| Author | Message | ||
     Cobralightning |
I was just reading through the owners manual and noticed that oil changes seem to be far apart. I like that but was wondering if this is normal. The first oil change is at 620 miles after break in and then not until 6200 miles. That is almost 5600 miles apart. The next change is 12,400 miles or 6200 miles later. Then it jumps to 24,800 miles or 12,400 miles later. Can the oil last that long. Even if it is synthetic oil. After that it is at 31,000. So about every 6000-7000 miles after that one. I like that I do not have to change oil as often. Also when I talked to my dealer they could not answer me when I asked if I had to bring the bike in for service, or could I just do it myself. They highly recommended me bring it in and where not sure what would happen top my warranty if I did not. I move around alot and do not have alot of free time so I got the 7 year warranty. I know that seems kind of a waste of money, but I am always on the go. So I need to have this bike working at the drop of a hat. Hope I can do it my self as Austin is the closest place to take my bike. That is about two hours away. | ||
| Gregtonn |
You can do it your self. Dealerships are often "not sure" because the designated services are real money makers for them. | ||
| Xnoahx |
Your warranty wont be affected if you do the services yourself. Just make sure you are doing everything they recommended and keep records(reciepts) of everything you buy so if you do need warranty work you can prove that the bike wasnt neglected. | ||
| Budo |
Most of use change the oil and filter every 3k miles. Even using synthetic. | ||
| Bake |
Seems like a long time between changes, I usually do my first oil change after the bike has warmed up the first time, about 100 miles after that.... then go on my regular schedule which is 3000 miles. Always believed the early oil changes got rid of ant swarf during manafacturing and have never had any engine breakdowns. (Message edited by bake on December 16, 2007) | ||
| Cobralightning |
I read in the manual about which oil to use. I am just wandering what do you all recommend or what are you all going to be using? | ||
| Buzzie |
I would have to say ...if you haven't notice the service interval just changed to a metric number....1000k to 10,000K....And if none of you have noticed all harley service intervals have been increasingly far apart because of the advances that have been made to the motorcycles themselves...they dont seem to really need the sevices that often...I do believe in a regular oil change to be sure ...but even the tranny doesnt really need to be changed for 20thousand miles. | ||
| Zac4mac |
So what's gonna be inside my 1125 when it arrives Tuesday? SYN3? If so, I'm dumping that into a jug for later and putting dino break-in oil in it. Then I'll install the optional stuff and ride the piss out of it. Z | ||
| Arillius13 |
From what I'm told its just plain ole HD oil that is in it from the get go. At least at my dealer here in MN anyways. They also said when you bring it in for the first oil change they don't change the filter, just the oil. I'm not to keen on that..... Id want that changed to make sure any and all oil and possible break in particles are out of the oil system.. Anyone else know anything about this? | ||
| Ratbuell |
My understanding is factory fill is Syn3. Recommended fluid is Syn3. I run Syn3 in both my tubers with no problems, and at 5k change intervals. I am not a gentle rider, and frequently ride for "short hops" that don't heat the engine as much as I should. Just out of curiosity, why would anyone dream of draining a factory fill, replacing with a lesser grade of oil for "break in", then refilling with Synthetic (which in this engine is not "optional" - from page 99: "Refer to table 20. Buell recommends using Screamin' Eagle Syn3 synthetic motorcycle lubricant when adding or changing oil. If Syn3 is not available and addition of motor oil is required, H-D 360 SAE 20W50 may be used. Although HD 360 is compatible with Syn3, we suggest the mixture of the fluids be changed as soon as possible".). What do you assume to know that the factory full of engineers who created the engine does not? How do you know putting dino oil in the engine is not going to cause a problem during your break-in? For $12 large, whether my opinion said it was right or wrong, I'd follow the factory rules to the letter. *IF* anything goes wrong at that point, there is absolutely no question concerning warranty repair. 2 customers with identical bikes with identical problems walk in to the service department. "I did what it says right here in your book", says one. The other pipes up "well...I don't trust the factory so I thought I'd try...". Who do you think is going to pay cash for their repair, and who is getting it covered under factory warranty? | ||
| Zac4mac |
Not the place for this debate, but I will not break-in a motor on synthetic. Z | ||
| Ratbuell |
I wish you the best of luck. | ||
| Budo |
Quite a few machines come from the factory with synthetic oil in them. The Chevy Corvette I think and the KTM's come with Shell Synthetic in them from the factory. I would strongly recommend that you run the bike with whatever it came with. Then after then intial run in change it to whatever you like. There are a number of high quality syn oils out there. Many of use like Mobil 1 but Redline is popular also. Remember this is a Rotax motor. | ||
| Ccryder |
Zac: The Engineers and Tribologists spend a great deal of time working with tolerances and finishes to determine the break-in period and what oil (weight and type) should be used. The previous thinking was that syn was too slick (or something like that)to allow proper break in with the materials, finish and, tolerances. The guys in the know take great pains to match all these factors. If you still want to dump that original oil go ahead but, you should still try and enjoy the ride and, not worry too much about the longevity of your new 1125r ;+}. Time2Work Neil S. | ||
