Should change the engine oil only based on the mileage?
learner
changing engine oil. 6 months / 6,000km, 12 months / 12,000 km.
I changed engine oil five months ago and have ridden around 2,300km.
Should I change the engine oil? It's very intriguing. Some people say
engine oil is mainly related to the mileage.
Mark Olson
You should change oil per the instructions in your owners manual.
Usually the manual is clear, you need to change oil every X months
or Y miles, whichever comes first. Typical values for X and Y would
be roughly something like 3 months and 3000 miles (4800 km), but
recommendations will vary depending on the bike and how you typically
use it.
The reason that time is a factor is that oil gets contaminated even
without putting many miles on it, and you don't want to leave those
contaminants in your engine for too long. Infrequent short trips are
one of the hardest things you can do to an engine. 1000 miles put on
during one day of sustained riding is *much* less harmful than 100
miles done in trips of 1 mile each, spread out over 1 year. Getting
the oil hot for a good long time boils off water vapor which would
otherwise collect in the crankcase and contribute to nasty
contamination.
--
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(my email domain is net)
The Older Gentleman
> When I see the service manual, it has time interval and mileage for
> changing engine oil. 6 months / 6,000km, 12 months / 12,000 km.
> I changed engine oil five months ago and have ridden around 2,300km.
>
> Should I change the engine oil?
I wouldn't bother, no.
--
XJ900S 750SS SR500 CB400F ST70 GAGARPHOF#30
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BOF#30 www.btinternet.com/~Chateau.Murray/homepage2.html
ES
news:9bf2d470.03031...@posting.google.com:
READER ADVISORY! THE FOLLOWING MAY CAUSE DISTRESS FOR SUFFERERS OF ANAL
RENTENTIVENESS
If your bike is under warranty, follow the owners manual to the letter,
and get it documented. If your bike is out of warranty, I wouldn't
bother changing the oil until at least double the mileage and time
recommended in the OM has passed.
Much more important is always making sure the level is correct (not over
or under).
Why do I say ignore manufacturer recommendations? They are playing the
better safe than sorry game, it ain't their money, and oil is relatively
cheap anyway. Modern oil is way better than the oil of 50 years ago,
manufacturers recommendations are still stuck on the old 50 year
standard. Remember the Ford Concourse (I think thats waht they called
it), sealed engine, no changing for 100,000 miles. It did not have magic
oil, just high quality modern oil. Bike oil should be changed more
often, but 6000 km is way too soon.
What is harder on oil than mileage is short runs when the oil does not
get warmed up to proper operating temperature, about 150 to 180(?)
degrees F. The actual temp is not important, what is important is that
when you run your bike, you make sure your oil gets to normal operating
temperature. At least a 10 mile run, with a bit of throttle twisting.
There is moisture, and other volatiles that get in your oil when the
engine is running cold. Heating the oil boils all this bad stuff out and
cleans your oil. Leaving it in causes corrosion and oil breakdown.
Always park your bike hot, and don't start it up for a minute or two and
shut it down when you are between rides.
If you do a lot TTs (Tavern to Tavern), you need to change your oil more
often than when you do a lot of highway riding.
Having said that, regardless of short runs, long runs, you rode your bike
2300 Km last season. Your motor is probably good for at least 160,000 Km
if it is just about any modern bike (including even Harley's), and
probably double that if really well cared for. It will take you about 70
years to wear out your bike!!! Actually you will probably own your bike
for a total of 10 years, and you will ride it less and less each year
until you either sell it and call it quits, or trade it in for another
bike. Given that, even if you NEVER change your oil, your bike will
still be running just fine when you get rid of it, and you won't have
ridden it enough to do any real damage for the next guy who gets it,...
who is a cheapskate do it yourselfer anyway, and you are making him happy
by giving him some real work to do on getting your old banger back on the
road.
So, don't change your oil. Ever :-)
learner
Thanks alot!!
