| Author | Message | ||
     Ottobotz |
Dealer told me to bring in the bike back @ 300 miles for the service? My friend, the MANUAL says 600 miles. Which one?????? Conventional or syntech. oil? which one is best? Has anyone tried AMSoil? AND @ how many miles do I need to change the oil, 2500 or 5000 miles? | ||
| Jeepinbueller |
As far as I know it's at 1,000 Kilometers / 620 miles. | ||
| Skratch |
Ditto to Jeep. | ||
| Bordercop |
620 miles. Its also in the owners manual. Sounds like the dealer is trying to get some extra cash out of you. Amsoil is the BEST oil hands down!!! | ||
| Jeepinbueller |
I know I'm using the oil in the owner's manual ... what's wrong with that oil? | ||
| Bob_saggot |
When I bought oil at the dealership they had 2 choices. The AMSoil and Harley oil. Both 100% synthetic. The Harley was actually a little cheaper so I went with that. They said both are good and it's up to me what to use. Went with Harley because it was cheaper and if there's a warranty issue they can't complain about it. Even tho they probably wouldn't. | ||
| 99buellx1 |
I know Gearhead runs Amsoil in all his stuff. Our local dealer is a sponor of his racing effort. | ||
| Ottobotz |
Ya'll-- How often should I service the bike, dealer says every 2500 miles, my friend MANUAL says every 5000 miles? I could see every 2500 miles w/ conventional, and 5000 w/ syntech, due to how they break down, is this correct, or am I misinformed?????? | ||
| Justa4banger |
don't you have an owners manual.. if not go to buells website and look at the manual there.. sorry but your asking the most basic questions..... easily found in the owners manual... | ||
| Ottobotz |
Well, which is it, if its so basic? 4banger | ||
| Ottobotz |
My impression of this site was to share and discuss info. I do have my friend the Manual. The manual says one thing the dealer says another. So which is it? Maybe you should stick w/ your 4banger! | ||
| Ponti1 |
When in doubt, stick with the manual. No dealer can refuse service if the manual is followed to a "T". Beyond that, many people do an oil/filter change well before the 620 mile service, as 50-100 miles is plenty to work out the majority of large break-in particles, and it is certainly a good thing to have them OUT of the engine. Personally, I changed oil/filter at about 130 miles, and did the complete first service (including another oil/filter change) at 620 miles. Your choice, and as always, YMMV. | ||
| Kirb |
Count on the dealer being wrong more than right. Stick to the manual with documentation backup...that will be what keeps your bike in warranty. The dealer sounds like he is trying to milk you of money or has no idea what he is talking about. | ||
| Fresnobuell |
This is a waste of time. | ||
| Sportster_mann |
Ottobotz, the first scheduled oil change is at 1,000 Kilometres or 620 miles. Next scheduled oil change is at 10,000 kilometres or 6,200 miles - but you may want to consider changing it halfway between that ( around 3000 miles ) especially if you do a lot of short journeys or don't ride regularly. Or change even more often - it's really down to you and how/when you ride ! | ||
| Ottobotz |
Thanks a lot to everyone, on shedding some light on this matter. | ||
| Westmoorenerd |
The bike will also tell you when the next servicing is required... | ||
| Justa4banger |
Ottobotz, maybe you should stick with something you can actually maintain. A Bicycle maybe.... ? Its pretty obvious as others said... stick with the manual and you will have no warranty issues... if you change the oil or complete other services before normal schedule or more often, that is YOUR choice... PLUS even a simple search of "break in" came up with good SEARCH results. | ||
| Kidder |
I would also recommend going with dino oil for the first few thousand miles. After that, feel free to switch to full synthetic. The manual recommends a semi-synth or dino oil not a full synthetic. | ||
| Lastonetherebuys |
Justa4banger why are you criticizing this guy? Sounds like he has just gotten his ride and simply just wants to clarify the difference in what his dealer is saying and what the book says. In my opinion when in doubt just ask so if you have nothing beneficial to this thread why don't you just read on and shut the hell up! | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
Just the facts: H-D does not manufacture oil. H-D branded oil is manufactured by Citgo (Petróleos de Venezuela)- a Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company under the control of President Hugo Chávez's Nationist-Socialist government. The US government has considered Chávez a threat to Latin American democracy for many years. H-D branded oil comes in two flavors- mineral (HD 360) and semi-synthetic (SYN3). Your Buell owners manual lists the service schedule. Your warranty cannot be voided by using non-HD-branded oil (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, US federal statute, 1975). It's not a bad idea to change the oil early during break-in, but make sure the 620 mile service is completed and documented. Mineral oil should be changed by 3,000 miles (max), semi-synthetic by 5,000, and 100% fully synthetic 7,500-10,000 miles. H-D does not recommend 100% fully synthetic oil because they do not currently offer an H-D branded 100% fully synthetic oil. 100% fully synthetic oil is superior to semi-syn and mineral oil. It is the owner's responsibility to know about his/her bike and its proper maintenance. It is, unfortunately, too common to find dealers who not only have wrong information, but will insist that they are right and will threaten all sorts of bad things will happen if you don't do as they say. Don't fall for their BS- do your homework and tell them what you want done. You are in charge of what happens to your bike- not the dealer. | ||
