Oil change

[CBRandy]

Afternoon.
Just wondering how often you all change ur oil and filter.
Honda say every 12.000 but thats seems a lot to me.

When i had my zx-6r used to do it every 4.000.

Cheers

Andy

[menzies3032]

Mine gets done once a year in March. This bike normally does about 3000 to 4000 miles per year but still like to change it as the oil is the life blood of your bike.

[Jimbo04zx10r]

This simply comes down to

How you ride

As a commuter with no hard riding then follow manufactures recommended service intervals

Sunny day fast road rider then I would personally half the manufactures service intervals

Fast road and track then I would personally change oil and filter after 2/3 track days depending how I rode and what I was trying to achieve.

[billinom8s]

Road Bike gets a change every year - September time.

Trackbike gets a change every 5-6 trackdays.

[Bullet]

Oil chang, wtf am i missing something

[ptolemyx]

Next you'll be asking which oil to use.........

[Jimbo04zx10r]

Why not!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone has their preference on oil, depending on the use of the bike asking what oil works best would be a valid question.

[billinom8s]

Not car oil

[Jimbo04zx10r]

And don't fill it all the way to the top of the engine.

[Mervin]

All good questions , I know they hold more oil and have centrifugal filters etc , but in the heavy trucks we change the oil every 6 months or about 30,000 kms i think , but someone told me the secret is to always change the filter, some peiple only do the filter every other change , flse economy i am told , the filter could block and cause problems , and always use a good quality filter

[CBRandy]

Pardon me for asking questions dont think ill bother again

[Jug]

CBRandy - I think you did quite well there really.

Out of 9 replies you got 4 that were actually answering your question.
All were generally on topic and no-one yet has suggested you should probably save your service money and spend it on track time instead.

[CBRandy]

Thx to the ones who posted a sensible answer.but think ive saìd b4 track days dont intrest me same for rideouts really after a bad experience a few years ago

[billinom8s]

people have posted on here that they've used car oil in as it's cheaper, then found out that they get clutch slip.

[TLS-Moose]

Nowadays it's just an annual change for mine, which equates to about every 1000 miles at best I do it in spring/start of riding year so the bike has nice fresh oil to run on for the year.

Always make sure you use the correct grade & Jaso/API standard. A cheaper oil changed frequently is better than an expensive one changed rarely is the adage drummed into me from early years.

In the past I always used comma car oil for most Japanese bikes (Kawasaki's & Suzuki's), including the TL, without issue ...... But then I had issues with a Yamaha Exup 1000 which both drank it like a Scotsman at Hogmanay and suffered a little clutch slip. A change to silkolene bike oil solved the slip and helped the consumption a little. The only bike I've ever had that didn't like car oil when used on it.

Nowadays, if bought wisely, bike oil is as cheap as car oil so you might as well use the right stuff.

More important than expensive oil is a decent filter, changed every time the oil is drained. I tend to use OE filters .... There are horror stories out there of significant failures from pattern ones - K&N in particular had issues - and with one of mine in particular mechanical catastrophe will not be a pleasant experience for the piggy bank ...... I also use a magnetic drain plug, which can be a little scary!

Oh, and a little aside - short, stop/start commuter journeys in autumn/winter can actually place a greater strain on oils as they often don't get up to operating temperature until just before the bike is stopped. The cold/hot/cold cycle is such that condensation is more likely to form, creating moisture in the oil which isn't good.