South West Bikers | Motorcycle Forum

It's something that gets right on my tits...
Changing 1 year old oil that has only done 750 miles, when the engine is rated to 4,500 miles per oil change.

Is there really any need to do it annually regardless of mileage?

BTW - right off the bat I'm banning the use of the following terms,

Peace of mind
Cheap insurance
Life blood of the engine


Please refrain from using these..

Why would you?

Oil sits on the shelf for years?

Change it when it's had it's life beaten out of it.

What bike is it?
What useage does it get,

If it's just touring etc then fine, leave it 2 years or so,
If track days/racing/hard use then when you feel it needs it.

For the cost of oil and a filter, (£60 max)
Why would you not do it though?

Do it annually if the bike is in warranty or it'll be invalidated. Out of warranty, do it by mileage.

My ancient Czechoslovakian granny tells me that oil breaks down, even in an unopened container. Once opened, some parts of it's make up becomes acidic, some create 'sludge' and thereby thicken the fluid. Furthermore, in an engine that is not used, the water content is not boiled off, emulsifying the oil.

Me? Change every 18 months.

Else, ride it more or get different tits.

Where's oilman ???

Depends also on what type and quality of oil you use, I'd be much happier exceeding the recommended service intervals with a fully synthetic oil than I would with a mineral oil. I change my oil and filter once a year just to be on the safe side as I recon its the lifeblood of the engine so it makes sense to keep it in good condition.

If you have a chip shop nearby they'll let you have oil for free so you can change as often as you like

pieeater wrote:I recon its the lifeblood of the engine

Got one, right that's 20 sit ups as punishment. Lucking they can be done over 20 days.

billinom8s wrote:Why would you?
Oil sits on the shelf for years?
Change it when it's had it's life beaten out of it.

Well... yes, exactly... but you try admitting that to the population at large.. you'll be treat like a leper who's got a fetish for engine damage.

Ruffian wrote:What bike is it?
What useage does it get,
For the cost of oil and a filter, (£60 max)
Why would you not do it though?

Not 1 but 3 bikes, all have different lives. The most powerful probably has the easiest life, the tourer gets spanked a bit as she's just a 650, and the trail bike hardly gets used nowadays but when she does it's hard on the oil due to the type of riding.

Why would you not do it...?
I've been trying to come up with a suitable analogy but I'm having trouble.. I suppose it's like changing your car battery every 5 years whether it's failing or not, just because that's the myth about how long they are suppose to last. I know that's not the same, as a failing battery won't cause engine damage, but hopefully you catch my drift.
It's just a waste, and I hate waste.
The smart thing to do would be to send a sample off for analysis but I think that would also be a waste of money after so little useage, and it costs about the same as an oil & filter.

Gimlet wrote:Do it annually if the bike is in warranty or it'll be invalidated. Out of warranty, do it by mileage.

Sounds good - is that what you do?

MellowYellow wrote:oil breaks down, even in an unopened container. Once opened, some parts of it's make up becomes acidic, some create 'sludge' and thereby thicken the fluid.

Yes, a manufacturer told me the shelf life of an unopened bottle is 5 years, but as long as separation hasn't occurred, or crystals formed it's probably still good.
The acid only occurs when exposed to combustion gases, however there are chemicals in the oil that are there specifically to neutralize these, and there is enough of them to last longer that the service interval.

Furthermore, in an engine that is not used, the water content is not boiled off, emulsifying the oil.

I'd have to assume that unless the engine is used in very short cycles that most of the water has been removed due to the heat & the crankcase breather system. However there will still be a small amount left in at teh end of each use. I'd imagine that this water vapour is absorbed by the oil as teh engine cools and is then neutralised by the oil.

Me? Change every 18 months.
Sounds a good plan.

Else, ride it more or get different tits.
Sounds good, will inform girlfriend of need to change tits.

pieeater wrote:Depends also on what type and quality of oil you use, I'd be much happier exceeding the recommended service intervals with a fully synthetic oil than I would with a mineral oil.

As would I.

I basically just think the oil service interval is a con.
Dealers know that, due to the poor quality of old fashioned mineral oil (and old fashioned engines), that it's ground into our collective psyche that we mustn't miss and oil change, whether we need it or not...

They therefore rely on this fear to actually get us to bring our vehicles back to them for a service every year regardless of mileage.

When looking to buy a used vehicle I don't look at what date a service was done at, I look at what mileage.

This makes interesting reading if you're interested enough to persevere to the end https://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oil.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

pieeater wrote:This makes interesting reading if you're interested enough to persevere to the end https://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Oil.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Generally for me, the trackbike gets an oil and filter change before the first Trackdays I do in the year.

The road bike will get one every 4000 miles. Or straight away if it's a pre owned bike.

I think the rule of do whatever makes you happy comes in here, If you do a low mileage and are happy changing your oil every 2 years or more then use a good synthetic and a good quality filter, I have been told in the past the filter change is more important than the oil change , if you are happiest changing it once a month then do so ,