Oil change after 1000 miles. Is it needed???

[EP46]

The bike had a full service at the start of this year, but sadly I could only manage 1000 miles before it had to be put away for winter.
Is it going to need another oil change at the start of next year after only doing 1000 miles???

 

[Mick753]

Enitrely up to you but Oil breaks down over time, not sure i would bother doing a filter change after 1000 miles but if it was my bike and it was going to be sat for the Winter then for the sake of ?30 of oil I would likely drop the oil and put new stuff in, that being said for the sake of another ?5 on an oil filter I would likely change that at the same time not for any other reason than i'd feel happier with it being sat still with clean oil in it.

But it certainly isn't a necessity and it is going to kill your engine

 

[alex]

Necessary no, but without it you want to make sure it gets super hot on the first run and really boil off any water that condensed.

Or you can just replace it all and feel the comfort in knowing it's all tip - top.

 

[fast_ryan]

Oil Change

I change my oil and filter at the start of each season regardless of mileage and then fairly frequently throughout the year as my bike spends the majority of its time on track.

 

[soofsayer]

The bike had a full service at the start of this year, but sadly I could only manage 1000 miles before it had to be put away for winter.
Is it going to need another oil change at the start of next year after only doing 1000 miles???

I would because:

If you have warranty with BMW then do it just in case you have an issue one day with the engine.
if you don't your service history will have a gap which may effect residuals and saleability.

For the cost of having the oil service done it makes sense to keep it up to date.

My understanding is that mineral oils have lifespans, synthetics don't. From everything I have read about engine oil the synthetic stuff is so advanced now that regular oil changes in between service schedules is a waste of time and money. Makes no difference.

 

[EP46]

I would because:

If you have warranty with BMW then do it just in case you have an issue one day with the engine.
if you don't your service history will have a gap which may effect residuals and saleability.

For the cost of having the oil service done it makes sense to keep it up to date.

My understanding is that mineral oils have lifespans, synthetics don't. From everything I have read about engine oil the synthetic stuff is so advanced now that regular oil changes in between service schedules is a waste of time and money. Makes no difference.

So basically I should be fine unless I have a warranty with BMW?

 

[stuartb]

I do at least 2 per year, irrespective of warranty. One in spring one mid summer, don't know how you ride but mine takes a doing... for what it's worth... as Mick says ?40 quid... cheap price to pay..

 

[Beavis]

Am I missing something here ? This is the first BMW I've had , I previously owned 2 blades for 6 years. Other than routine 12 monthly services they never had the oil changed out with that. I put about 20k miles on them altogether and they were only used in good weather. They both lay on paddock stands on the optimate for anything between 4 to 6 months. They never missed a beat ,not once so is this a BMW thing or are some riders overly sensitive about oil ?

 

[stuartb]

Beavis
.
Think people are just telling you its personal choice with a thousand miles... mine gets the message when im out on it... so 2 it is ... Ive had gixxers x3 blades x2 10r etc etc o n f start of season and one midway... i do about 6 to 8 thou a year.. anything that keeps me positive on a 190mph bike im up for...im sure most of the lads on here will have a similar mind set

But its a personal thing in this instance

 

[pof]

I picked my r1 engine up from a yamaha engine guru yesterday after a refresh (pete beale). He was going to take photos of the inside of my motor because it was immaculate for a 10 yr old bike . He put it down to using motul 300v changed out every 3000 miles when it was a road bike and every 3 rd track day. You can never change oil too much but like mentioned before its personal choice , my mate does his every 12k miles

 

[TheFlymo]

An oil thread, without profanity and without anyone invoking Godwin's Law?!

I remember an article in (I think) Performance Bikes where they took a courier's CBR600 that had been run for something like 40,000 miles without an oil change. On stripping the motor down, there was no adverse wear whatsoever for the mileage.

You could argue that the BMW is much newer tech and has higher tolerances, and you'd be right, but on the other hand oil technology has also progressed.

The only answer is: Change your oil as often as makes you feel comfortable, taking into account warranty, use etc.

 

[stuartb]

I picked my r1 engine up from a yamaha engine guru yesterday after a refresh (pete beale). He was going to take photos of the inside of my motor because it was immaculate for a 10 yr old bike . He put it down to using motul 300v changed out every 3000 miles when it was a road bike and every 3 rd track day. You can never change oil too much but like mentioned before its personal choice , my mate does his every 12k miles

I'm with you pof.... bang on and interesting with the inside of engine comments.

 

[alex]

Under high stress oil shearing will reduce its performance over time. In tracking the bikes, using plenty of revs frequently you're speeding up the breakdown. What you need is an oil which is very stable. "Ester" based synthetics are what I believe are best for this. I'm using Motul 300v 4T at the moment.

Whilst I'd be happy to leave oil in for 10k miles+ - I swap it out before the season starts just to freshen it up (especially if it's been static for a couple of months), removing the carbon deposits etc because 'I want to' and it's a cheap enough consumable on a 12k bike.

 

[pof]

Agreed alex , oil is the life blood of that engine why scrimp on it. Until someone tells me there is something better than motul 300 v i will carry on using it twice a year. If its reccommended by one of the top engine builders in the uk then its good enough for me

 

[Marzy]

I believe the S1000 service intervals are 6000 miles. Am I correct in saying the Japs are every 4000 miles, I'm sure my GSXR was....

 

[stuartb]

I believe the S1000 service intervals are 6000 miles. Am I correct in saying the Japs are every 4000 miles, I'm sure my GSXR was....

Certainly my blades were 4 thou Marzy

 

[EP46]

I believe the S1000 service intervals are 6000 miles. Am I correct in saying the Japs are every 4000 miles, I'm sure my GSXR was....

6000 miles! I should be fine for another season then. I wonder if a dealer themselves would even bother changing the oil if I used them for a service....

 

[Mick753]

The service intervals i believe are 6000 or every year whichever comes first are they not?

They certainly were when I worked in a motorbike dealership in the past, I know my bike having done 4000 miles was serviced in April and it's next service is due in April next year or at 6000 whichever comes first.

And the dealer if you were to just throw the bike in for a service at the very least should change the oil and filter as that would be the very basic service they would normally do, but i certainly wouldn't leave anything to chance and as much as I would be looking to keep a new bike in warranty by getting it serviced at the regular intervals an interim oil change I would do myself rather than waiting a full year for a scheduled oil change. I have always done my own oil and filter changes at 3000 miles where possible.

 

[snooker]

According to the service record in my handbook it's annually or every 6000 miles, whichever comes first.

 

[oldwobbler]

EP46 - after we've gone up and down the Stelvio 4 times next you'll whish you had changed it. Tight git!