Short Motorcycle OCI's - Change filter every time?

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I keep reading about 700 and less mile OCI's on motorcycles, because of the massive shearing that goes on in these engines/transmissions.

What I haven't noticed is whether people are changing their filters on a 700 mile OCI.

I use a pureone PL14610 on my bike, and this is extended I think an inch and a quarter from factory spec.

Is there a need to renew the filter at 700 oci just because the oil sheared? This is a car filter with presumably lots of media. My manual says to change the oil every 6k km's which is about 6 times as long as 700 miles. Not to mention the fact that there's more and better media in the pureone.

Any thoughts on renewing oil filters for sub 1500 mile OCI's?
 
I use the same filter, which is longer than OEM. I change the oil about every 1000-1300 miles and usually wait for every other change to change out the filter.
 
Thanks.

I thought I would go with a 1000-1300 mile OCI with Rotella 15w-40. It makes sense to change the filter every second time.
 
I'm with the others. There is no need to change the filter every oil change.

I would never go over the first 1000 kilos without changing the filter on a brand new engine.
 
Guys, I've been thinking about this.
rolleyes.gif


I had a standard length filter on my 1500 Classic, which I cut open after an oil change of 1350 miles. It's still early in this engine's life, and I found a sliver of metal in the pre-filter screen, so I figured I'd better look in the filter to see if there was more metal in it. Nope, it's clear, well, only a couple of specs of glitter. The oil is absent of glitter compared to the first two oil changes, which almost looked like liquid metalflake paint.

Anyway, I USUALLY run the filter through two oil changes. And I change the oil whenever I can detect a change in shift quality, which indicates shearing. Although I put a longer than standard filter on it this time, I'm going back to the shorter one...because the oil left in the filter is the sheared oil. So, the lower the volume of old sheared oil left in the bike, the better. And my quick-change strategy doesn't strain the capabilities of the filter itself.

Just a thought, bigger may not always be better!
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That's a good point titan.

Especially the way my filter is mounted. It's mounted vertically in the center of the U shaped oil pan at the bottom of the bike. The threaded end of the filter points up. When I remove the filter, it is always full to the brim of used oil. With the quick change tecnique, the entire volume of the filter will stay in the engine.

My thought is that the short OCI easily compensates for this.
 
> Jim S Scribbled: I keep reading about 700 and
> less mile OCI's on motorcycles, because of the
> massive shearing that goes on in these
> engines/transmissions.

Shifting on every bike I've ever owned started getting "notchy" after about 1000 miles on 20W-50 oil. I too assumed that this reflected the multi-grade oil sheared to a lower viscosity. Tried Mobile-1 15W-50 a couple times. Made the shifting real smooth in a 1972 Honda-350 (for a brief while), but it started out notchy in my Intruder 1400. Several years ago I tossed a single-weight oil into my motorcycle, and it started smooth, and stayed smooth all the way to my oil change interval of 2500 miles. Since then, I run automotive Pennzoil SAE-40 in one daughter's 750 Intruder, the other daughter's 920 Virago, and my own 1400 Intruder. Daughters don't put on all that many miles, so they get their oil changed once per year in the fall. Mine gets changed every 5000 miles.

Moral: Switch to a single grade SAE-30 (winter) or SAE-40 (summer) and stop worrying about oil shear. The single weights DON'T shear.

Regards, Gary in Sandy Eggo
 
That may be the trick, Gary. At least, get the narrowest spread of viscosity in a mineral oil. 20w-40 might be very good...at least, I think it would certainly be better than a 10w-40!
 
i usually go 3000 miles for my oci, this year i am going 5000-7000 miles.when i change the oil i will also do the filter. Im running the New amsoil motorcycle oil. btw im riding a kawasaki vulcan 2000. (V-twin) 2053cc's

http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/arkainzeye

ps. My owners booklet states a 7,000 mile or one year Oci, "with" a filter change at each oil change.

chris
 
I agree with Gary regarding the robust qualities of single grade oils.

In very hot weather I would be tempted to use it. But I do not live in sunny California. It is the cold starts in cool mornings that bother me.

