Change Oil Or Not?

[Steelshoe]

OK...here's the deal. I changed my oil and filter last October 25th, just before I put my bike away. I run Mobil 1 V-Twin 20w 50. My work requires me to travel, so I'm GONE somewhere away from home M-F, and then having to relocate from Ohio to Nebraska for a job promotion, I rode my bike less than 1,500 miles this year. Would you STILL change the oil before putting the bike away, or would you just ride it another season and change it next fall? Like I said, because of work, even by next fall I probably still won't have 4,000 miles on the oil after two years. I just hate to throw away $40 worth of oil when it has less than 1,500 miles on it. Seems such a needless thing to do. If Mobil 1 is supposed to be that good (and I believe it is, that's why I use it) can't it go two seasons and be OK? Welcome your thoughts......

 

[Hammehead]

The main problem with storage is corrosion. Looks like the oil still has plenty of TBN. PCMO isn´t the same as v.g. Aircraft Piston engine oil (low add oil). PCMO has a lot of detergents, antirust and antioxidants, so you can store a vehicle with partially used engine pcm oil for much longer time. 2 years is usually easy on a 4k miles oil.

 

[Steelshoe]

So, I should be OK to just store the bike with this oil, and ride it another season with no worries?

 

[VeryNoisyPoet]

Keep the oil for another season. Battery going dead and stale gas are much more a concern than oil if the bike will sit. Take it for a nice long cruise when you bring it back out of storage. Your bike will be just fine, and your wallet will thank you.

Also

 

[irv]

There's a reason most/all oil manus and vehicle manus recommend annual oil changes despite the amount of miles on the oil

It very well could be fine still but personally I'd change it out.

I ride snowmobiles and the last few I have only gotten out a few times each season due to my son's hockey. It pains me to dump it, synthetic at that, but out it goes every spring just before summer storage.

 

[CT8]

Change the oil.

 

[Steelshoe]

"Change the oil"......."no, it's fine"..........."no, change it".........."you'll be fine".............


A lot of conflicting viewpoints. The one thing I question is this......how dirty, contaminated, acidic, etc. can a top shelf synthetic oil be after only 1500 miles? If it's so bad that I need to change it after so few miles, then Mobil One V-Twin is a waste of money. JMHO.

BTW, two Harley technicians told me that they'd run the bike to 5,000 miles on that oil, and not to worry about it. I'm really confused on what to do. Part of me says "change it" because I always have before storage, then another part of me says that it's still so clean, dumping it would just be a waste. There doesn't seem to be a consensus on this subject.

 

[turtlevette]

Originally Posted by irv
There's a reason most/all oil manus and vehicle manus recommend annual oil changes despite the amount of miles on the oil
.


You forgot to tell us the reason.

 

[blupupher]

Lots of short trips, I would change it.
Mix of long and short, or mostly long rides, keep it in another year.

What bike are we talking about anyway?

 

[BrocLuno]

Mostly it depends on how hot it got and for how long. Not as in overheating the oil, but as in hot enough to get any water/acid out of it. If it was ridden 100 miles before you turned it off, I'd just let it go. If all it did was bar hopping, I'd change it ...

If it was/is a fuel injected bike I'd be very happy to let it go another year. A carb'd bike with a black exhaust, maybe not so much ...

 

[bonjo]

the normal recommendation is to change the oil before storage. So here is the 1rst commandment!

You can off course bend the rules depending on your situation.

The byproducts of the combustion chamber,heat, acid, water, fuel to name but few do affect the oil performance of the oil in addition to time ageing.

To what extend, it varies. Depenging on the bike, the oil and the climat.

Putting the two together you get all kinds of replies & recommendation hence your confusion. In short either you obey the 1st commandment or make you own decision.

I stored my bikes for 1.5 year and did not change the oil which was full synth. The oils were less than 6 months old and I think less than 1000 miles. The engines didn't fall apart or something like that. Wether the oil protection was reduced, I coudn't tell but I do an oil change at 1/2 the manufacturers interval anyway.

 

[DuckRyder]

You don't need to change 1500 mile V-Twin. Ive had TAN run on it after 15 months or so and it was fine. As long as the bike is out of warranty run it...

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted by DuckRyder
You don't need to change 1500 mile V-Twin.... run it...


100% agree

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Don't change. Nothing will be wrong with the oil. Its loaded with overbase detergents to quell any acids. Keep it.,

 

[totegoat]

No need to change the oil. Plug in a battery tender and start the engine when you can.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted by totegoat
No need to change the oil. Plug in a battery tender and start the engine when you can.