| Bigblock |
The service manager at my dealer told me the bike is shipped with HD 20/50 in it. I haven't talked to anyone at the factory about it, though... | ||
| Dentguy |
If it does come with Syn3 from the factory and they built the bike with their break-in procedures to go with it, why would anyone want to dump the oil and break it in with dino oil? I am going to assume they are putting in the dino oil because they think it will break-in better (wear faster) since it is not as slick as the Syn3. My question to anyone thinking this way is. How do you decide when your dino oil has worn things enough to be broken-in correctly compared to leaving the Syn3 in it if that is what it came with? | ||
| Ratbuell |
I don't think it matters what's actually in it. The factory says break it in with factory fill. The manual says if you have to add or change, use Syn3. If you can't get Syn3 you can use dino for a short time but should change it as soon as possible to "remove the mixed oil and return to all-Syn3". Seems pretty straightforward to me: Break in with factory fill. Top off as required with Syn3. Change at 620 miles with Syn3. Ride. Repeat. | ||
| Dentguy |
What Ratbuell said +1. | ||
| Xb9 |
I changed out the factory oil after several initial heat cycles and 65 road miles. Don't want to argue, but this is the way I choose to break in all new engines, and by a visual inspection of the oil it's good practice. It didn't look very "new" by any means. There was even a small amount of milky looking crude that came out initially when I removed the plug. Besides that the theory is that most of the wear in on all the mating parts occurs within the first fifty miles, get that initial oil out quickly. | ||
| Smoke |
dumped my oil at 140 mi. it was black and the plug had a heavy coating of mud(dark grey fine particulates) sticking to it. reserviced with Mobil 1 vtwin and rode home to Louisiana. just finished changing oil at 757 mi with Mobil 1 vtwin and only a few pieces of mud on the plug. next service is 3000 for me so that i can remember-if i can divide it by three(in thousands) it's time to change oil. YMMV tim | ||
| Xb9 |
Smoke, curious how much oil yours took to refill - manual says 3 qts. w/filter change, mine took almost 4 qts. I noticed the 1125r minisite specs on buell.com states 4 qts., so I'm thinking the owners manual is incorrect. | ||
| Jammin_joules |
This and other threads in BWB have brought out that many dealerships are initially getting ready on the sales floor for the 1125r as salesmen learn up on the new bike. Service writers and techs have not yet been able to attend the first technical training and literature is scarce from the factory. Through the feedback heard here, inquiries from customers like Zac, and a natural desire to learn about the bike early I see High Country's service folks preparing for that first service even though we still have our first bike on the sales floor. For instance, there is a new model technical bulletin that parts and service have used to order all the typical or required parts for that first service when Zac rolls in this week. Coolant, oil filter element, spark plugs, fork oil, battery, tires, parts & service manuals - parts unique to the 1125r are on order. So I for one want to thank the BWB community for keeping attention on what matters, good sales and good service after the sale. The dealerships, in some cases, may be waiting on parts, training, and even bikes, but forums and posters like those here help to keep us on our A-game. The dealerships that work hard at staying ahead keep the owners out riding. Isn't that what it is all about, or should be?  ~jammer | ||
| Donutclub |
XB9, did you check the oil level per the user manual after you added 4 quarts? I'm curious to know if the bike takes 3 or 4 quarts since there's no procedure to check the oil when the bike is cold. My 1125 doesn't show any oil on the dipstick when it's cold, but it looks fine if the procedure is followed in the user manual. | ||
| Xb9 |
yep, put in 3 1/4 qts., rode it about 12 miles to the dealer and checked it again hot per the manual's procedure. Had to buy another qt. and add a little over 1/2 qt. to get it between the marks. I also measured what came out and it was the same (just shy of 4 qts. I didn't change the filter but I pulled it out to drain the oil in the filter housing. I think the manual is wrong. | ||
| Anonymous |
If you over-fill the bike it will get carryover in the air cleaner, leading to oil appearing to "leak". DO NOT add more than the manual says for quantity. The dipstick reading procedure is a little wierd, and can lead to seeing a low reading. Basically ou have to check the oil level hot with the bike vertical. If you check it on the sidestand and/or cold, it will read low even though it isn't. More info will come out in bulletins since it is not intuitive. | ||
| Interex2050 |
Oh poo! I guess in that case its overfilled... Thanks for the insight | ||
| Donutclub |
Anonymous, so the user manual that states 3 quarts is correct and the website that states 4 quarts is incorrect? I just want to confirm. | ||
| Jlnance |
If you check it on the sidestand and/or cold, it will read low even though it isn't. Is it possible to check the oil with out a second person to hold the bike vertical? | ||
| Interex2050 |
My guess would be that one would have to sit on the bike then reach down and unscrew the dipstick... Or bike stands | ||
| Smoke |
the owners manual was confusing to me and it seemed to say to check the oil on the sidestand. 1st time put 4qt, but was a tad overfull. 2nd time checked after changing oil by pulling bike up straight from the r/h side and checking, took 3 1/4 qt. tim |
