Oil Change

Here's a Silly Simple Question (Which will no doubt cause a bar fight to
break out)

How often do you change your oil ... and why?

Some context: my BMW R1100GS manual recommends oil changes every 6K
miles ... I'm thinking that doing my own
change every 3K (I mean, in between regular service) would be money well
spent. ANy comments?

 

Every 8,000 miles because that's when my Honda shop manual recommends it...

You'll be the darling of the oil companies for sure...


Larry L
94 RC45 #2
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Every 4K. Because that's what my mechanic recommends, and that's what I
pay him for.

FWIW, we discussed using synthetic oil the last time, (I had a similar
discussion with my auto mechanic and concluded that it made sense for
the car to pay twice as much for the oil change and need to change it
1/3 as often) and determined that there really would be no savings.

I'm a very hands-off person, but assuming that you are competent to
change your oil and that doing this yourself would give you a better
feel for your bike's condition, I'd suggest that you do it once. If the
oil you're removing looks clean, there's probably not much if anything
to be gained by making the changes more frequently. If it appears dirty
or otherwise broken-down, you might want to tell your mechanic and make
a practice of more frequent oil changes.

YMMV
Rich, Urban Biker

 

Roughly every 3K. I don't know why, I just do. Maybe I was inspired to
pick this value by some urban myth.

 

So much depends on both your bike and how you ride it that no
pre-determined "factory recommendation" (FR) can really do your bike
justice. At best, I'd say the FR is strictly a "Please, for God's
sake..." kinda spec.

First off, today's motorcycle engine is a much more highly stressed
piece of machinery. Some of these suckers are putting out some
insanely serious power. We all know the old adage, the faster it
goes, the sooner it dies. Here's a little comparison chart I whipped
up based on horsepower output per cubic inch displacement of older and
newer car and bike engines. (250cc = 15cid (approx))

motor disp stdhp/cid
------
'84 Camaro Z28 305cid .5
H-D 74 74cid .7
Ford Mustang 5.0 5.0L 1.0
'87 Honda Civic 1600cc 1.1
Suzuki GSXR1000 1000cc 2.9
Kawasaki KX125 125cc 4.5

Obviously, the more highly stressed, the more wear and tear and more
little bits and pieces of engine that are wearing and shaking
themselves free to float around in the oil supply. This contamination
is no good for your engine and the only way it can be removed is to
change the oil. For decades, the gold standard was 1 stdhp per 1 cid.
Anyone remember those mythical Chevy 425hp 396cid Malibu's? Well,
motorcycles and the Japanese blew that away years ago. It doesn't
take a rocket scientist to realize a KX125 is going to need more oil
changes than an old Chevy V8. How about once every 45 mins!

Besides the basic stresses your particular bike engine design may
produce, there are other factors. How do you ride it? WFO all the
time? Never sees redline? Track days? Short trips to the
supermarket (produces corrosives)? Riding two-up up a long Sierra
grade on a 100+ deg day? Don't forget those mods. Performance air
filters? Performance exhaust? Opening up the breathing is opening up
the motor to more abrasive crud, no matter the sales hype.

All these factors have an impact on engine life. You need to take
them into account in determining how often you change your oil. The
more often you change your oil, the longer you bike engine will last.
It's a simple undeniable fact. Oh sure, there's a point of
diminishing returns, but in light of the possble abuses a rider can
heap upon his ride beyond its inherent design, just doing the FR may
actually be shortening the life of your bike.

nb

 

Good points. In fact, your line of reasoning is why I am considering
changing my M/C oil as often
as I change my car oil: more STPHP/CC, and I ride it a lot closer to
the red line than I drive my car.

 

I've had this discussion dozens of times. The bottom line is,
synthetics is better for motorcycle engines. Why? It doesn't build
up carbon deposits like regular carbon based oils. "Synthetic is much
less prone to coking, and less prone to varnish than conventional
oil".[1] IOW, those hard black carbon deposits that, over time,
collect on combustion chambers, pistons crowns, and valve faces and
create hot spots which contribute to pre-detonation (pinging), do not
occur as readily or with such severity with syns. This is desirable
in high compression motorcycle engines. If you are tearing down your
bike every race or every season, this is not an issue. But, if you
want to get some serious miles between rebuilds, syns are the better
bet. BTW, buying syns in bulk or six-paks can save as much as $2 per
qt.

[1]http://www.allpar.com/eek/synthetic.html

nb

 

On my 2 1982 bikes I change every 3k. On my '03 Connie every 4k.

As an aside, does anyone else smell their used oil?

 

Ummmm. When it comes out right by my face into a pan it is hard not to
catch a whiff ... I can usually tell the difference between 'burnt' and
just 'used'. Why do you ask?

 

6000 miles on a R1100 for average use is fine if you use quality 20W50
oil. if your bike spends a lot of time in low speed stop and go and
average sub-10-mile trips, then 3000 miles might be appropriate.

the r1100 engine holds like 4 quarts, thats a lot of oil for a small
engine.

 

uh, "synthetic" oil is still carbon based. in fact, its made from
petroleum, same as regular motor oil, its just made differently.

 

When it looks icky, and I have the time to change it. This usually occurs
around 3-5 thousand miles or so.
Mobil 1 15-50 in all my children.

--
Jim Stinnett
VTR1000
R1100RS
YZF R1
http://moto-rama.com

 

I just wondered if I was strange for doing it. Guess not. Reason I do
it is to see if there is a odor that would be "abnormal" which could
indicate there is something wrong...gas in the oil for instance. Just
some smell that would be other than used oil smell.

 

So... can you smell the difference between oil which has been 'burnt' as
opposed to just use? I pick up a bit of the same smell when
electronics (wire insulation) over-heats.

 

I think what I would notice would be more like gas mixed in with the
oil, maybe anti-freeze...its really hard to explain.

Course it could be my smeller is gone thanks to my youth

 

the 20W50 or 15W50 that I put in my BMW turns dark after a few 100
miles... but it still 'feels' like good oil for many 1000s of miles. at
around 6000 miles, I figure its due for a change as thats when the factory
suggested. If I'm doing lots of short commute trips, I might change it
at 3000 miles.

 

As far as I know, the high grade synthetics are not made from petroleum, but
from lab-produced chemicals.

 

Once a year, whether it needs it or not, which turns out to be about 3k
mi. I would go up to 7.5k, but not more than a year.

BMW K75, Mobil Delvac 1 5w-40 synthetic fleet oil. Separate gear oil,
dry clutch, water-cooled, and I ride almost every day. 6 mo is too soon.


-tc

 

Smell it?!

I rub it on my chest and grunt!


-tc

 

Ugh Ugh Ugh!