'85 VN700 air filter & oil

4726 Views 11 Replies 9 Participants Last post by tankist, Aug 28, 2006

bcjoker04

Discussion Starter · May 1, 2006

Hello Group!

I am new to this website, new to riding street motorcycles and a proud new owner of an ’85 VN700! So to say I am a newbie is a definite understatement!

I have owned my bike for 5 days so far, purchased it Wednesday for $550. The bike has 14,200 miles on it and is in excellent condition as far as I am concerned. Starts right up with no problems, even though the guy I bought it from said to rebuild the carbs, I don’t know if it really needs it.

I have ridden 60+ miles so far and I am already in love. I purchased this bike to help supplement my 80+ mile per day commute between home-work-college-home. 16 MPG in my F150 is getting old real fast, if you know what I mean.

Anyways, I digress, my apologies. I love this website, however, there is SO much great information, it can be overwhelming. Here are the two questions I can’t seem to find a definite answer to.

1st: Air Filters, are they the same on my ’85 as ’86? All filter companies show compatibility with ’86 and up, are mine different? Will K&N KA-7586 fit?

2nd: I just purchased oil and a filter to do a change, the oil I bought is the same as I have always used in my truck, “Mobile 1, SAE 5W-30 Full-Synthetic”. It DOES say “energy conserving” on it. I trust this oil very much and believe it to be one of the very best available, however, I am new to motorcycles, do you see a problem with using this oil?

Thank you so much for your time in answering my questions. As I become more proficient, I look forward to submitting useful information myself in the future.

This site is great! Talk to you soon.

Adam

’85 VN700w/14,200 miles at current.
Work completed so far….
New front brake pads
Rear checked, doing fine
New front and rear Metzler 880 Marathon tires (HUGE improvement, wow, great tires!)
1 tank of fresh gas, lol, 91 octane because that’s what it said to use, I guess I am supposed to us 87 from now on?
That’s it so far.

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Ccspinner

· #2 · May 1, 2006

It DOES say “energy conserving” on it.
This is not the best for bikes, they have a wet clutch and the energy concerving is not good for the clutch. Keep away from Energy Concerving or Friction Modifiers.

"said to rebuild the carbs"

I would recomend finding Sea Foam gas additive, works good and can clean your Carbs and the tank, also works better than Stabil if you are storing the bike.
Hope this helps

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bcjoker04

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 1, 2006

Thanks Chad,

I will just use the oil I purchased for my truck and go buy one of the oils recommended on this site. I will also look for this "Sea Foam" stuff.

Thank you for your help!

Adam

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DMAG

· #4 · May 1, 2006

bcjoker04 said:
Thanks Chad,

I will just use the oil I purchased for my truck and go buy one of the oils recommended on this site. I will also look for this "Sea Foam" stuff.

Thank you for your help!

Adam

Welcome Adam. Just an FYI: You can find SeaFoam at your local NAPA store. I actually found it at Pep Boys as well.

Three Cheers for us '85 VN700 owners!

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Dianna

· #5 · May 1, 2006

Air filters are the same for all years 85-06. You will probably see most references to 86-06 since technically the 85 is listed as a 700cc bike (that tariff thing back then)

Energy Conserving oil is a no-no for the bike. However, I think Mobil One still makes a Synthetic that is not energu conserving. Rotella T is what I use in mine.

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Hizzo3

· #6 · May 1, 2006

sorry Castrol fan here..... i found when i put castrol syn in my '04 the engine noise seemed louder (the valves and such) and i had bad clutch slippage....so i stepped down to syn blend... works great. Not only that but its just a lil more then dino. not the $6 a qt that u see everywhere for syn... i also strongly recomend the purolator premium filters. some of the best out there.

CONGRATS!!

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bcjoker04

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 1, 2006

Hey, thanks for the info Anthony. I am glad to meet my first fellow VN700 owner! How do you like your V&H Cruizer pipes? I love the way they look, however, I am worried they would be too loud for me to start my bike at 6AM, I live in an apartment. Are they much louder than stock?

Dianna, thank you for the information as well. That air filter situation was really throwing me for a loop. I will look for Shell Rotella T, sounds like everyone agrees it’s the best.

I appreciate the help guys.

Adam

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jim kitts

· #8 · Aug 24, 2006

Hey, I Am Glade That A Few More Vn700 Are On Here I Also Have V&h Pipes, But I Also Have A Mustang Gel Seat It Is Sure Nice On Long Rides

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Krawdad7

· #9 · Aug 27, 2006 (Edited)

:BLAM: I am using wally world [walmart] brand of 100% synthetic oil which has energy conserving symbal printed on it and have absolutly no trouble or problems at all. I guess Iwill try this again If yougo to the WEB SITE. motorcycle oil technical facts.com you will find out all about which oils are good for motorcycles. I apoligize for the other site I recomended my mistake to much paper work over here.Have a great day....

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Dianna

· #10 · Aug 28, 2006

Krawdad7 said:
I am using wally world [walmart] brand of 100% synthetic oil which has energy conserving symbal printed on it and have absolutly no trouble or problems at all. I guess Iwill try this again If yougo to the WEB SITE. TOC MANUFACTURING.COM you willfind out all about dino oil and synthetic oils.Please check it out.

Where do you see this information at http://tocmanufacturing.com/ ?

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hyperbuzzin

· #11 · Aug 28, 2006

I didn't see anything at the TOC site about oil info.

I've been using Valvoline DuraBlend 15W-40.
I've used this in my dirtbikes for quite awhile with good results. Also, the parts store messed up and had the cases marked with the wrong price. I got a case for about 1/2 the price of 12 individual quarts (I think it was about 30 $'s)
They changed the sign to the right price as I was checking out !! LOL

As far as the filter, for that I've used Fram, but after some reading in the Verses, will probably go to something else on the next change.

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tankist

· #12 · Aug 28, 2006

welcome! gas milage is a great excuseto get a motorcycle. nothing like a feeling when one of your friends/familiy goes "ohh i left 60$ on gas station today" and you reply "yeah? and i left8.50!"

i see that both of your questions got answered so i'm just going to second (third) whatever they said. every one can have their favorite oil, but i'm myself of opinion that ANY brand (as long as it meets the MC criteria and not "magicSuperLube" brand) will do.

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