OEM Oil Filters are made in China, not Japan

[stevewfl]

I have not verified this, but you should be using motorcycle specific oil filters part #ML 16817 and ML 16819

Purolator Tech statement:

Don't know if this helps but I called Purolator about the use of PL16410 on a motorcycle because of all good info I had heard about it. The Tech I spoke with said that yes the filter does give superior filtration due to the 3 filtering mediums but that the engineers said the flow is not enough for a motorcycle engine due to the filtration properties. I don't know the flow rates of the Pure One or the OEM so maybe it was all about CYA. Anyway thats the info I got.

whatever,  I'm at 107K + miles  on the Purolater 14610s and Purolater 14612s running Rotella T6 oil.

[connie14boy]

whatever,  I'm at 107K + miles  on the Purolater 14610s and Purolater 14612s running Rotella T6 oil.

+1 Whatever.. I have 60,000 miles on Black Bear using 15/40 Rotella Dino and Purolator #14610 filter, and the bike is just getting broken in nicely.

[SW ROADRUNNER]

Has any one tried the any of the stainless steel cleanable oil filters on the market?

Thanks SW RoadRunner

[connie14boy]

C'mon guys - I'm trying to keep a controversial oil filter AND oil thread going simultaneously- I have faith that we can do it if we all stop fooling around a get to the work at hand here.

[Jay]

This is absolutely true.  Most everything is made in China, now.  And quality is all over the map- from total junk to fantastic high end.  The issue is that one just can't tell quality level by saying "made in China".  Conversely, when you say "make in Japan", it usually means it is going to be good quality because they just don't service the low end market (ANYMORE... they did many years ago).

So changing manufacture of oil filters from Japan to China doesn't mean it is going to be worse quality, but it opens that possibility up so people have a totally justified reason to be worried.

What Dr. W. Edwards Deming did for Japan decades ago has yet to be embraced in China:
"...he was influential in the spectacular rise of Japanese industry after World War II..."
"I told [Japanese industrialists] Japanese quality could be the best in the world, instead of the worst," he said."
http://asq.org/about-asq/who-we-are/bio_deming.html

My totally justified reason(s) to be worried about "Made in China" are lead paint in children's toys, poison in dog treats, substandard hygiene in food processing plants, shoddy welding and generally poor craftsmanship of "metal" products of all kinds, and a general lack of concern for anything but the lowest cost of materials (including inappropriate materials for that product) and the lowest cost of manufacture.

To me, "Made in China" means to cheap-out to the max without any concern for consumer safety, product reliability, or brand loyalty.

There are some good quality products made in China, like Apple iPhones, but that is due to prodigious oversight and huge American investment in dollars and time.
And it is an exception rather than a rule, IMO.

Bottom line: I don't trust products made in China.

[datsaxman@hotmail.com]

True about Deming.  He changed *everything*.   He was a fellow physicist and I met him, once, and had a nice 30 minute conversation.  He was in his 80s by then, and still sharp.  Even more impressively, he treated me as a peer, an equal...which was certainly not the case. 

He was a gentleman, an innovator, and singlehandedly changed the whole culture of Japan post-WWII.  And thus the world. 

Honor the man by spelling his name correctly, hmmm?


Oh, and I use the Purolator PSL14610, which is supposedly optimised for synthetic oil, and Rotella 6.  113,100 miles today and it hums right along.

[Rhino]

Same filter that was on my VTX as was on my Valkyrie as is on my C14. I like to use the long version (sorry don't have the part numbers handy) and have used Wix, Purolator, K&N and even... Fram (I can hear all the booing and hissing from my back porch). I've never bothered to go to a dealer and buy an OEM Kawasaki filter. I bet the health of my C14 that the OEM Kawasaki branded filter is no different than the other (non-Fram) filters. (yes I know Fram is pure evil and made from baby seal parts so no need to flame me)

[T Cro ®]

(yes I know Fram is pure evil and made from baby seal parts so no need to flame me)

When cooked properly baby seal taste just like bacon.....   

[maxtog]

When cooked properly baby seal taste just like bacon.....   

Ah, but does it filter well?

[gPink]

Ah, but does it filter well?

...if properly rendered...

[Jay]

True about Deming.  He changed *everything*.   He was a fellow physicist and I met him, once, and had a nice 30 minute conversation.  He was in his 80s by then, and still sharp.  Even more impressively, he treated me as a peer, an equal...which was certainly not the case. 

He was a gentleman, an innovator, and singlehandedly changed the whole culture of Japan post-WWII.  And thus the world. 

Honor the man by spelling his name correctly, hmmm?

Corrected to:  Dr. W. Edwards Deming.   Hit that "m" a little too swiftly.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/single-handed

[B.D.F.]

As far as I know, Honda only uses the one filter on all their vehicles. That, coupled with the fact that a lot of other vehicles use this same filter, makes it common and easy to find.

Yeah, I think with that mix of filters you must have managed to make just about everyone disagree with you.    Not me though, I use Champion filters 'cause 1) They fit. 2) Champion is the root manufacturer for a LOT of other brands so lots of people also use them without knowing it. 3) They are cheap. 4) Oil filters are not really critical as long as they do not block the flow of oil (there- that ought to take some of the heat off of you). This is especially true if the oil is changed in short intervals; the particulate matter suspended in the oil is small enough to pass through all the moving parts of a modern engine without breaking the hydrodynamic oil film.

Back to the topic: most things are made in China now, including BMW's <collective gasp!>. And if the entire product is not made in China, usually a lot of the component parts of a given manufactured item are made there anyway. I will not say that overall Chinese manufacturer quality is up to the better first- world standards but I will say a huge number of Chinese made goods are improving at a phenomenal rate.

Brian

Same filter that was on my VTX as was on my Valkyrie as is on my C14. I like to use the long version (sorry don't have the part numbers handy) and have used Wix, Purolator, K&N and even... Fram (I can hear all the booing and hissing from my back porch). I've never bothered to go to a dealer and buy an OEM Kawasaki filter. I bet the health of my C14 that the OEM Kawasaki branded filter is no different than the other (non-Fram) filters. (yes I know Fram is pure evil and made from baby seal parts so no need to flame me)

[Rhino]

As far as I know, Honda only uses the one filter on all their vehicles.

I wish that were so. Their ATV's don't use spin on and of course use a cartridge. My 2001 Rancher 350 uses a cartridge that can be found at almost any auto parts store and my 2002 Rincon 650 uses a slightly larger cartridge that can only be found online or at dealerships. Nobody knows why. And I assume they are made in China or perhaps they are made in the arctic from baby seal parts