What to believe: SERVICE or OWNERS Manual?

[avc8130]

I am about to embark on a ~1500 mile weekend. My bike currently has 3500 miles on the odometer.

I reviewed my documentation to see if I needed to service before, during or after the trip.

What I found?

Owners Manual: Oil change at 4k miles/6k kilometers
Service Manual: Oil change at 6k miles/10k kilometers

What's the deal? 4k sounds "traditional" and 6k seems more "modern". The old addage "every 3k" seems to be long in the tooth these days. My Buells were good for 6400 miles between service. My truck has an oil change countdown that extends past 12k often.

ac

 

[stevepsd]

I am about to embark on a ~1500 mile weekend. My bike currently has 3500 miles on the odometer.

I reviewed my documentation to see if I needed to service before, during or after the trip.

What I found?

Owners Manual: Oil change at 4k miles/6k kilometers
Service Manual: Oil change at 6k miles/10k kilometers

What's the deal? 4k sounds "traditional" and 6k seems more "modern". The old addage "every 3k" seems to be long in the tooth these days. My Buells were good for 6400 miles between service. My truck has an oil change countdown that extends past 12k often.

ac

Thats because your service manual is a bootleg copy of the Euro manual.

USA Owners Manual & Service Manual: Oil Change every 4000 miles / 6000 kilometers

Euro Owners Manual & Service Manual: Oil Change every 6000 miles / 10000 kilometers.

Since you have a USA bike and USA warranty, follow the USA service interval.

 

[cbat]

Don't worry about it. My Harley went 5K miles between changes and never burned a drop for the 4 years I had it. Change every 5; easy to remember on the odometer.

 

[avc8130]

Since you have a USA bike and USA warranty, follow the USA service interval.

Good call. I'll switch to the "Euro" maintenance after the 12 months are up.

 

[HoebSTer]

are you asking if you should change oil before you go? Well did you change it at 600-1000 miles range. Was that the last time you changed your oil? I am a bit overkill at times, I did mine at 400, 2800ish, then at 5800. The rear diff, i did at 400, then 5800 miles. Each is different. For the most part, I go 3000ish miles after whatever teh odometer is reading. I just put Moile 1 in mine for first time and notice notchier shifting than the old dinosaur oil i took out. Anyone else notice this?

 

[~TABASCO~]

Just put in some good synthetic and you will be good... + or - 1000 isnt going to hurt anything.. ::008::

 

[stevepsd]

I just put Moile 1 in mine for first time and notice notchier shifting than the old dinosaur oil i took out. Anyone else notice this?

I'm running Mobil 1 15w-50 in mine and he shifting is much smoother than before.

What Mobil 1 are you running?

 

[HoebSTer]

mobile 15 50 car oil. The same I have run the last 120k miles in my Honda's and VSTrom.

 

[stevepsd]

mobile 15 50 car oil. The same I have run the last 120k miles in my Honda's and VSTrom.

Same stuff I've used/using. Using it in my Tiger & KTM (and my '74 Triumph TR-6 car) along with the ST.

 

[avc8130]

Whoa, this wasn't supposed to be ANOTHER oil debate. We are discussing "frequency", not "type".
::002::

 

[HoebSTer]

My frequency is as stated above. 3-4000k miles per change.
::003::

 

[~TABASCO~]

Whoa, this wasn't supposed to be ANOTHER oil debate. We are discussing "frequency", not "type".
::002::

chill foo,

With synthetic I go longer.. 5-6'ish... With O'l school oil, many moons ago, maybe 3K

In my wife's car I run Gold cap Mobil 1.. It says it can go 15K.. So I have changed it several times at 15-16'ish.. Its golden... not brown or black... I don't think we can run this because of our wet clutch, but good stuff..

 

[stevepsd]

Whoa, this wasn't supposed to be ANOTHER oil debate. We are discussing "frequency", not "type".
::002::

Nah, we answered the original question in my first reply....then it morphed a bit, but not a oil debate, since we Hobster & I are using the same oil. ::001::

 

[avc8130]

Nah, we answered the original question in my first reply....then it morphed a bit, but not a oil debate, since we Hobster & I are using the same oil. ::001::

Oh, the technicalities! You've been watching too many TV law shows ::009::

::025:: ::025:: ::025::

 

[EricV]

Wait, you're using Synth, and still changing it at 3-4k? BWAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Stop listening to the tv and think about it. Oil seldom "breaks down", it just gets a little dirty with combustion waste by-products. The little smart car goes 10k on synth, per the owners manual. The S10 can handle a bit more. US Vs EU, hellloooo, 10k Kms is 6200 miles. Nice round number in metric. We get 4k in the owners manual, they get 10k Kms in theirs, same bike. Doh! Do what makes you happy. I split the difference, just for fun and do it every 5k. ;D

 

[protondecay123]

I'm running Mobil 1 15w-50 in mine and he shifting is much smoother than before.

What Mobil 1 are you running?

My experience as well using the exact same oil.

 

[cbrunsw]

I think it is wise to change oil every spring and mileage interval.

 

[avc8130]

I think it is wise to change oil every spring and mileage interval.

Wait a minute, I didn't see "change of season" anywhere in the owners or service manual! ::022::

 

[mcbrien]

To try to get back on track if you changed your oil at 600 miles I would change oil
when you get back . That way there's not a chance of a problem from an oil change .
Peace of mind . As for oil I don't believe the mobil 1 of new is the stuff we all got
such great results from in the past . I'm running Yamaha semi syn and time will tell .
5000 mi in 2 months , no problems yet .

 

[cbrunsw]

With my Tacoma the dealer changes my oil free every 6 months or 8,000km whichever comes first. The Tenere owners manual indicates an annual check and periodic checks for the motor oil. This means change the oil, the way I read it periodically or annually.