Oil changes

[phil]

Just bought a new 1150gs the owners manual says 5000 mile oil change.The dealer told me 3000?I did the 600 mile service.Is it 3000 or 5000 intervals?

[jdiaz]

Originally posted by phil
Just bought a new 1150gs the owners manual says 5000 mile oil change.The dealer told me 3000?I did the 600 mile service.Is it 3000 or 5000 intervals?
I usually change oil/filter at 3K intervals, since more major services are required at 6K intervals. Seems like an easy way to remember it.

[Wes]

If your question is "is it ok to only change every 5,000 miles?" - the answer is an emphatic "yes". But if you want to change at earlier intervals, by all means do so - it's your bike and you won't hurt anything by doing so.

[oldcarkook]

Don't forget to check the clutch freeplay when you change oil. You need to constantly adjust (even minor) the clutch freeplay as the clutch wears down to prevent it from slipping.

This is especially noticeable when the bike is new, but even still if that little bit of freeplay is snugged up, then the clutch does not fully engage and wear accelerates at an exponential rate.

Experience is the comb that mother nature gives us when we are bald.

Don't ask me how I know this.
Kook
http://www.oldgmctrucks.com/smilies/homer.gif

[lorazepam]

Does that include hydraulic clutches?

[knary]

Originally posted by lorazepam
Does that include hydraulic clutches?

Nope.

Oil changes?Are you sure it says 5,000 miles and not 6,000 miles?

For me, it depends on the riding. In the summer months, I go 6k miles between changes. During the winter, when I'm riding less and the bike is exposed to lots more moisture, I do it every 3k miles or so.

I'm considering going to a 5k service interval so that I don't have to do any "difficult" math. :)

[flash412]

Originally posted by phil
The dealer told me 3000?I did the 600 mile service. And I bet the dealer would be thrilled if you paid him to change the oil every 100 miles, too. If BMW says 6000, you can BET that is plenty good enough. I've done an oil assay series, along with serveral other folks. Running modern oils 6000 miles in an F650 (which has a wet clutch that shares the oil) proves that at 6000 miles (and even more than 7000 miles (http://flash412.home.comcast.net/Lubriport-0211.jpg)) the oil still has plenty of life left in it (as can be seen by the high TBN in the linked assay report).

Oil is like religion. There are folks who will tell you to change it every 3000. They have no basis for that opinion. There are folks who will tell you to change it every 1000. They have less than no factual basis for that opinion. If the warranty requires 5000 or 6000, then you have the factory's opinion, and you can BET that they have a basis AND that it is on the conservative side. If you are concerned that is too long... then get your oil assayed and find out. Oil and lubrication is science, folks, not religion.

And now I don my Nomex suit in preparation for the hellfire and damnation from the adherants of the Change Your Oil Daily or Suffer Total and Immediate Breakdown Congregation. Their uncle heard from some guy who knew some guy who found that if you change it more often, good things might happen. (Then again, they might not. And nobody has any numbers to prove that they will.)