First Oil Change

[BarryGT]

I have 830 km on my bike am I'm planning on a long ride. Should I change the oil now or wait until my ride is over? 

[Ride365]

Wait......

[BarryGT]

What is the maximum mileage I should be cautious about?

[MightBeSasquatch]

Depends how long the ride is I would say.... This whole "break in" subject can be contentious. If your first 830 km were spirited enough I'd say change it now and before you winter it. 

[PhotoAl]

I would go ahead and change it now.  Think 1st is at 1,000 km so close enough.  I had 629 miles on mine at 1st service but that was over 3 days so only 3 of starts from cold. 

[kilo3]

Depends on how old and grouchy you are, I'm plenty grouchy so I dump my oil as soon as i passed 100 freedom units to get the bits and pieces out.  Then again at 1k because I use oil made from eagle feathers and that stuff expires.

[Grumpy Goat]

6 hours ago, BarryGT said:

I have 830 km on my bike am I'm planning on a long ride. Should I change the oil now or wait until my ride is over? 

I suggest you change it now as you are close enough to the conventional first oil change of 600 miles. First oil change usually has the most stuff in the oil and you are saving nothing by waiting. Later oil changes can be more safely stretched out.

[afineAmerican]

No harm in changing it now. The first few thousand miles are critical to the longevity of the motor. 

[2and3cylinders]

I agree with kelo

in fact I change the Motor oil but not necessarily the filter in a 100 miles or less because that's when all the bits are mating with each other and come loose

 Going through 5 or 6 heat cycles in the 1st 100 miles is best for wearing-in

 I'm sort of the type who says ride it like is stole it from day one

2nd oil change with filter with filter at 5 or 600 miles

After 3 or 4000 miles you can switch from regular Dino oil to a full synthetic like shell rotella t6 5W40 even though they say go with 10W40

Hasn't bothered my 100000 plus mile bikes one iota with the slightly lighter bottom weight

[ZigMerid]

3 hours ago, afineAmerican said:

No harm in changing it now. The first few thousand miles are critical to the longevity of the motor. 

Agreed. If you're old skool and think that the run-in period is when the metal surfaces are getting all friendly with each other and microscopic metal fragments are deposited into the oil, then your initial batch of oil and the oil filter have already done the hard yards at 830km (hard meters maybe?).

Better not to have that goop in the system any longer than necessary if you're going on an extended trip.

I don't know whether it's still true, but I was under the impression that the initial batch of oil is especially selected for run-in and may differ from the regular oil used at each change. Does anyone know whether this is still the case?

Edited August 27, 2022 by ZigMerid

[BarryGT]

I believe there are additives for break in, hence the 1000 km change schedule. I went ahead and changed the oil and filter.

[kilo3]

7 hours ago, ZigMerid said:

I don't know whether it's still true, but I was under the impression that the initial batch of oil is especially selected for run-in and may differ from the regular oil used at each change. Does anyone know whether this is still the case?

No that's also a hold over of lore from the 70-80's. Lot of people still believe it, along with somehow thinking an OEM engine needs to break in. This ain't no V8 you out together in your crusty ass garage with only a cylinder hone.

[betoney]

22 hours ago, BarryGT said:

I have 830 km on my bike am I'm planning on a long ride. Should I change the oil now or wait until my ride is over? 

Considering how many particles I found in the oil on the first change, I would do it now.  I changed mine at 100 miles and there was a lot of silvery particles, I changed it again at 1000 miles and then normal intervals thereafter.

[oregonian]

Now that the OP has changed the oil and settled the topic, can we discuss when he/she should switch to synthetic oil and whether or not semi-synthetic is a recommended step along that route?  

[miweber929]

2 minutes ago, oregonian said:

Now that the OP has changed the oil and settled the topic, can we discuss when he/she should switch to synthetic oil and whether or not semi-synthetic is a recommended step along that route?  

Most motors nowadays are coming right from the factory with synthetic oil so change when you want to change, and semi synthetic is fine as well. I run full Shell “Ducati” synthetic in my Ducati, Maxima semi synthetic in my “older” bikes and put the Yamaha branded non-racing synthetic into the Tracer. All work great.