I change it in the fall/winter after hunting season. Have 1999 Suzuki 300 (original King Quad). It sits all winter, then I do some trail riding, mostly around the yard and at the cabin. Works a lot during Oct, Nov, and Dec though.
How often do you change ATV oil?
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I have a Suzuki Eiger I use a WIX Filter and Valvoline ATV oil I get it at Autozone. I change it once a year. I really only use it August through January. We use it for hunting. I mean we use the heck out of it its always strapped with weight.
I have a 08 trx450er. I use the silver bottle of honda oil with moly on the engine side , and the red bottle of tranny fluid on the clutch side. Change every 4 rides wich works out to be once a month.
i change the oil with honda 10w40 oil in the '91 fourtrax 4wd every year. Around spring or summer.
If you run your machine in a lot of mud and water with the possibility of ingesting moisture, or in very dusty environments, you should change your oil often. Mileage is not a good way to calibrate ATV use. Hours of operation is better. If you're running in moderate to average riding conditions and moderate demand on the machine, once a year is enough with any decent quality HDEO. I don't worry about leaving the oil in over the winter. Did it for well over 25 years with my old Suzuki engines and never had a problem with them. I still do the same with my new machines. In the fall, I usually put my machines away after running them up to full operating temps. That pretty much ensures moisture is cooked out of the oil.
If the machine is seeing hard service, I'd be changing the oil at least monthly. If the machine is submerged sufficiently to stall the engine, an immediate oil/filter change is required as well as subsequent engine flush(s) to remove as much moisture from the oil as possible.
Oil management is all about common sense. Buy good quality oil suitable for the application, change it as deemed necessary to meet operating conditions. I prefer HDEOs. Great oil for very good prices. If the machine is to see winter service, go with a Synthetic, something like Rotella T6.
If the machine is seeing hard service, I'd be changing the oil at least monthly. If the machine is submerged sufficiently to stall the engine, an immediate oil/filter change is required as well as subsequent engine flush(s) to remove as much moisture from the oil as possible.
Oil management is all about common sense. Buy good quality oil suitable for the application, change it as deemed necessary to meet operating conditions. I prefer HDEOs. Great oil for very good prices. If the machine is to see winter service, go with a Synthetic, something like Rotella T6.
I change twice a year....Rotella 15w40 in the spring, Rotella T 5w40 in the fall.
Twice a year for me. Spring and late fall. Most of my riding is summer of course. I don't submarine the ATV nor do I abuse it in any way....but if you ride in swamps or mud a lot, what boraticus posted was accurate.
once a year for me. My quad is is used mostly for Hunting it rarely sees high rpm's
I think it depends a lot on your operating conditions. When i rode a lot with my atv club, we would put 200 to 400 miles on in 3 or 4 days riding nothing but trails, and coal roads. Very dusty and lots of creeks ect. For this condition i change it every ride with fresh 15w40. Not at all because im worried that the oil is worn out but more that ATVs tend to ingest a lot of dust that can end up into oil. I never bought boutique oils just store brand HDEO. My dad uses his for nothing but hunting, fishing and farm type stuff. He is very comfortable using a very good quality oil and running it 50 to 100 hrs, which is the books recommendation. Honestly, more than an oil selection i think people should really focus on air filters. The first thing i usually see is people throwing a K&N filter on there and then not oiling properly which is crucial to its performance. Many bikes will end up burning oil due to not using air filters properly or not keeping them cleaned. Also keep an eye on differentials. They very often get water in them and the fluid is nasty. I almost always drain and refill my diffs if i have been in alot of water and deep water. I have on several occasions found water in them. Then other times when i almost know im going to see water intrusion the fluid is very clean and clear. Its cheap insurance for me. My atv trips usually cost about 300 dollars so another 10 in fluids just for insurance does not bother me. To me the oil is almost the last thing to worry about on an ATV. Use any HDEO or whatever an keep changes reasonable and dont worry about it.
I change it once a year in my 2008 Kawasaki 650i Brute Force. With Amsoil 10w40mcf with an over sized mobil one oil filter. it gets changed in the summer.
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