Oil change interval R69S

[Rotten]

Currently I have synthetic 20-50 oil in my R69S that has only been in the bike for 500 miles (none around town or short jaunts). It's been in there about 7 years but it still has that nice clear amber color. Is it really deteriorating and picking up contaminants while sitting in a heated garage during all this time?

I'm not cheap or averse to changing the oil but I would hate to discard perfectly good lubricant.

Any opinions?

[DarrylRi]

It's not that the oil is deteriorating, it's that the combustion byproducts, along with any water that condenses in your cases, combine to form acids that can work away at your bearings.

You're half way to an oil change anyway. With such a short change interval, it may not make sense to spend money on synthetic oil when a petroleum oil will not have a chance to break down.

Keep in mind that these motors don't have an oil filter (in the way that we think of it today). Wear and combustion byproducts just recirculate through the motor until the oil is changed. The only thing that serves as a filter are the slinger rings on the crankshaft (http://darryl.crafty-fox.com/motorcycles/slingers.htm).

[rpeckham136133]

Unhh.... are we talking seven years? :scratch

Low miles are generally harder on an engine and oil, simply because there are more starts and stops, and oil never gets really hot. Hot oil will at least vaporize water (condensation), but the contaminants stay in the oil. As Darryl mentioned, the only way to remove wear/contaminants is to change the oil. Halfway to an oil change at 500 miles, yes, but WAY overdue for the sitting-around time if it has been seven years.....!


:)