Triple QX 10w40 semi synthetic oil - it works!

Triple QX are the own brand of Euro Car Parts, a place that often has big discounts available - 40% is not unheard of. I actually did better than this, finding a 5L bottle of the 10w40 Semi for a mere £5 at a car show - irresistible. At 2800 miles since the last oil change the Kawasaki had a gearbox akin to a cement mixer so the 7200 mile schedule suggested in the owner's manual was ignored and this happened:

There's one way to find out if it's okay with wet clutches..

Happily zero clutch slip was observed, with an improved gearbox feel although the oil goes too thin (and the 'box goes crunchy) if the bike is sat idling for more than ~20 seconds. It's okay again once the motor gets to cool down again. The bike hasn't touched the level either so it can't be that thin, although perhaps Kawasaki actually got some aspects of this bike correct.

No doubt there's sod all ZDDP in it, which won't help the cams on flat tappets or the gearbox but at £1 a litre I'll just change it every 1500-2000 miles, that must be better than waiting 7200 miles. By the way, the old oil was water thin and full of carbon, which will have been scoring up the deep groove ball bearings that Kawasaki have chosen to use as mains. Pillocks.

Scrimp on!