Oil change between 600 and 4000 miles?

[freezingalaskan]

Yes, I have heard about that theory about letting it break in. With the mileage you guys in lower 48 states put on your bikes, we in Alaska are put to shame (although not our fault). Our riding season is really short up here compared to lower 48, and for me to wait 12000 miles before using the synthetic oil I bought today would mean I would switch in about 6 years, if I ride as much per year average as I have the last four years. Being from Sweden originally, with the weather being very similar to Alaska, I put about 3000 miles on my old trusty Suzuki XN85 Turbo back there per year. But then I was young and without obligations (family).
If you look at craigslist Alaska it is amazing how many old bikes you can find here with low mileage. So, as a tip, if you are looking for low mileage bikes that are older and affordable, you should fly up here to buy, and ride back down the Alaska Highway. Who knows, maybe in ten years you will be able to buy my NT700 with 20,000 miles on it for a grand or two.

freezingalaskan

 

[Herb]

Igot convinced by my old Shadow group to go with Rotella 5/40 synthetic and the Wally World st6607filter. Also big debates about when it's ok to switch to syn. The people that seemed to have the most experience and authority convinced me that an early change is fine.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Re: Early Change to Synthetic Oil

It's my understanding that Corvettes and Porsches now come from the factories with synthetic oil. I'm thinking that the wait till 10K miles theory was based more on tradition than on science.

 

[karl]

Computer control machining makes better parts today (if that is in the business plan). My 1990 miata had a decal under the hood telling you not to use synthetic oil. Many of the gaskets needed the swelling effect of mineral oil to prevent excessive leaks. It has had synthetic in it for years now. True synthetics built from non petroleum base stock are out there they go for about $60. plus a quart and are found in aviation primarily. The stuff we find on the shelf at pep boys and such is better than conventional oil the biggest selling point for me is it is more resistant to breaking down but conventional mineral oil is good too. Recall the Sears and Robuck marketing good, better, best, If we only got what we pay for.
My goal for my NT is to have my kids sell it after I die and it should still be in good working order if it wasn't the crash that killed me. Keeping the bike lubricated is a big part of that and the oil in the sump is a big part of that. I don't know of a brand that is really bad on one hand and don't know of any that are a lot better on the other. good luck and
enjoy

 

[jadorff]

i use castrol active motorcycle oil, and change the oil every 7000km oil filtet every second change i get the filters from yamarah as they get the honder oil filer in cheaper then the honder dealer

 

[NCpkwyrider1]

Thanks for all the responses. I'll change the oil at 3K miles and every 3K from then on. This seemed to work well on my other street bikes. And yeah, I'll stick to Honda oil and Honda filter. Small price to pay to protect my investment.

 

[karl]

What has not been addressed is conservation of a limited resource that transfers our national wealth to parts of the world I prefer not to support. I have no intention on replacing the engine in my bike any time soon and following the factory recommendations should so that for you. It certainly won't void the massive warranty.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I agree with you about this, Karl. I will go with the 8,000 mile oil change interval. Using synthetic truck oil (Shell Rotella-T) in the Connies I rode, I typically went with 10,000 mile intervals.

 

[Chuck 500]

I plan to go with what the owner's manual says. It seems to me that pretty smart engineers work this stuff out and it is no advantage to Honda to have bikes failing due to oil issues.

Chuck

 

[karl]

Dave in response to your question:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pour_point vs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscosity

synthetics are all designer molecules that have some of the properties that the additives in conventional mineral oils handle. The reason you change oil is the additive package wearing out and contamination. The oil itself is just as good as when it got poured in in the first place.

 

[ARKNT]

I just thought I would re-emphasize the need for the correct oil filter size. I just changed the oil and found a dent in the old filter. I installed the new filter and re-inspected after I pushed the bike off the center stand. The top of the stand cut the new filter can. I replaced that filter and tie wrapped the center stand up until a shorter length filter is installed.
I thought I had the correct filter but evidently the cross reference I used was off. The longer filter I had installed was a Fram PH6017A. What part number filters are you all using? I may stick to OEM until I find a good replacement.
Thanks to you forum guys for alerting me to filter issue. Otherwise I may have squirted oil on rear tire and/or ruined the engine.

ARKNT

 

[ARKNT]

oil filter trouble

I thought I would add a couple pictures so you can see problems if the longer oil filters are used.

ARKNT

 

[Phil Tarman]

Scary!!!!!!!!

 

[Chucksklrst]

I just thought I would re-emphasize the need for the correct oil filter size. I just changed the oil and found a dent in the old filter. I installed the new filter and re-inspected after I pushed the bike off the center stand. The top of the stand cut the new filter can. I replaced that filter and tie wrapped the center stand up until a shorter length filter is installed.
I thought I had the correct filter but evidently the cross reference I used was off. The longer filter I had installed was a Fram PH6017A. What part number filters are you all using? I may stick to OEM until I find a good replacement.
Thanks to you forum guys for alerting me to filter issue. Otherwise I may have squirted oil on rear tire and/or ruined the engine.

ARKNT

I am using a Walmart Super Tech ST6607. It is the correct size. I have measured it at 2.5 inch long. Same filter I use in my ST1300.