When to change the oil....

[jearnshaw]

At my 4k mile oil change I switched to Yamalube 15-50 full synthetic and it has been great....but now coming up to my 8k mile service the oil still looks good,and still a somewhat clear gold color and has tacky ness between your fingers. By the way the oil looks I almost feel like I can keep going to 6k miles before I need to change it. Just wanted to ask if anybody else out there is going farther then 4k miles on full synthetic oilchanges?

 

[MistahT]

I dunno, I just hit 4k since my last oil change, did mine this morning. Mobil 1 full synthetic. That s%*& was BLACK!

 

[ej'sfz]

yea i run the mobil 1 syn 10w40 and try and change it every 3k or before just to keep it clean...cant hurt changin early, but changin late, now thats a different story. i wouldnt recommend going over 4k though...ive got some pictures of a v6 in a car i just put a motor in and it threw 2 rods out of each side of the block...change your fluids before they get dirty and youll get much better wear out of anything

 

[Bozman]

Oil and filters are cheap, engines are not. Words to live by.

 

[JT]

well keep riding at your own risk. one thing to consider on bikes is that it is not only engine oil but also the clutch / trany fluid... so you will get more stuff in there.... im sure a you can push it but your always safe when you do routine maintenance

 

[Bozman]

I bought my bike at 1301 2 months ago. It has 2500 on it now. Just drained the oil and it's fuel stunk and pretty dark. According to the dealer, the first service was done. Yamaha filter on as well so yamalube was probably in there. Pretty sure I'm gonna be changing mine at 2500 intervals unless when I change it the next time it comes out cleaner. Using mobile 1 synthetic so maybe it will come out a little better. I'm also that guy who changes his oil at 3500 in all the cars/trucks and runs full synthetic. Working in a shop for this many years I've seen too many negative side effects to not changing oil so I go WAY overkill on these things. BUT, My cars and trucks run well into the 250K range and the engine is clean.

 

[Lilday]

My bike is @ 13,000 miles and has had 5 oil changes. All 5 changes I gave it a new filter too.

Probably gonna do it ever 4,000 miles from here on.

 

[leem00]

At my 4k mile oil change I switched to Yamalube 15-50 full synthetic and it has been great....but now coming up to my 8k mile service the oil still looks good,and still a somewhat clear gold color and has tacky ness between your fingers. By the way the oil looks I almost feel like I can keep going to 6k miles before I need to change it. Just wanted to ask if anybody else out there is going farther then 4k miles on full synthetic oilchanges?

Just because it looks clean, doesn't mean it is.....

If it smells burnt then its toast....I change mine every 3k....sometime it smells burnt, other times it doesn't...

 

[MNGreg]

I would change it every 4k regardless of how it looks. Then keep copies of the records as may need it for warranty if you still have the coverage. Beyond warranty, it is your choice. Personally though, as others have said, you can get your 3 qts for less than about $36.. thats cheap compared to a possible shortened life of the engine.

 

[jearnshaw]

Yeah I will play it safe and change the oil on the bike. For oil change intervials to me depends on the vehicle and the amount of miles when I picked up the said vehicle. For my Pontiac I run Mobile 1 and change it at 5k. The Subaru I run Mobile 1 and that gets changed at 7500.