The Shipping oil in the TBR7, or the Hawk 250, or any recent typical Chinese motorcycle is a point of argument. Many motorcycle self-proclaimed experts are feeling the need to weigh in with differing opinions. Is a TBR7 shipping oil change at the top of your to-do list? Is the shipping oil the breaking-in oil?
I Am No Motorcycle Oil Expert, So…
As I’ve posted many times, I am new at motorcycles, and my only experience with combustion engines is do-it-yourself stuff on my cars. However, I do have some common sense. Oil quality and proper oil changes lead towards a more extended life and reliable operation of car engines. So it must seem good oil in the TBR7 will lead towards better overall engine operation. Common sense aside, I did some web forum searches.
Oil Wars, In Web Forums!
If someone posts something about oil types, oil weights, oil change times, oil something, it seems people come of the woodwork to add their two cents. It appears that some oil discussions even get heated with name-calling and condescending writings towards one another.
One party feels the shipping oil should be used for the first several hundred miles. The ‘official’ TBR7 break-in period. However, I read opinions that the shipping oil is highly tuned for the break-in period. And, the oil is engineered by the manufacture specifically for the machine.
One party feels the shipping oil is just that, for shipping and maybe a test start-up or two. Nothing more. It’s shipping oil, not break-in oil.
Then there is the silent party, the party I was a member of. I just wanted to know, when do I change the TBR7’s oil? As soon as I assembly it, after x number of hours of run time, after x number of miles, after the official break-in period? Can someone answer these questions without fighting?
Common Oil Sense?
I read up about the Hawk 250 and the TBR7 long before actually buying the TBR7. I spent time putting together the TBR7 and going over the nuts and bolts already installed before I received it. One thing I can say, nothing on the TBR7 is finely tuned. Every part is cheap—the material, the assembly, and the design, all cheap, in my opinion. So when I read the oil was finely tuned for the TBR7’s break-in period, I laughed. However, after reading the same point being made by different sources, it had me wondering. Motor oil is cheap, to begin with. Could TaoTao have taken the time to find the exact oil the engine needs, since oil already a low-priced item?
These forum posts and web searches didn’t answer my oil questions:
Do I Change The TBR7’s Oil Immediately? Or, After Break-In?
Maybe Not A Hero We Wanted, But A Hero We Needed.
Fortnite! No, No, don’t leave! But, yes, Fortnite that You-tuber that can bother entertain(have a few beers, he gets funnier. :p) and educated. Fortnite has been a source of motorcycling information before getting my first motorcycle, my TBR7, and continues to educate me.
Watch Fortnine’s Video About Different Shipping Oil Quality Analyses.
What I Did, And In Hindsight I Would Change.
I started the engine and rode around a couple of times. Thinking ‘heck’ it’s oil, it works. After nothing shifted right, the engine was tough to start and sounded ‘weird,’ all that can be written off as a new motorcyclist; I decided I wanted to change the oil. The oil was….. sparkly. Yes, it looked like fine glitter was in the pan. I tossed it and wished I took a photo. I wish I never ran it. Now the oil filter was clear of any foreign material; that was good news. In hindsight, oil is cheap; next time I get a Chinese motorcycle, I will change the oil asap, before any test starts or any actual riding.
So I Will Change My Thinking and The Shipping Oil.
I’m a new motorcycle owner, so please don’t follow my opinions; watch Fortnine’s video and ask yourself, is an immediate oil change a financial hardship? Does it change how you ride your motorcycle during the break-in period? You make a choice.
Thank you, and Ride Safe!!!!
