Oil Change Question

[cabreco]

How often should I change my oil?

This is currently the status of my bike. she has 15,000 original miles.

When I bought it Dec 2011 I added seafoam to the original oil that was in it. I ran it for 10 minutes then drained it & filled with oil, changed the filter added seafoam again to the crankcase ran it for about 100 miles & drained it & replaced the filter again. After that she was really clean.

 

I did an oil change/filter again with Rotella T 15w 40 oil. That was last May. Now since the oil change I have put about 2000 miles on her in the last year. She never sits idle I ride her at least a few miles 3 or 4 times a week. I know the manual says annually but then oil technology has change significantly in 30 years.

 

So this being the case, what frequency should I use to change the oil? or should I use mileage?

 

Now if I use Synthetic Rotella would the change interval change?

Edited April 21, 2013 by cabreco

[Freebird]

My rule of thumb, and others here will have differing opinions, is 3,000 miles with regular oil and 5,000 with synthetic. Now if you don't ride that many miles, I would say twice per year.

[Snaggletooth]

Been doing mine every 3,000 miles since I got it 32,000 milas ago. If the bike sits in the cold weather for any length of time over winter storage I change it in the spring before I ride for the season. Kind of a anti-condensation measure. The bike is at almost at 68,000 miles now and holding up fine.

 

I know some people argue the new oils can go much longer without breaking down but so far, as I know, oil still gets dirty as fast as it used to.

[tdodd94]

My general rule of thumb is also 3,000 miles. However I did get a spin on adapter this season. I am extremely impressed with speed in which I can do a change now, and of course not rounding off those oil filter bolts .

[bongobobny]

Yah! The big thing to remember is that oil, once it is used, ages, so you should change it every 6 months, orm if you are up north, every season...

[cabreco]

My general rule of thumb is also 3,000 miles. However I did get a spin on adapter this season. I am extremely impressed with speed in which I can do a change now, and of course not rounding off those oil filter bolts .

 

I was looking into that too. What filter do you use? Also, does the crossmember get in the way?

[Snaggletooth]

Any of these should work and I think a few others have been found to work also.

 

As long as it's the shorter type it's fine.

 

A plier type filter wrench will be handy to remove the old one. No room for filter end cap socket and some strap wrenches don't fit in there either. It is close with the cross member.

 

 

Oil Filter (Gold) FIL 1381

Product Line: NAPA Filters

Interchange Mfg.: Fram (Autolite)

Interchange Mfg. Part Number: PH3950

 

Oil Filter (NASCAR) NFI 91381

Product Line: NASCAR Select Filters

Interchange Mfg.: Fram (Autolite)

Interchange Mfg. Part Number: PH3950

 

Oil Filter - Mobil One MFI M1105

Product Line: Mobil One Filters

Interchange Mfg.: Fram (Autolite)

Interchange Mfg. Part Number: PH3950

 

Oil Filter (ProSelect) SFI 21381

Product Line: NAPA ProSelect Filters

Interchange Mfg.: Fram (Autolite)

Interchange Mfg. Part Number: PH3950

 

Oil Filter - K&N Filters BK 7355554

Product Line: Balkamp

Interchange Mfg.: Fram (Autolite)

Interchange Mfg. Part Number: PH3950 BK 7355554

[Venturous Randy]

If you are only putting 2000 miles on the bike in a year and still riding it 3 to 4 times a week, you are taking very short rides. To me, this is very hard on your oil as you are not routinely getting the bike up to a good operating temperature and baking out the moisture. Given this, I would change the oil at least two times a year, or every 1,000 miles. I would be more comfortable if you were putting 10,000 miles on the bike a year and changing it every 5,000 miles, even with dino oil. Routine short trips are hard on any vehicle.

RandyA

[cabreco]

If you are only putting 2000 miles on the bike in a year and still riding it 3 to 4 times a week, you are taking very short rides. To me, this is very hard on your oil as you are not routinely getting the bike up to a good operating temperature and baking out the moisture. Given this, I would change the oil at least two times a year, or every 1,000 miles. I would be more comfortable if you were putting 10,000 miles on the bike a year and changing it every 5,000 miles, even with dino oil. Routine short trips are hard on any vehicle.

RandyA

 

Randy

Wait until we move out to Tri Cities area next year. I guarantee there will be a lot more miles driven per year!

