How Often Do You Change Your Oil ?

[ridefastrgetoff]

Working on some testing with the 600cc street bike engines ( Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki ) trying to find out just how long the average rider goes before he changes his oil. I know the guys/gals using petroleums are changing much more often or should be and so I was wanting your input. A couple guys locally have gone up to 10,000 miles with their oil still holding up great or at least that's what the tests show and also two other guys that race are racing up to 12 races or 6 weekends of racing on their 600's; by the way, these 600's are racing on dirt tracks in micro-sprint cars. I'm curious to know how the EX's are performing. Some of you guys using Mobil 1, how long do you go between oil changes. Also, plz tell me what kind of conditions you are riding in - is this racing, just hard riding or just for pleasure? Thanks.

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[yamaha1470]

using mobil1 15w50 in my stock 400 i change it about every 18 hours of MX track and drag racing. i might be able to go a little longer but i like to be safe.

[ridefastrgetoff]

Curious to know if you've ever tested the oil to see if it's actually giving you adequate protection over the 18 hrs. ? Would you be shocked if you found out it was breaking down much sooner than that ? Not saying it is, just curious if you had ever checked it out.

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[yamaha1470]

never checked it at a lab but i should to make sure.

[Ride400exj]

i use 20w 50 made or thats what they say by honda can i change it every ride or every race so thats like on a avg very 3 hours or so i change my oil also i change my air filter ever 3 Gl's of gas running trick 108 fuel in my 400ex

[ridefastrgetoff]

You change or clean you Air Filter every 3 gallons of fuel ? If you're changing it that often, that seems like a lot to me; a lot of added expense. As for the oil, I'm not sure; havn't done any testing on oil using that higher octane fuel. I know that higher octane fuel causes your engine to run hotter but whether that has a negative effect on your oil or not I do not know.

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[Ride400exj]

i race so it makes a big differance i try to get everything jsut right on my bike and also 3 gallons of gas is like 3 hours of riding time also running high octane fuel makes your bike run cooler too. also with the changing the air filter i have 3 k7n filters so its easy i jsut change it and race so its not that big of a deal eheh also i change spak plugs in between motos too.

[ridefastrgetoff]

When you said "Trick 108 Fuel" I thought you were talking about an oxygenated fuel and that does make your engine run hotter; my bad ! Sounds like you've got the winning combination and attitude toward winning. If we can ever be of help, just give us a call!

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[Ride400exj]

thanks well it works for me i won last friday out of 15 quads

[Lorduss]

i tend to change my oil about every 30 hours, no not alot, and when ever i change my oil i do my filter to,

i think alot of people change there oil way to often, my dad tells me about old buddys of his that used to go out to glamis and that, they would bring out there 3 whellers, run year after year, all day long in the hot sun, on the orignal oil and filter, sometimes never ever changing or cleaning eather, still the same old reliable honda, not some thing i would personaly recemend, but in large part unless you have a high preformance racing machine it doesnt matter to much, my dad toldme about people going 100K miles without chaning the oil or filter in there cars eather. in very very dusty or muddy conditions i would do it more often, but your engine can go along ways without mantince like that, i wouldnt personaly do it, but i know alot of others have with succsess.

[fuddrucker]

I generally change my oil once a year or so. I just do trail / recreational riding and use the Honda GN4 10-40 but will be switching over to 20-50 on the next change. In a year I put on about 500 to 1000 miles or so. If in that time it starts to look really black, than I will change it.

Oil is the life blood of an engine and one of the most important maintenance details you can do. Simply changing the oil on a regular basis will keep the engine clean and running for years.

[QuadTrix6]

Originally posted by fuddrucker
I generally change my oil once a year or so. ...

Oil is the life blood of an engine and one of the most important maintenance details you can do. Simply changing the oil on a regular basis will keep the engine clean and running for years.



Once a year? :confused: on a 4stroke..isn't that a little crazy? i think you should preach what ya teach and change your oil a little more often just my opinion...:D

[fuddrucker]

Hmm,,,I did not think "time" affected oil life that much. ;)

Let me put it this way,

I change my oil about every 500 miles on average. I don't go by number of hours the quad has been "on" because I don't let it idle much at all. I did not think that was too many miles to go between changes, and like I said, if it looks really dark, then I change it.

