changed and the oil was new when I got the bike (1 week ago) but the oil was at the minimum mark so not sure how much he filled it up with. I also don't know about the previous owners habits, but it looked to be in decent shape.

The bike has 29000 km, aprox 18000 miles.

I did let it idle with choker on before my return trip, around 5 minutes. I'm a new bike owner and was told to never rush a cold engine, and always start with the choker on so did that, but not sure if I didn't let it stand for too long :/

[katanarider]

If the oil level was low, chances are it needs to be changed already...from what you say any how. Never completely trust sales people , remember, they just want your money.
I would do a oil and filter change. You can get away with not draining the cooler most of the time if your good at changing the oil at the 3000 mile mark. I'm using Shell Rotella T triple protection 15w-40 and a HiFlo Filtro filter. Its cheap and good ! The oil is naturally dark, but it should stay fairly transparent until the 3000 mile marker.
When I warm up, I turn the choke on and ease it back, then hold the throttle at a fair RPM with out choke. Then pump your clutch lever 3-4 times to wet the disks too.

[Suture]

It was a private seller

But yeah, I'll take your advice and change the oil and filter. I already found a do-it-yourself garage and just need to order a filter and find better oil than the one I bought at Shell. They didn't have Rotella, just the one I bought.

How long do you let it "warm" before you set off?

[katanarider]

I warm up until my RPMs hold steady at normal operating speed. About 3 minutes on a normal riding day, maybe a little longer if its cold out. I normally take off down the road easy until it gets good and hot before I throttle up hard.

[Suture]

Thanks

Being my first real bike I want to take as good care of her as I possibly can. Seems I stumbled upon a diamond when I found her, I didn't know that much about Katana's in general but after reading the forum a bit, I couldn't be more satisfied.