[timgray]

Your bike is a wet clutch, so clutch material get's in the oil every time you use the clutch, I strongly suggest oil changes on the short side because of this.

 

Think of it this way, every time you shift you are throwing dirt in your oil. Do you really want to ride 5000 miles on an oil filter that is getting overwhelmed like that? the stock filters do NOT have a bypass valve, so when they get clogged you get a engine starved of oil.

 

Everything on the internet about car oil needs to be thrown away when talking about it's life when used in a motorcycle with a wet clutch.

[Venturous Randy]

Your bike is a wet clutch, so clutch material get's in the oil every time you use the clutch, I strongly suggest oil changes on the short side because of this.

 

Think of it this way, every time you shift you are throwing dirt in your oil. Do you really want to ride 5000 miles on an oil filter that is getting overwhelmed like that? the stock filters do NOT have a bypass valve, so when they get clogged you get a engine starved of oil.QUOTE]

 

I disagree about the clutch fibers. If the clutch wear was that severe, our clutches would not last 5,000 miles. I have yet to measure clutch discs with 100,000 miles on them that were under spec.

Cabreco, come on down. This is a good place to live.

RandyA

[Yamamike]

My rule of thumb, and others here will have differing opinions, is 3,000 miles with regular oil and 5,000 with synthetic. Now if you don't ride that many miles, I would say twice per year.

 

3000 miles or six months...whichever comes first!!

[Yamamike]

I agree Randy...I've never used anything but automotive motor oil in any of the many bikes I've owned. Even my motocross bikes which if ridden hard are about as hard as you can be on a clutch with all that slipping coming out of corners.

I've read many tests done to compare automotive oil to motorcycle specific oil...not a single one has even come close to making me change over.

[cabreco]

 

Cabreco, come on down. This is a good place to live.

RandyA

 

We scoped it out a year ago, it looked great. Now that my son is graduating H.S. it would be a good time to move. He's eyeing East Tennessee State University.

The real estate market is better here too.

Looking at those 4000 + sq ft county houses on 10 acres.

 

Definitely have to hook up once we get there.

 

BTW how is your grandson recovering?

[dallas27]

i have a 1987 venture 1300 i got a k&n oil filter what kind of oil should i be using it it thanks

[Venturous Randy]

We scoped it out a year ago, it looked great. Now that my son is graduating H.S. it would be a good time to move. He's eyeing East Tennessee State University.

The real estate market is better here too.

Looking at those 4000 + sq ft county houses on 10 acres.

 

Definitely have to hook up once we get there.

 

BTW how is your grandson recovering?

 

Shane is doing very well considering the extent of his injury. He still has a bit of a limp but is getting his strength back.

If you are going to be looking for a real estate agent, my sister and her husband have their own company and are tops in sales in the area. Just let me know.

RandyA

[darthandy]

I agree Randy...I've never used anything but automotive motor oil in any of the many bikes I've owned. Even my motocross bikes which if ridden hard are about as hard as you can be on a clutch with all that slipping coming out of corners.

I've read many tests done to compare automotive oil to motorcycle specific oil...not a single one has even come close to making me change over.

 

That's true up to a point. If you use one of the "energy conserving" auto oils which contain a certain "friction modifier" (Something with zinc, I believe), it will cause your clutch to slip badly and the plates to overheat. There is some sort of logo on the oil container (Sorry - can't remember what it is, but it's on this site somewhere) that indicates that it is an energy conserving type oil. This is where the Rotella diesel oil is nice, since it meets all the requirements for a motorcycle oil but doesn't use the friction modifier and is therefore safe to use with a "wet" clutch. As a side bonus, it is quite inexpensive, even as a synthetic. At the end of the day, keeping to the factory recommended oil change intervals and changing the filter at each oil change is far more important and has a far greater effect than the brand of oil or filter you use. Just my opinion maybe, but after 45 + years of driving, riding and racing and watching what the pro's did with their machines, I feel my opinion on the subject is pretty reasonable.

 

Andy

[Geobob]

This is an interesting thread for several reasons. I have been riding and changing bike oil for a little over 30 years and never used "motorcycle oil". Everyone I talked to said regular oil was fine and we found Mobil one to give a better or smoother shift to our CBXs.

