Oil Change Interval?

[RobG]

So how often do you guys change your oil? I know there's no odometer or hour meter on these from the factory, but I'll be installing a Tiny Tach that has an hour meter so I can track maintenance stuff.

A friend says he changes his oil every 20 hours. That seems excessive to me, especially as pricey as oil is. That's like every week or two for me.

I will ultimately send an oil sample off to Blackstone Labs to find out how well its holding up, but I wanted to get an idea how often the rest of you change it.

90% of the riding I've done on my 400EX in the three weeks I've had it have been on the dunes. I checked the K&N filter today, which was spotless the day I got it and it's still almost totally spotless. There were a few grains of sand in the box, but that was it.

Rob

[honda400exrider]

if u ride HARD in the dunes, i would reccomend changing it every 2-3 rides.
i do about every 5-6 tanks of gas, but i need new jetting cause my bike runs better with a dirty filter, cause when its clean, it runs lean, but there has allready been threads about this.

[400ex Magnum]

I change mine after two weekend rides. This generally equates to about 130 - 150 miles or about 20 hours of ride time. I know this is on the conservative side, but the 12-15 dollars that the oil change costs me is small compared to the costs of new rings or a complete motor rebuild.

[RobG]

I'm definitely looking forward to doing the oil analysis to see how long I can go between changes. I will go ahead and "push" it through one more weekend of dunes before I change it. My personal opinion is it can take it.

Next question... where does everybody buy their oil? Summit Racing doesn't have it, the local ATV/Motorcycle stores want a small fortune for it (about $18 for a 4L jug of Castrol Acteva), and so far online I've only found it for a very small amount less.

I'm on the verge of ordering up a case of Amsoil for it. It's no cheaper, but I know Amsoil is darn good stuff.

Oh, and do you guys run 10W40 all the time or do you run 20W50 in hot weather? I may end up ordering a case of each...

Rob

I change my oil every 20hrs and I change the oil filter too. No point in changing the oil and then running it back through a dirty filter. At around the 17-18hr mark I can always tell when the oil needs changing as the shifting isn't quite as smooth as it is with fresh oil. And for what it's worth, I change my oil and filter every 10hrs or less when racing.

As for the type of oil and where I get it, I use Hondaline GN4 and I buy it at the local quad dealer. I prefer to stay away from 100% synthetic oils, as I don't think it works as well for the clutch and may cause clucth slippage under extreme use. The synthetics do work better for the motor though.

As for oil weight, I use 10w40 year-round. However, I am running a pretty much stock motor and I do most of my riding in cooler weather during the early spring, fall, and winter months. I have been running Hondaline GN4 10w40 year-round for about 7 years in all my 4-stroke ATVs with nothing but excellent results. However, if you are riding your quad mostly in the warmer months (70-100 degree temps all the time) and are riding in the sand where you are revving the motor hard, or if you are running a highly modified motor, then 20w50 would probably be a better choice.

[Castor-426ex]

I think it all depends on your riding conditions..I usually change mine about every three weeks..But if I have an unusually long group ride or sumthin like 4 or 5 hours of aggresive riding..Or even when I go muddin...Ill change it afterwards...I also use honda gn4...and I use k&n filters

Originally posted by RobG
So how often do you guys change your oil? I know there's no odometer or hour meter on these from the factory, but I'll be installing a Tiny Tach that has an hour meter so I can track maintenance stuff.

A friend says he changes his oil every 20 hours. That seems excessive to me, especially as pricey as oil is. That's like every week or two for me.

I will ultimately send an oil sample off to Blackstone Labs to find out how well its holding up, but I wanted to get an idea how often the rest of you change it.

90% of the riding I've done on my 400EX in the three weeks I've had it have been on the dunes. I checked the K&N filter today, which was spotless the day I got it and it's still almost totally spotless. There were a few grains of sand in the box, but that was it.

Rob