Motorcycle engines have close tolerances and overhead cams. Oil needs to pump immediately and quickly. 30 or 40 weight oils are not going to circulate fast enough. Accelerated camshaft and valve stem/guide wear could occur as well as piston/cylinder. The transmission will do just fine and last forever, however.

Motorcycle manufacturers do not recommend specific grades of oil without just cause.
 
Rokky writes: I agree with Gary regarding the robust qualities of single grade oils. In very hot weather I would be tempted to use it. But I do not live in sunny California. It is the cold starts in cool mornings that bother me.

I respond: Canada, ayh. You're right, I don't worry that much about cold starts because my bike's garaged, and I never start my bike below 60F. Even then, though, I keep the rpm's real low for the first 4-5 minutes. By then, the oil's warmed some, and I can start letting the engine rpm come up. My oil at 60F has roughly the same viscosity as 10W-any oil at 35F. The manuals allow for 10W-any oil down to below 0F.

Rokky writes: Motorcycle engines have close tolerances and overhead cams. Oil needs to pump immediately and quickly. 30 or 40 weight oils are not going to circulate fast enough. Accelerated camshaft and valve stem/guide wear could occur as well as piston/cylinder. The transmission will do just fine and last forever, however.

I respond: Actually, air cooled engines are a little looser than most. Regarding the cam, the 1400's cam lobes sit in a "bathtub" of oil. They're coated with thick cold oil from the get-go. Valve guides have seals at the top to minimize oil flow to that area. Whatever oil does get in there I'd like to have as "thick" as possible so it stays around longer.

I DO concern myself with piston to cylinder lubrication as this depends on oil throw-off, and thicker oil doesn't make it's way past the rod bearings in great quantities. However, lubrication requirements and wear rate is related to relative part velocity. That's why I keep the engine rpm down for the first several minutes of a cold start. In fact, I live on a hill which allows all my cold starts to be drag starts. My first half mile is taken in 1st gear with no throttle applied (about 1000 rpm, and 5 mph).

One thing I NEVER do (that you see so many motorcyclists to) is rev the engine the second it starts - warm, cold, or otherwise. I thumb my starter with NO throttle, and it always starts within a second.

Regards, Gary in Sandy Eggo
 
Rokky writes: I agree with Gary regarding the robust qualities of single grade oils. In very hot weather I would be tempted to use it. But I do not live in sunny California. It is the cold starts in cool mornings that bother me.
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Even at 55-60F, the cold start bothers me too which is why I've kept the rpm's down for the first five minutes of engine operation, then gradually bring the speed up over the next five minutes.

Little clarification here. I don't use my bike for short jaunts. Every cold start results in 120-160 miles of riding. If I were to be doing a lot of short rides, I'd be using a 20W-50 multi-grade and changing it more frequently to accommodate the viscosity loss due to VI improver shearing.

BUT, I've just "stumbled" onto something that instills a LOT of confidence for very little effort. The night before I plan to go for a ride, I wedge a 100-watt round reflector shop light under the engine crankcase. Overnight, it heats the entire contents of the engine case about 25 degrees F. Worked better than I'd hoped for. Bike starts running right away with a high warmed up oil idle as opposed to the bogged down thicker oil idle that would be in effect for the first five miles, or so.

This is what I do to take the place of recreational oil changing.

Regards, Gary in Sandy Eggo
 
Titan writes: That may be the trick, Gary. At least, get the narrowest spread of viscosity in a mineral oil. 20w-40 might be very good...at least, I think it would certainly be better than a 10w-40.
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20W-40 disappeared off automobile supply shelves YEARS ago. Too bad. It seems to be available now only in Yamaha's motorcycle oil (which, like ALL motorcycle oils, is WAY overpriced).

Regards, Gary in Sandy Eggo
 
yep. That's one reason I'm using 15-40 Delo. Cheap. Available. Lasts at least 1000 miles, sometimes more, before I notice any degradation in shifting. I'm sure Amsoil's 20-50, as well as others, would be good. Really like your light-bulb trick, BTW!
 
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