 

So last summer my girlfriend buys a bike while I'm out of town and has to take it to some local garage to have the oil changed.

 

They told her they could not or would not put anything in the bike other than motorcycle oil. I thought this was crazy and a waist of money.

 

Now just after that I got the Venture out and for the first time in 60k miles the clutch has started to slip at high speeds under hard excelleration.

 

I just changed the oil this year and put synthetic motorcycle oil it it. It still slips.

So where should I read next. I don't think changing out the clutch is out of the question at this age and milage but it would be nice to fix it by just sticking with a certain type of oil if that would work.

 

The bike is very ridable so I could easily keep riding it and just keep changing the oil with motorcycle oil and hope the problem goes away but I kind of doubt that will happen.

 

What say all of you.

[Yamamike]

My rule of thumb, and others here will have differing opinions, is 3,000 miles with regular oil and 5,000 with synthetic. Now if you don't ride that many miles, I would say twice per year.

 

3000miles or 6 months...whichever comes first!!

[Yamamike]

This is an interesting thread for several reasons. I have been riding and changing bike oil for a little over 30 years and never used "motorcycle oil". Everyone I talked to said regular oil was fine and we found Mobil one to give a better or smoother shift to our CBXs.

 

So last summer my girlfriend buys a bike while I'm out of town and has to take it to some local garage to have the oil changed.

 

They told her they could not or would not put anything in the bike other than motorcycle oil. I thought this was crazy and a waist of money.

 

Now just after that I got the Venture out and for the first time in 60k miles the clutch has started to slip at high speeds under hard excelleration.

 

I just changed the oil this year and put synthetic motorcycle oil it it. It still slips.

So where should I read next. I don't think changing out the clutch is out of the question at this age and milage but it would be nice to fix it by just sticking with a certain type of oil if that would work.

 

The bike is very ridable so I could easily keep riding it and just keep changing the oil with motorcycle oil and hope the problem goes away but I kind of doubt that will happen.

 

What say all of you.

 

Probly just need new clutch spring...had the same issue with my 83...changed springs, problem solved!! Check your plates once you have it open though.

[Snaggletooth]

I think my '84 was around 55 or 60K miles when I started to get the clutch slip under hard accel in 4th and 5th gear. As I was ready to buy a trailer and install my hitch I went ahead and got the clutch upgrade kit from Skydoc_17. New springs, fiber disks and the full disk to replace the half disk.

 

Not one problem since, pulling the trailer or not. Solid hookup all the way through the gears.

 

Some times it's just ... time.

[Big Lou]

Got an 89 1300: Just had clutch out.got one speedo with 12K,an another with 63K with bike dont know which one is right,HAD a slip on hard accel,in 4th an 5th, deburred basket,metal rings in clutch had hot spots,took fine emery cloth on table an polished with a board,,,dude before me used castrol car oil. I use rotella, pulls a lots better an never slips.i had it apart for mains an tranny clips,,,,

[dacheedah]

change the oil, filter and crush washer each change, every 3000

[bongobobny]

This is an interesting thread for several reasons. I have been riding and changing bike oil for a little over 30 years and never used "motorcycle oil". Everyone I talked to said regular oil was fine and we found Mobil one to give a better or smoother shift to our CBXs.

 

So last summer my girlfriend buys a bike while I'm out of town and has to take it to some local garage to have the oil changed.

 

They told her they could not or would not put anything in the bike other than motorcycle oil. I thought this was crazy and a waist of money.

 

Now just after that I got the Venture out and for the first time in 60k miles the clutch has started to slip at high speeds under hard excelleration.

 

I just changed the oil this year and put synthetic motorcycle oil it it. It still slips.

So where should I read next. I don't think changing out the clutch is out of the question at this age and milage but it would be nice to fix it by just sticking with a certain type of oil if that would work.

 

The bike is very ridable so I could easily keep riding it and just keep changing the oil with motorcycle oil and hope the problem goes away but I kind of doubt that will happen.

 

What say all of you.

We have "wet" clutches, and any oil with friction modifiers is suicide to them, along with any friction modifiers.

 

Now, another point so you know, the clutch configuration for the MK1 and MK2 is different, no "H.D. springs" mod available for '86 up. The clutch changeout is not hard at all, but there are some aftermarket pieces that make it even stronger...