The Older Gentleman
> The reason that time is a factor is that oil gets contaminated even
> without putting many miles on it, and you don't want to leave those
> contaminants in your engine for too long. Infrequent short trips are
> one of the hardest things you can do to an engine. 1000 miles put on
> during one day of sustained riding is *much* less harmful than 100
> miles done in trips of 1 mile each, spread out over 1 year. Getting
> the oil hot for a good long time boils off water vapor which would
> otherwise collect in the crankcase and contribute to nasty
> contamination.
This is absolutely right, of course. I was merely assuming that he'd
done that low mileage "properly", as it were.
LJ
what is called normal service. Normal service is defined as the engine
being at normal operating temperature, at highway speeds, and in a
dust-free environment. Stop and go, city driving, trips of less than
10 miles, or extreme heat or cold puts the oil change interval into
the severe service category, which has a shorter recommended change
interval.
When the manufacturer gives a mileage/time criteria for oil changes
they're telling you that if you drive every day, but (say) for only
short trips to work, your driving habits put you into the severe
service category and you should use time, not mileage, as a guide. So
you may go 100 miles a week but do it in ten trips.
Motorcycle riding is often different. You usually ride for pleasure,
but maybe only once a week outing for 100 miles, one trip (normal
service.) So you should use mileage, not time as your change criteria.
Further, manufacturers are saying to change your oil even more often
than the mileage interval stated in the manual because your motorcycle
rarely experiences only normal service conditions.
The central dogma of motorcycle oil manufacturers and distributors has
always been that motorcycles put different demands on their lubricants
than do automobiles. In particular, they point to the facts that
motorcycles run at higher temperatures and use the same oil in their
transmissions as in their engines. The transmission gears supposedly
put extreme pressures on the oil molecules, thus causing the long oil
polymers to break down. High temperatures can have the same basic
effect, as well as additional effects such as the increase in
oxidation products.
When the size of the oil polymers decreases ("cut up by the
transmission gears," as at least one manufacturer claims), the oil
thins. In other words, its viscosity decreases, as well as its ability
to lubricate properly. For example, what started out as a 40-weight
oil could effectively become a 30-weight oil, or even a 20-weight,
after prolonged use.
The viscosity of synthetic-based oils generally drops more slowly than
that of petroleum-based oils in the same engine.
Here's the result of one test.
Castrol GTX, a non-synthetic car oil at 800 miles showed a relative
viscosity of 0.722, meaning it had retained 72% of its original
viscosity. Or, if you want to look at it the other way, the Castrol
had lost 28% of its viscosity after 800 miles of use in the
motorcycle.
Just for comparison sake, they also tested the viscosity drop of the
same Castrol GTX oil after use in a 1987 Honda Accord automobile. At
3,600 miles of use, the Castrol GTX showed a relative viscosity of
92%.
So a motorcycle is definitely a more severe operating environment than
a car so the oil change mileage interval should be shorter than for a
car.
In the same test, since Mobil 1 car synthetic oil had retained so much
of its viscosity after the 1,500 mile test, it was the only oil
allowed to run longer in the motorcycle. After 2,500 miles, the Mobil
1 recorded a relative viscosity of 79%.
One more point. If you buy a motorcycle-specific synthetic oil it's no
guarantee that you can extend your change interval. There were two
motorcycle oils tested, Spectro 4 (petroleum based) and Honda HP4
(petroleum/synthetic blend). Both the Honda HP4 and Spectro 4 had lost
over 30% of their viscosity at 800 miles, and over 35% at 1,500 miles.
So, since I ride infrequently for 200 mile jaunts - my choice - is to
change my Mobil 1 15W-50 automobile-specific synthetic oil at 3,000
mile intervals.
Johnnie5
"learner" <learnin...@mail.com> wrote in message news:9bf2d470.03031...@posting.google.com...
no you should ride your bike more often
I ride my bike for pleasure and do that sort of kays in a month or so
2 weeks ago
420 in 1 day
last weekend
370 sat
420 Sunday
this week off on a trip and will do 2500 kays in a week :):)
but seriously like others have said , if your rides have been decent days
and not the 10 kays here , 10 kays there , then don't worry
remember there is a reason taxis last so long :)