P.S., No flame intended, just trying to explain.
:cool:

[2002_300_EX]

i change mine every month unless i go on along ride....like 6+ hours....i dont want my quad burnin up on me.

[Bean]

every 5 rides or 2 races, which ever comes first

[ridefastrgetoff]

"Hmm,,,I did not think "time" affected oil life that much. "

I see you are in Cali, is that Northern or Southern? If you are in a climate where the temps get cold at night and warm up during the day, even if you don't ride at this time, your oil can experience breakdown from condensation ( cooling and warming ) just like what you see on your windows during these same times. If you're not riding or driving during these times, you could be accumulating moisture within your crankcase and when you finally do start your engine your oil will breakdown very quickly because of the foaming that will follow, your engine will get much hotter than normal ( possibly break the oil down completely ) foaming will allow air to whip into the oil and negate it's ability to carry heat away from internal engine components and the result will be reduction of the oil's ability to lubricate as formulated because of the elevated engine temps.

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[YZROOSTINYA]

race fuel(leaded) runs coller because the lead dissapates heat faster than just the fuel alone.


i do mine about evry 10-20 hours. hp4 10w-40

my 2001 yamaha r6 i did every 1500 miles. motul full synthetic 15w-50

truck evry 3k =/- 500 10w-40 pennzoil

[ridefastrgetoff]

That's my personal truck and I use a 0w-30 engine oil, the truck has 92,000 on it; my last truck, a 1990 Toy had 349,000, using the same practices only at 25,000 mile intervals -- pretty cool huh ! I do change my filter half way through and keep drivin.

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If you guys / gals have never been to "Little Sahara State Park" in Oklahoma and you're within driving distance, GO ! It's awesome fun ! Dunes 50 to 60 ft. high over a 1500 acre park. Approx. an hour and 35 minutes West of I35 on Hwy. 412 just North of Oklahoma City. I've lived in Tulsa for over 14 years and had never been until last weekend; went out there for the Sand Drags.

[rookiex]

every 2 races

[TravEX]

i change my oil in my 400 at about 200 miles (all trails and woods), Mobil 1 15/50,,,in my truck every 8,000 Mobil 1 10/30 with a Wix filter,,,

[ridefastrgetoff]

drain intervals ? Last time I checked on it, 7,000 miles was max life and that's if you don't fall into one of the "Severe Service" categories:

Extreme Dusty Conditions
Stop and Go Driving
Extreme Heat Driving
Extreme Cold Driving
Long Distance Driving

most people fall into one of these categories and their specs say if you do, their recommended drain is: 3,000 miles. Thought you might want to know just in case you have a problem; your Auto Warranty "might" be in danger.

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[spincr4hire]

after every 10-12 hours

[400exRacerX]

After every race.

[user101]

i change mone every 75-100 hours. the manual says every 100hours. i talked to my dad about it and he said it was just FINE and he has been a mechanic all of his life and hes almost 45 so he knows what hes talkin about.

[skemp]

When I ran Mobil, probably every 2 or 3 rides (1-2 hours max. at a time). Now with Amsoil, I change it every 5 or 6 rides, and it really doesn't even need to be changed then. It really is a great oil, and the best out there in my opinion. It costs more in the beginning, but you end up saving money from the extended life in the end.

[stocktires]

every long ride OR every other short easy ride.
This is a 250r and Im running Honda Racing Tranny oil

[Dave400ex]

Every 5-8 hours. Call and talk and tell TC about changing the Oil every 100 hours. He told me the most important thing in keeping the 400 running and reliable is to change the oil often.

[stocktires]

4-strokes actually need their oil changed more than 2-strokes, But my tranny is 16 years old so I keep mine VERY fresh...
The 400 lives on good oil. Its a air-cooled 4-stroke

[buckNbanshee]

at least once every month:)

[eldoexrider01]

i change my oil as soon as my girl starts complainin!!! :devil :devil

[redrider ex]

:devil

You folks are nutzzzz. Changing oil every 18-20 hours. I can assure you that is not the way to a long motor life. I change mine about every 2 hours, and that may be a bit excessive, but I don't want to have to rebuild any faster than I have to. I would for sure not go any more than 10 hours.

