before winter or after

[mrjlube]

My bike is due for an oil change but winter is coming. I have about 2 moths of riding left. I hate going over. I run mobil 1 15w50 in the summer but its getting cool now and want to do the oil change with mobil 1 5w50. I have the oil but should i do it now and leave the new oil in all winter? and if i do that is it still good after 3 months in storage? i hate to change it then have to do it again when i bring it out in the spring! is all that changing necessary?? Thank you so much for all your help!!

 

[dparm]

I would just leave it as-is and change it in the spring. An extra 2 months probably will not cause a big problem unless you're planning to race it every day.

 

[gathermewool]

IMO, it doesn't matter.

 

[mrjlube]

I could leave it but it cranks slow in the cooler weather with the thicker oil???

 

[Finn]

IMHO the basic question is how old is the oil you have in now? Unless it's recently changed I would change it now before storage and then just start riding when the season starts. There's no need to change unused oil again after storage.

 

[dwendt44]

15W-40 is still pumpable down to below freezing. Unless you are going to ride in that cold weather, wait a bit and change just before storage.

The idea is to flush the acids and any water in the used oil out so it's not there to do any damage during winter lay up.

However, that has been the 'wisdom' for ages and may no longer apply with HDEO or synthetic oils.

 

[Redline955]

I always change my oil when I lay the bike up for the winter, then I just fire the bike up in the spring and go. I don't know if it's still true, but I've heard that the acids from combustion will potentially do damage if left sitting in used oil through the winter. It's an inexpensive thing to do for peace of mind...

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Redline955
I always change my oil when I lay the bike up for the winter, then I just fire the bike up in the spring and go. I don't know if it's still true, but I've heard that the acids from combustion will potentially do damage if left sitting in used oil through the winter. It's an inexpensive thing to do for peace of mind...


That's what I do too...

 

[eljefino]

UOAs on reasonably used oil show it's not used up nor full of acid. IOW still protecting.

Oil sitting in the sump isn't going bad, either.

There's no wrong answer! Protect your fuel, battery, and if need be, against critters getting into holes.

 

[Drew2000]

I'd change it now with 5W40 Rotella and leave it in through next spring's riding. Slightly thinner for the cooler weather and the HDEO's are especially good at neutralizing any acids that might form.