Change oil now, or wait until spring?

[ADKsuper10]

My riding season is near at an end and as luck would have it I am almost at my oil change interval.

So - in all likelyhood my S10 will sit from about November until late May (early June depending on weather).

What do you guys recommend - let it sit all winter and chang oil in spring? Or change oil in fall before storing it?

 

[markjenn]

Change it prior to storage. it makes no sense to have the dirty oil sitting in the crankcase all winter encouraging corrosion and deposits.

Some would recommend another change in the spring, but this has never made sense to me as clean oil doesn't age sitting in the crankcase.

Having said all this, if your current oil is at a normal OCI (e.g., 4K miles), nothing untoward will happen if you postpone the change until spring. We're talking about marginal stuff here. But if you have a choice, there is no doubt now is better; how much better, hard to say.

- Mark

 

[deftoner]

Exactly as Markjenn said.

For me, and for the love for my s10, in case of storage I will change the oil.

Here is some advice about storing a bike for winter http://www.motorex.com/index.cfm?oid=1993&lang=en

 

[Brick]

I don't have to put bike up for winter now that I live in North Carolina. But when I lived in Ohio I ALWAYS put my bikes up with clean oil. Then rode them in the spring perhaps less than the normal interval and changed again. Just my $.02 worth.


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[ADKsuper10]

Right on that what I was thinking. It's a bummer to have to park the bike for 5 months or so....

I think I will change oil & filter along with shaft drive oil. Maybe go for a firtst ride in spring and then just change oil only and leave the fiter for the next OCI.

 

[RED CAT]

When you do change the oil. Make sure to start the bike up and let it run till it reaches operating temp before you shut it down for the winter. Had a friend change the oil before winter and then didn't start it to circulate. When spring came it was hard to start and rattled pretty hard for 30 seconds. Had to have done some internal damage.

 

[ADKsuper10]

When you do change the oil. Make sure to start the bike up and let it run till it reaches operating temp before you shut it down for the winter. Had a friend change the oil before winter and then didn't start it to circulate. When spring came it was hard to start and rattled pretty hard for 30 seconds. Had to have done some internal damage.

Ouch yeah that must have caused him to wince. I will likely take at least one short ride after the change so no worries there. Thanks.

 

[WJBertrand]

Right on that what I was thinking. It's a bummer to have to park the bike for 5 months or so....

I think I will change oil & filter along with shaft drive oil. Maybe go for a firtst ride in spring and then just change oil only and leave the fiter for the next OCI.

I wouldn't bother with the second change until I reached the next OCI interval. Waste of perfectly good oil otherwise. Nothing's going to happen to the oil sitting in storage.

 

[ADKsuper10]

Yeah that could just be my OCD kicking in.....and on that note:

BTW - do most of you follow the 4,000 mile OCI in the owner's manual or do you change earlier?

I am approaching the 3,000 mile mark - and am only thinking about changing it at 3,000 because that's what one of the mechanics said would do for an OCI.

So if I wait, I will end up parking it and not changing it out until spring cause I won't be anywhere near 4,000.

 

[WJBertrand]

I use a full synthetic (Castrol 4T 10w-50) and change every 5K. Easier to remember that way.

 

[RED CAT]

Always do my 1st oil change at 1000kms. Then switch to syn oil. Also dump the FD every time I change the engine oil too. Cheap insurance. Run Syn 75/90 Gear Oil in the FD also.

 

[markjenn]

4K miles for an OCI is pretty conservative these days, especially if you use synthetic oil. Yamaha Europe, for the identical bike/engine, recommends 10K km (6.2K miles) and 6K miles is becoming very common in the US for a wide variety of bikes. (Yamaha is one of the few that is remaining "old school" with 4K.) Triumph has gone to 10K miles, albeit requiring synthetic oil.

There is nothing wrong with a shorter OCI, of course, but you'd be very hard pressed to show any benefit going shorter than 4K. That being said, if you're putting an engine to bed for the winter and it has 3K, I'd change it. Similarly, if I knew I was going to be at 5K at the end of the season, I'd just let it go to 5K. There is nothing sacrosanct about OCIs and no need to get anal about hitting an exact number.

- Mark

 

[RED CAT]

Changing engine oil should be based on your type riding. If you're only riding paved roads, I agree 5000km/10,000kms but in N.A. a lot of us ride gravel/dirt and jeep trails on a regular basis requiring more frequent oil changes. Not to mention stream crossings and muddy sections too.

 

[RhodeTrip]

If more than 500 miles I always change it prior to storage; my belief is that any products of combustion that may have found their way into the oil are corrosive so why chance it? Oil, oil filter and StarBrite enzyme additive to the fuel and finally throw the battery on a charger. During the winter I clean and lube all moving parts, change the air filter and add any new toys to it; the first time that all the ice melt is off the streets I'm ready to go. Five months is a bummer, by the end of the second month I have run out of trips to plan and can't wait to get back on the road; hope you have a sled or some other winter distraction.
Jim

 

[ADKsuper10]

If more than 500 miles I always change it prior to storage; my belief is that any products of combustion that may have found their way into the oil are corrosive so why chance it? Oil, oil filter and StarBrite enzyme additive to the fuel and finally throw the battery on a charger. During the winter I clean and lube all moving parts, change the air filter and add any new toys to it; the first time that all the ice melt is off the streets I'm ready to go. Five months is a bummer, by the end of the second month I have run out of trips to plan and can't wait to get back on the road; hope you have a sled or some other winter distraction.
Jim

The end of the riding season transitions right into deer hunting season, which transitions into grouse hunting, then coyote hunting, then the remainder of winter/spring to obsess over bike mods or more hunting gear!! About two months of downtime between riding season and some type of hunting. If I could only find a hobby to carry me over......

 

[bigbob]

What is this thing called "storage" that I read? If the temp is positive do you not use your 10? (R.E.M. I understand your use of storage! And my Roadmaster gets covered.) if you have off road tires and the roads are not "snow/ice" covered ride it!


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[bob dirt]

Holy cow...Riding season? Storage? Man I'd move west so you don't have to store anything. Just changed my oil today on my Wing and Tenere. I'm ready for another couple of month's 8) ::001::

 

[dietDrThunder]

I wouldn't bother with the second change until I reached the next OCI interval. Waste of perfectly good oil otherwise. Nothing's going to happen to the oil sitting in storage.

Exactly this.

GE tit hot, change it before parking it, then in the Spring ride until your next scheduled change. Any condensation in the oil will burn off the first time you get the motor hot.

 

[JRE]

I always do an oil change before storing it for the winter, regardless if it's time or not. In the grand scheme of things, the cost of oil, filter, etc is nothing vs the peace of mind and it's so easy to do.

 

[ADKsuper10]

Well did the oil and shaft drive oil change, washed her up, and covered her for the winter......see her again in May probably.