| Drhodes1970 |
Why can't Otto ask a question without someone being rude? We all have different experience levels. Mine is low also but if I have a question I'm going to ask it! | ||
| Justa4banger |
I told him the answer the first post... check the service manual.. is this not what everyone else is saying?????????? Dealers wrong , service manual is correct.... I to am also new... but i use the search function, I read, and so far the few questions i have asked have been answered fine. I asked them when i couldn't find the answer elsewhere with the search... I guess i'm too used to other forums that basically force people to use the search. The info is all here... (i found it in 20 sec)I have gone through countless hours of threads, educating myself and also gathering others opinions based on their experiences... If i seem harsh well maybe i am just a smidge... My first post was a honest post with no sarcasms , no tone, just a response. I hardly ever listen to any dealer, because in the end most are just after your money to keep their service dept going... His next comment"Maybe you should stick w/ your 4banger! was unnecessary (to which i responded) yet i seem to be the one getting the 5th degree here when i responded back. Now why is that? | ||
| Kidder |
Redbuelljunkie, Good info. I may have implied that synthetic is not recommended because the manual doesn't recommend it. That's my bad. I was also TRYING to state that I don't recommend synthetic for the first few thousand miles to let the clutch be totally broken in. Anyway, good post, hopefully it cleared up what I was trying to say.  | ||
| Justa4banger |
Hmm i switched immediately to Mobil 1 20w50 for V-twin motor oil at the 700 mark (i was little late on the service). to me it seem to shift smoother and the engine seems to idle smoother... Of course this could all be in my head... I guess i'll know more later down the road when it comes to change the clutch..hopefully it doesn't go tits up faster... | ||
| Ottobotz |
Lastonetherebuys-- Sad but true, there are IDIOTS among us. Redbuelljunkie and all others thanks a lot for the info., very useful. As for this forum, I thought it was a good topic to bring up. Which it was, not only did I learn something, others did as well. I have been riding for 20 years +, I have always bought used, whatever under 5000k. I've always went by the manual. It is my first Buell. When I found this forum, I thought it would be good to see others tried and true experiences. I have never bought new and never have been BSed to so much, didnt see it coming from HD. If the nature of this forum is too intelligent for some, then some should not comment. But I'm sure even he has learned something. Or he is one of those types that knows everything, whatever. | ||
| Froggy |
About the 2500 miles thing, the older Buells had the service intervals every 2500. So either that employee didn't get the memo, or he was intentionally trying to make a few more bucks. I will let you be the judge. | ||
| Jeepinbueller |
Good info Redbuell, very much appreciated. At the realization that I'll catch hell, I won't ask which fully-synthetic oil to use in my CR at the 620 mark ... I'll search. I'm guessing Mobil1 and Amsoil V-twim full-synthetics are accepted brands across the board. What's the consensus about switching to full-synthetic pre-620? I may change the oil and filter out pretty soon ... just throw Syn3 in? (Message edited by JeepinBueller on January 16, 2010) | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
Just my opinion- if you're going to be changing out oil during break-in, there's no good reason to spend a lot of money on the oil. There's not really any bad oil out there, but there is oil that's a lot better than the rest. If I where putting oil in that was coming back out in a few hundred miles, I would use a quality mineral oil. For the 2,380 miles between 620 and 3,000 I would use the same quality mineral oil. If I wanted to wait until 5,000 miles I would use a quality semi-synthetic. Either way, after 3,000 or 5,000 miles I would put in a quality 100% fully synthetic oil (I happen to prefer Amsoil- it's in all of my vehicles, and I'm a dealer). There's nothing wrong with SYN3, I just personally refuse to support an anti-american, nationalist-socialist megalomaniac. Also, SYN3 is priced as high or higher than the 100% fully synthetic oils, so you are paying more and getting less (H-D's main marketing plan). But what I really can't abide is the numerous times I have been informed by dealers that not using H-D oil will void my warranty- I politely tell them that if so they are breaking federal law and it would be in their best interest to know a little bit about what they're talking about. That shuts most of them up... but not all. Oh, and make sure the filter is changed with the oil. (Message edited by redbuelljunkie on January 17, 2010) | ||
| Jules |
I've had issues in the past changing between mineral oil and fully synthetic... The clutch doesn't appreciate the different friction qualities and tends to slip... I'm not talking specifically about the Buell here, just any wet clutch setup. And it's just my opinion/observation... |
