Changin Urhl, Earl, Oil, ?

[ashman]

Hola,
I know for cars 3 months/3k miles is average for oil changes. I've heard the same for bikes(assuming normal riding condtions.) Recently I've read things about people saying they change the oil every 900 miles? Whats the general opinion? I think I'm sticking w/ 3k/3 month, too pricey otherwise.
-ash

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-Ben Franklin

[Rich500]

I run mine real hard quite a lot of the time, and put in full synthetic every 2 months, or about 1800-2000km, but I am probably being a little to generous to the GS.

[Lars]

Oil change interval is 6000 km or 4000 miles. It's a waste of money to change the oil after 2500 km, if you buy quality oil it easily lasts 6000 km.

BTW.  changing the oil in a car after only 3000 miles also seems fast to me.  My parents car (Alfa Romeo) has an oil change interval of 10000 km, wich is considered nothing special.

[Blueknyt]

yeah. have to agree, with todays oils, as long as its a decent grade/brand oil, and average rideing/driveing  climate, 3-4K miles is not unreasonable. if you ride hard or hot weather then change it more. good quality filters also can extend the life of oil.  some racers i have known change their oil 2 x in a 3 day race weekend. they save the old stuff for lawnmowers and that spare 2 quarts for roadtrip vehicles. but thats their choice.

[jtenright]

I have worked at an Autoshop for a while, and w/ the cars today and cycles too, you can go 10K really, but 5K to be safe,
problems only happen when U leave it in way too long, but most of the time its from running low!(I have seen both many times, funny how bad some ppl are at taking care of their cars)
w/ all my cars I change it every 4K or so w/ quality oil and filters
I would say for a bike 2-4K depending how far U comute and easy those miles are

cars I have owned:

Bike use synthetic 5w 40 (only owned for 3 weeks )

Audi A4 use OEM Bocshe filters only!!!(don't wanna explain why, just believe me) w/ Mobil 1 synthetic 5w 30(mild climate) or 0w 40 (every 3-5K b/c of Turbo)

Old Toyota truck decent oil and a little thicker 10w 40(b/c of it runs hot from carb, Header, and cam setup, and isn't leak proof) w/ just a Fram filter

[dmp221]

Maybe I'm just overly skeptical, or look for the "money trail" to answer a lot of questions.   Let's talk about who recommends frequent change intervals:

1. Manufacturers: recommend frequent oil/filter changes.  The more frequent change intervals provide an additional margin of safety against engine damage and more importantly, the possibility of resultant warranty and even out of warranty claims down the road.  It costs the manufacturer nothing to specify frequent oil/filter changes, and they have everything to gain.  The owner pays.

2.  Oil companies: no need to elaborate here.  They sell oil.

3.  Dealerships:  see #2, and add "they sell filters and bill by the hours."

Once my vehicles are out of warranty, I about double the change intervals based on riding conditions at the time (using top quality products).  To date, Amsoil (which I have nothing to do with except I sometimes use their stuff) is the only oil company I know of to debunk the frequent change intervals in writing.

[yamahonkawazuki]

another thing to keep an eye on is the oil, if it is black, change, if gritty, determine problem and change, if you just bought, or cant remember when last changed, change :mrgreen:  

[paui]

do u guys use motorcycle specific oil? do u car-oil guys notice anything different? mc oil costs so much.....