Not used much lately... Oil change needed?

[alquimista]

Hi 

I have an FJ09 2016... Excellent conditions, 27,000 kms. In the last year, I have not used it much. I changed oil last July 2019 with Motul full synthetic... I heard that it can last around 10,000 kms. Yet, if I don't use the bike too much, viscosity is in degradation any way? Since last change I have had only 4000 kms, in around 6 months. Should I change the oil? Or wait until around 10,000 since last change? 

[johnmark101]

Oil is cheap compared to any lubrication related issues.  I would change it.  Even with a good quality synthetic, changing the oil and filter every 6 months or 6000 miles is a good idea.  

[1moreroad]

Do you need to? Probably not. I went a year with low mileage and 1 oil change with no issue. Could you put another 2k on it in the next couple of months? That would be the regular oil change.

That said, how much does an oil change cost? Maybe US$30 in materials and 30 minutes on the center stand? If you're wondering about it, that's cheap insurance. 

[bamarider]

With a high guality oil that your using, I would wait till at least july before I chang it.

[chitown]

No way. June! 

Sorry. Oil thread

 

[roadwarrior]

I'm not a big mileage guy and rarely put on more than 3,000mi in a year.

I change my oil annually in the fall before I put the bike away for the winter.  I wouldn't ever go more than a year without changing the oil though.

I've never had a problem with this oil change frequency.  My previous, previous bike was a Honda Magna with 87,000 miles on odometer.

Edited January 17, 2020 by roadwarrior

[koth442]

I recommend annual oil change.

[nhchris]

With the clutch awash in engine oil the situation is a bit different than with a car's engine. 

I mean, who knows what friction-nasties sluff off the clutch plates now and again and get carried throughout by the circulating oil.  YUCK!!

As has been said,  a 5K oil change is cheap insurance and a great way to show the love to your ride.

Edited January 18, 2020 by nhchris

[norcal616]

I really don't see the need for uber fancy oil with motorcycles... I change the oil when the "normal shift feeling" to me is gone vs using it till it hits 13424675 miles cuz its uber fancy synthetic oil... I use regular ole Yamalube and usually change oil/filter around 2700-3500 miles... on my turbo FZ-07 the oil changes will be around 1000miles 😅

[betoney]

21 hours ago, alquimista said:

I changed oil last July 2019 with Motul full synthetic...

Since last change I have had only 4000 kms, in around 6 months. Should I change the oil? Or wait until around 10,000 since last change? 

Motul full synthetic is between $17 and $22 per liter (7100 or 300v?)   Changing it with only 2500 miles of use seems foolish to me, kind of expensive to throw it away for no reason.  

[Dave76]

I don't do high mileage, I'll probably do about 4,000 miles by the time the bikes 12 months old in March. The bike will get an oil change then. I'll be sticking to the oil change interval as recommended in the book. 

 

Some of you would have a fit with what BMW recommend on my car, that's 20,000 miles or 2 years. 

[johnmark101]

9 hours ago, betoney said:

Motul full synthetic is between $17 and $22 per liter (7100 or 300v?)   Changing it with only 2500 miles of use seems foolish to me, kind of expensive to throw it away for no reason.  

That is some expensive oil for sure.  

Not trying to turn this into an oil thread, but there are good quality synthetics available for $10 a quart.  That would make changing the oil cost about $40 bucks with an OEM filter.  At that price I don't mind changing it every 5000 miles.

[DavidS]

Oil and filter change is a cheap thing to do at home, so I do mine every 3000 miles. Yes, it is probably overkill, but clean oil won't hurt your bike, and I always feel better running with fresh oil and a new filter.

Before I started riding year round, I would always change the oil when I put the bike down for the winter, and change it again before I took the first ride in Spring. Now I just change it first weekend after I hit 3000 miles since my last change.

 

[nhchris]

One thing nice about this bike is that an oil / filter change could not be made any easier.  The drain plus is right there and the filter is super accessible also.

As opposed to spark plug changes, which require disassembly of most of the motorcycle every 4K miles to check the gap!  Ridiculous!

Edited January 20, 2020 by nhchris

[betoney]

8 minutes ago, nhchris said:

As opposed to spark plug changes, which require disassembly of most of the motorcycle every 4K miles to check the gap!  Ridiculous!

Whats ridiculous is the manual recommending to check and replace the plugs so often.  Completely unnecessary.

I have never checked or inspected mine, only had them changed when the valves were adjusted at 23k and 44k on my FJ and at 25k and 50k on my previous FZ1, every time the mechanic said that the plugs looked great and did not recommend changing them any sooner.  YMMV.