Danny S Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I looked at the service manual and it says to change the oil every 1800 miles. That seems pretty short. I just went over my first 2k and thought I should check when they recommend. So I'm not far over that. Does everyone change their oil that often? Link to comment
Boffin Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 What bike are we talking about here? The standard oil change interval for an oilhead is 6000 miles or 1 year unless operated in very dusty conditions. Andy Link to comment
Danny S Posted February 12, 2011 Author Share Posted February 12, 2011 Wait maybe I read the manual wrong. I think that's (1800 miles) for short trip, cold weather... Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Wait maybe I read the manual wrong. I think that's (1800 miles) for short trip, cold weather... The official BMW service manual published in 2000 for oilhead bikes says the oil change interval is 6000 miles for "normal" operating conditons. But: "for short-distance driving or outside temperatures below 0°C every 3 months, every 3,000 km (1,800 miles) at the latest." I guess this is the "1800 miles" you saw? When I think of "dusty" conditions, I'm not envisioning the occasional patch of gravel road traversed by a road-going RT, but more like a GS that spends the majority of its life off-road. Your own bike, you be the judge. Link to comment
Danny S Posted February 12, 2011 Author Share Posted February 12, 2011 Right, that's what I was reading. I think I'll use 5k. Thanks Link to comment
OlGeezer Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 Right, that's what I was reading. I think I'll use 5k. Thanks The regular service interval is 6k miles. It makes sense to change your oil at that time rather than something else. You won't be gaining anything by changing your oil more frequently as long as you are using a quality oil and filter. When I first got my bike, I changed every 3k miles, but I was running Castrol GTX. I'm now running Mobil 1 and change every 6k miles. Link to comment
philbytx Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Mobil1 20w50 at 6k intervals..... Link to comment
WildeKurt Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I've always tried to stay somewhere between 3-6K between oil changes, usually closer to 3. My oilhead now has 85K on the clock with no engine issues to date. Link to comment
Joe Frickin' Friday Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 The oilhead manual isn't very specific about what constitutes a "short" trip. My car's manual says to go with the shorter oil change interval if you make frequent trips of less than 10 miles, with each trip followed by a cold soak (i.e. the next start is a cold-start); I would expect a similar standard to apply to the bike. BMW's spec for shortening the interval due to cold weather riding is 0C (32F). This doesn't mean that you need to shorten the interval if you once went for a ride when it was 25F out; just like the "frequent" standard for short trips, shortening the interval is only appropriate if you spend a lot of time riding at sub-freezing temps. I've always tried to stay somewhere between 3-6K between oil changes, usually closer to 3. My oilhead now has 85K on the clock with no engine issues to date. A number of people on this site have had their used oil tested by labs (e.g. Blackstone Labs), and the results have consistently shown that the oil can go a lot longer than 6000 miles between changes: it's not horribly contaminated at the 6K mile mark, and the important additives are still present in copious amounts. For the vast majority of riders, changing the oil at any interval short of 6K miles is a waste of money and time. Link to comment
KDeline Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I've always tried to stay somewhere between 3-6K between oil changes, usually closer to 3. My oilhead now has 85K on the clock with no engine issues to date. And I change anywhere between 15000 and 18000 miles. Two bikes I own now have around 75000 miles and two that I sold at 130,000 and 160,000 miles. No oil related issues. Link to comment
WildeKurt Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 What does the oil look like at 15K? Do you have to add any between changes? Link to comment
AndyS Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 For what it's worth, how many of you have worn an engine out? When BMW give a periodicity of 6000 miles, they are factoring in the worst things possible. By changing the oil more regularly, what are you actually achieving apart for more use of fossil fuels and contamination problems. These are not high spec engines and don't get ridden to within an inch of their life. If that were the case, then sure it makes sense to be more rigerous with changes, but not under day to day riding. Andy Link to comment
VinnyR11 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I'm with KDeline and Andy. I never fret when going a few thousand over the spec'd change intervals. I've done that on all my cars and bikes with the only exception being a Porsche that I tracked regularly. I keep my vehicles for many years (recently sold my '96 RT), and I've never ever have had an oil related issue. For others, the "insurance" factor and many other reasons make it worth it to them to change it per the specs. Link to comment
KDeline Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 What does the oil look like at 15K? Do you have to add any between changes? Well the oil is dark but not opaque black. I'm guessing I add about a quart and a half over that mileage and I do change out the filter at least once between changes. When my wife and I rode 13,500 miles to Alaska and back each GSA took about a quart, including one filter change. Just MHO, anything more and you are throwing money and finite resourses away. Link to comment
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