most 900 owners here go 3,000 miles from what i read.
How often should i change my oil?
How many miles between oil changes in my bike? 06 900 classic.
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How many miles between oil changes in my bike? 06 900 classic.
What does the Manual say?
If I'm not mistaken, the manual says every 7,500miles after the initial 600mile service, but I don't go over 3000miles on any vehicle I own. I had a Ford zx2 and a Ford escort GT that both went easily over 200,000mile with no major problems due to changing oil frequently. Hope this helps.
Yep! The manual says every 7,500miles after the 600mile service. That's crazy. The engine works too hard to have old oil in it for that long. 3000miles is good for me.
Bit different to what I was given then! My manual says Oil Change every 3000klms full service 6000klms, which would roughly equate to 1500 and 3000 miles.
Christo.
Christo.
If the goal in an oil change is to keep an oil in your bike that is functioning within the specs MaKaw recommends then the right answer depends on what oil you use and what climate you ride in.
Oil used in our Vulcans "shears" down when run through our transmission and that can easily cause it to fall below the recommended viscosity especially for us living in hot temps. A cheap dino oil can drop from a 10W-40 to a 10W-30 in as little as 1500 miles, while a high grade synthetic might stay within spec well past 3000.
Now if you live/ride in a cool climate where a 10W-30 would be fine then that viscosity drop is no big deal, but if you live in a hot southern state that oil might be a concern.
OTOH, I suspect most Kawasaki's could take the abuse of 7,500mile oil changes with standard Kawasaki brand dino oil and run fine for years and years.
Oil used in our Vulcans "shears" down when run through our transmission and that can easily cause it to fall below the recommended viscosity especially for us living in hot temps. A cheap dino oil can drop from a 10W-40 to a 10W-30 in as little as 1500 miles, while a high grade synthetic might stay within spec well past 3000.
Now if you live/ride in a cool climate where a 10W-30 would be fine then that viscosity drop is no big deal, but if you live in a hot southern state that oil might be a concern.
OTOH, I suspect most Kawasaki's could take the abuse of 7,500mile oil changes with standard Kawasaki brand dino oil and run fine for years and years.
I run my V2k for 3000, keep that up and your bike will love you for it.
Not only do you have the viscosity issue, but wear particles and contaminates from the air are removed on a more frequent basis.
It also gets you wrenching on the bike more often and you will find loose fasteners, etc..
Not only do you have the viscosity issue, but wear particles and contaminates from the air are removed on a more frequent basis.
It also gets you wrenching on the bike more often and you will find loose fasteners, etc..
Got in the habit of changing mine every 2,000 miles on my sportbikes. Didi that because I ran a little harder on those. Now I am stuck on changing my oil every 2K. Think I am going to spread that out since I have started riding my bike as a commuter instead of a toy.
re
3k-5k with synth. and your motor will purrr forever
3k-5k with synth. and your motor will purrr forever
My 0.02... First at 600ml service, then at 2,000mls and every 3,000mls after.
I think 3k intervals on cages are overkill, and pushed by service departments to boost their profits. That said, on the bike the oil gets punished a little harder, and it's so easy to change I think 3k is about right for dino oil. If you're running synthetic and still changing at 3k intervals, you're throwing your money away IMO.
re
clean oil is never a waste of money no matter what kind it is and no service dept ever tells me what to do either:lol:
clean oil is never a waste of money no matter what kind it is and no service dept ever tells me what to do either:lol:
Guy came to the parts counter. Buys oil, filter. Said it was time, it finally had 3000 miles on it. Bought it new in 2004, this was its FIRST oil change.
Oil degrades over time. I don't care how many miles is on the thing, change it at least every 4 months.
Oil degrades over time. I don't care how many miles is on the thing, change it at least every 4 months.
I was wondering why the manual suggested such high mileage between oil changes!!!! I think I went 4,000 after the first 600 change. I'll follow this advice and start changing at 3,000
I had a Ford Ranger that went 215,000 before being totaled by the insurance company after a minor fender bender. Starting at 40,000, used Mobile 1 and changed the oil every 10,000-11,000.If I'm not mistaken, the manual says every 7,500miles after the initial 600mile service, but I don't go over 3000miles on any vehicle I own. I had a Ford zx2 and a Ford escort GT that both went easily over 200,000mile with no major problems due to changing oil frequently. Hope this helps.
Consider the owners manual recommendations. These are thew people who engineered the unit, and warranty it (they pay when it breaks early). Companies who sell oil and do oil changes have everything to gain from short mileage oil changes. Personally, I've never had an oil breakdown failure. INHO, you are more likely to have a failure from sludge buildup when oil isn't changed at recommended intervals!
After the fist 600 mile break-in, every 3k miles.
If you park it for winter, change it at the first sign of spring.
If you park it for winter, change it at the first sign of spring.
I'm with Fly By on this one. I've never seen a reason to change the oil any more frequently than the auto manufacturer recommends. The 3,000 mile interval is an obsolete number left over from two decades ago when oils were not as advanced. Several independent outfits, such as Consumers Report and Edmunds have done tests that show that oil is still good well past 3k. As a matter of fact, a few years back CR did a test where they monitored the oil in NYC cabs, and found the oil was still plenty good after 6k miles The surprising truth about motor oils . I have also known of people who have ran synthetic oils for extended periods (10-12k), and then sent it for testing, and found out the oil had suffered little or no degradation. If you think about it, the people who normally tell you to change your oil every 3K generally have a vested interested in you doing so. Dealerships, jiffy lubes, etc. are always pushing 3k. I don't think that's because they care about your vehicle. Having said that, time intervals are important, so I plan to change my oil every 7,500 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first.
re
good point.........however something has to be said for conditions/riding habits
a straight mileage/change table does not address this
know your conditons and your riding habits and check your oil often
good point.........however something has to be said for conditions/riding habits
a straight mileage/change table does not address this
know your conditons and your riding habits and check your oil often
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