Guest lnelson Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I bought my bike in January, and I'm creeping up on the 4k mile mark. My rear tire is toast, so replacing the tires is a no-brainer. My question is regarding the oil change. The manual calls for 8k mile oil changes, or once per year, whichever comes first. My dealer recommends (or more bluntly "expects") it to be changed every 4k miles. I'm a huge critic of dealers that over-service vehicles to make extra money off of their customers. At the same time, I want to take care of my bike as best I can for my own use, and for the resale to next guy. For me, it's not an issue of money, but more of proper vehicle care, dealer business ethics, and wastefulness. I doubt very few have had the opportunity to tear down 7th gen engines at various intervals to inspect them for wear, so I expect the discussion will remain primarily opinion, but I'm still very interested to hear yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Yokel Posted July 2, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 2, 2012 Well, opinion for what it's worth... Regarding the oil changes... 1st at 1k, 2nd at 5k. Both of those were with dinosaur juice oil. Did my 3rd oil change at 7k and swapped to full-synthetic. I did my 3rd so quickly since it was already in the shop needing some new tires, figured while it's there may as well switch out. I ran the regular oil to help with the break-in, swapped to synthetic and felt notably smoother shifting, better cold-engine life and it seems to me to rev more freely. Maybe that's all in my head, but there ya have it. As far as maintenance intervals, I plan on changing oil every 4 months (3x year) simply because I do a LOT of varied riding. With how I ride, that will tally up to about 6k intervals, well within the factory specs. When I was working at a local auto dealer, one of my technicians came to me one day and said: "Ya know... if people would change their fluids regularly we wouldn't see 1/2 the business we do." That statement made me a believer in doing it perhaps MORE often than required by the manufacturer. After all, the manufacturer makes money if a component fails. You have to buy a new component. The shop I go to, the money I spend on regular maintenance stays local. I like that idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted July 2, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 2, 2012 The only way to know for sure is to test the oil. Blackstone labs does that and can tell you if your oil interval is good or not. I have seen posts of people that have their oil checked roughly at 3500 miles and Blackstone says change it within 1000 miles and then also on the other end of the spectrum, somebody sends thier sample in at 7500 miles and Blackstone says they can go another 2000 mile. - - It depends on riding conditions. For me, if the oil starts to look like Guiness, I change it. That tends to be around the 4K mark anyhoo. One of these times, I am going to get it tested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchgixxer Posted July 2, 2012 Share Posted July 2, 2012 I read the Honda service manual. Doing more service than that is a waist of money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onokiyo Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I read the Honda service manual. Doing more service than that is a waist of money. I agree. In addition, I will use full-synthetic oil and follow the user's manual. I brought my bike to a dealer the other day, the svc manager said: "After giving you a free oil change, the bill is $170 for other services". That threw me off completely. I did not want to confront him but I already told myself not to bring the bike back there again! I will spend that $170 to get the Pit-bull lift and change the oil myself. Since I do that for all my cars, why not learning to do it for my motorcycle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer texasvfr Posted July 22, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 22, 2012 +1 Send it to Blackwell Labs to know for sure. Got test results back within four days for around 30 dollars. Why guess ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted July 22, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 22, 2012 Why guess ?? Exactly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Yokel Posted July 22, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 22, 2012 +1 Send it to Blackwell Labs to know for sure. Got test results back within four days for around 30 dollars. Why guess ?? Any of you guys have contact information for this group? I'm curious. Is it Blackstone or Blackwell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer mello dude Posted July 22, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 22, 2012 +1 Send it to Blackwell Labs to know for sure. Got test results back within four days for around 30 dollars. Why guess ?? Any of you guys have contact information for this group? I'm curious. Is it Blackstone or Blackwell? http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Yokel Posted July 22, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 22, 2012 +1 Send it to Blackwell Labs to know for sure. Got test results back within four days for around 30 dollars. Why guess ?? Any of you guys have contact information for this group? I'm curious. Is it Blackstone or Blackwell? http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ Great! Thanks mellow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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