If you are going to start the engine when you can, make sure you run it for at least 10 minutes. If you only start and stop it for a few moments you are introducing/doing more harm than good.
The engine needs to be hot enough to burn off moisture plus a myriad of other things.

With my 4 stroke snowmobile, I run Seafoam through the system for at least 10 minutes then I fog the engine with engine storage spray until the engine dies.
After that, I syphon out the gas and call it a year. This is done after an oil change and I do a lot more to the sled but that's pretty much it until the fall engine wise.

 

[Steelshoe]

I ALWAYS fill the tank with fresh gas, treat it with Stabil, wash and detail the bike, jack it up to get the weight off the tires, and NORMALLY change the oil. This will be the first year I am thinking of skipping the oil change. The oil is CLEAN. The only concern I have is running it for TWO years without changing it. Is that (the two years) a concern? Every thing I've read says change your oil according to mileage.......or....ONCE A YEAR. Why once a year if the oil is almost new, mileage wise? Does something happen to the oil after a year, or is this just a sales gimmick by the oil companies?

 

[irv]

Originally Posted by Steelshoe
I ALWAYS fill the tank with fresh gas, treat it with Stabil, wash and detail the bike, jack it up to get the weight off the tires, and NORMALLY change the oil. This will be the first year I am thinking of skipping the oil change. The oil is CLEAN. The only concern I have is running it for TWO years without changing it. Is that (the two years) a concern? Every thing I've read says change your oil according to mileage.......or....ONCE A YEAR. Why once a year if the oil is almost new, mileage wise? Does something happen to the oil after a year, or is this just a sales gimmick by the oil companies?


I know that filling the tank with fuel seems to be the recommendation but I don't buy it. The reason for it is due to the possibility of condensation but I believe, depending on the environment/area where one lives should also be factored in. My sled sits in the garage year around and my other is stored in my trailer in a huge shed.
Not once have I ever had a problem with condensation in either sled, nor atvs, nor dirt bikes. Imo, it is much better to add brand new fuel when the times comes rather than trying to burn up old stagnant fuel that has sat for an extended period of time.
With the use of Sea foam, it not only stabilizes but cleans as well. I have bottles of Stabil on my shelf that I haven't used in years. When fall comes and I fill up my sleds, they also get a dose of Sea Foam just in case their is a slight chance of moisture in the my tanks. Sea Foam will remove that as well.

As far as an annual oil change goes, it may be an old recommendation now but it is one I still follow. Many articles/info exist out there, as well as what's written in owners manuals and oil manufacturers info/guides that still recommend it so I continue to follow that recommendation/advice.

Here is one from a big article. There are others.
https://www.edmunds.com/car-care/when-should-you-change-your-oil.html

If you have a weekend car or put very low miles on your vehicle, you'll have to change your maintenance strategy a bit. Robert Sutherland, principal scientist at Pennzoil Passenger Car Engine Lubricants, says that over time, oil becomes contaminated by gases that blow by the pistons, and the longer the oil sits with that contamination, the more it degrades.

 

[blupupher]

Originally Posted by Steelshoe
I ALWAYS fill the tank with fresh gas, treat it with Stabil, wash and detail the bike, jack it up to get the weight off the tires, and NORMALLY change the oil. This will be the first year I am thinking of skipping the oil change. The oil is CLEAN. The only concern I have is running it for TWO years without changing it. Is that (the two years) a concern? Every thing I've read says change your oil according to mileage.......or....ONCE A YEAR. Why once a year if the oil is almost new, mileage wise? Does something happen to the oil after a year, or is this just a sales gimmick by the oil companies?


This is for a regularly driven vehicle, not a weekend only vehicle.

If you only drive 6 miles a day, 5 days a week, you will only put on 1500 miles in a year, but that is a hard 1500 miles, and most likely has high moisture and fuel dilution. You need an annual oil change in this case.

If you drive 150 miles at a time 10 days a year, still the same 1500 miles, but much easier miles than above, and an annual oil change is probably not needed.

the in between driving is what is sometimes hard to decide when to do it.
My truck get driven ~4500 miles a year, but they are mostly short trip miles, so I have switched to an annual change.

 

[Steelshoe]

My rides have been a mixture of both. Some 40-50 mile rides, maybe a little further than that, some 25-30 mile rides, a few 10-15 mile rides, and some quick trips to the store type rides. Like I said, the oil looks as clean as the day it came out of the bottle. As I posted above, two HD techs I've asked about it told me to go ahead and ride it until I get to about 5,000 miles on the oil, then change. They said 1500 miles on a fresh synthetic oil change is nothing. When I asked them about the two year time span, one of them said "that oil has no idea it's two years old!" LOL Funny, but it makes sense when you think about how long it may have sat on a shelf somewhere in a store.