| Author | Message | ||
     Captjoe |
I was just at my Harley dealership arguing about the required service intervals for my 1125r. I'm following the dates/mileage intervals stated in the owner's manual, but the dealership is pushing me to adopt "Harley" type intervals, ie oil changes every 4,000km, etc. I'm resisting as according to manual, I should be good for 10K on an oil change. The bike does run very hot, especially in the summer, but I'd think that synthetic oil should last longer than 4K, unless of course, you're on a two ton air cooler with a pneumatic suspension. Any thoughts? | ||
| Froggy |
Just follow the book, the dealers want you to come in more often because they make more money off it. The 10,000KM service is just an oil change anyway, do it yourself. I don't know the going rates for services in Canadia, but I'm certain a few quarts of oil (10k does not need a filter change) is a fraction of the price of the service. | ||
| Milezero5 |
Yes the man. says 6k miles but I still dont go over 4k miles even with full syn.(to me it runs better when changed at 4k miles) It also depends on your riding, lots of highway miles then yes 6k miles is fine, but if most of them are in the city then the oil is getting worked alot harder. I would do the service yourself, harley charges a stupid amount to change oil when its quite easy by yourself. It cost one of my coworkers over 100 bux for one, even though he has a med. size bagger. | ||
| Captjoe |
Whoa, careful there. I wasn't saying 4K miles. I was saying 4K kms, which is about 2500 miles. I'd be changing the oil almost 2.5 times more than the manual states I should. I think that's crazy. As for changing the oil myself, I don't have the facilities to do it at the moment. Once I move out of where I currently live, I'm making sure I will be able to change it. At the moment, it too is costing me over $100 per oil change. | ||
| Milezero5 |
I know what you meant, im simply stating thats when I like to change my oil. I change it early cause im used to it, im a nissan mech. and our rec. oil change is 3750 for regular oil. Changing your too early can be a waste of money but too late and it could cost even more. When I dumped the H-D syn3 it was black as night and smelled a bit burnt, and that was at 3500 miles. | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
What oil change interval you should use really depends on how tough your motor oil is. The main thing that causes motor oil to need to be changed is viscosity breakdown. There are two major factors that affect viscosity breakdown--how "tough" the motor is on the oil, and fuel dilution. Bikes with a shared sump for the engine and trans are hardest on the oil. Bikes that run rich and/or that have more cylinder blowby than normal are likely to have more fuel in the oil, which will cause the oil to thin to a lighter weight. There's no way I'd trust a conventional 20W50 to hold its viscosity for 2000 miles, much less 6200 miles. Synthetics are generally better, but there are still some that shear out of grade (lose their viscosity) much quicker than others. The best bet, if you're not sure how long you can go on your oil, is to send it in for analysis. If it has sheared out of grade, it's time for a change. If it's still close to what it's supposed to be, go longer with it. | ||
| Dannybuell |
What Thefleshrocket said. | ||
| Ohsoslow |
+2 in thefleshrocket, get an oil analysis if you want the most out of your oil without damaging the engine. | ||
| Captjoe |
Thanks guys. I'll give it a go with the analysis. It's worth the cost if it saves me money on oil changes and prolongs the engine life in the process. | ||
| Paul08r |
No car, 10 bikes vintage and modern, all on synthetic. Change oil spring and fall, and mid summer if high miles ie. Over 3 thou. 2 or 3 quarts, cheap insurance. Paul |