[ridefastrgetoff]

Hey ya'll ! I have been very low-keyed about telling you guys about any name-brands of oil, just that synthetic oil is definitely the way to go; well, beyond the oil the filters are what determines whether your oil will be clean or dirty ( oil / air filters ). Amsoil oil filters have a micron rating of 4-6 and they are absolute at 20 microns; Mobil 1's filter is a good filter compared to most but their's is designed for petroleum oil and is used by many with synthetic - it's micron rating is somewhere between 10-20 microns, according to the filter specs; they are absolute at 30 microns -- if you're not familiar with micron ratings, that's a huge difference !!! 80% of all engine wear is caused by micron particles at 20 microns so it's very Critical to remove that size particles. The Amsoil filters run about $7.50 and the Mobil 1's run about $ 9; the choice is yours, I just wanted to give you all the facts. Have a great weekend !

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[ryanh250ex]

Originally posted by justfine
You folks are nutzzzz. Changing oil every 18-20 hours. I can assure you that is not the way to a long motor life. I change mine about every 2 hours, and that may be a bit excessive, but I don't want to have to rebuild any faster than I have to. I would for sure not go any more than 10 hours.

well most of us dont own C-dale's or even race-ready machines. if i owned a 440EX or a Moto or a Z-440 or some other race-ready machine that costs a ****eload of cash, i'd be changing my oil alot more too.

[spincr4hire]

Originally posted by justfine
You folks are nutzzzz. Changing oil every 18-20 hours. I can assure you that is not the way to a long motor life. I change mine about every 2 hours, and that may be a bit excessive, but I don't want to have to rebuild any faster than I have to. I would for sure not go any more than 10 hours.

You mean to tell me that if you go trail riding one day, you ride for 2 hours, stop, change your oil, ride for 2 more hours...etc, etc ??? :rolleyes:

Even if all I did was trail ride a quad. I would still not go 20 hours between oil changes.

[Dave400ex]

Every 10 hours would be good. I change mine sooner, but 10 hours isn`t bad.

[ridefastrgetoff]

It matters not how often you change it if the oil gets dirty after 5 hrs., change it. If it takes 10 hrs. change it. 20 hrs. change it. The idea is to keep the oil clean for an extended period of time. Using a top quality synthetic is the number one key to extended drains; petros can't take the heat over long periods of time.

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[Dave400ex]

Yeah like last time we rode, we rode in deep creeks and mud for a long time and I noticed a lot of mud and dirt around my spark plug and it is even hard to put back in. I plan on changing it just incase.

[2002_300_EX]

My dealer said if you ride in dusty conditions you should change it more

[ridefastrgetoff]

on that K&N, otherwise, that air filter is like sieve;just about everything goes thru it besides the increased air flow ! Check out SAE J726C air filter test ( it checks for more than just air flow, ie, filtration too ) ! WOW ! Double the price and only 40% filtration compared to other leading filters. What a marketing job they have done !

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[bakerboyz]

Lets do some math

If you ride 500 hours in two years, and change your oil every 2 hours with a fancy synthetic, at the end of two years you spent.

500hrs / 2hrsperchange * $12for two quartz = $ 3,000.

If you ride 500 hours in two years and change your oil every 100 hours per the manual with GN4, at the end of two years you spent.

500hrs / 100hrsperchange * $8fortwoquartz = $ 40.

You can get a new motor every two years for that cash. Not even counting the cost of filters.

[ridefastrgetoff]

Now take that same equation and use that same $6/qt. Synthetic and change it every 100hrs. and wow that's a whopping $120 bucks if my math is correct ! Who in their right mind would run a petroleum oil that long but only run the best oil the shorter period of time ? I'm trying to figure that one out ! The synthetic is better, there's no doubt about that, so spend a little more and protect your engine to the max.

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www.microoutlaws.com

ur all nuts changing oil every 2 hours. When i go ride i ride for 6 hours so i should have done 3 oil changes in one day out. SUUUURRRREEEEEE

[Bean]

most 3hr oil changes are on HIGH REVING RACE BIKES, not ur every day, run of the mill, 400ex trail bike, i change mine ever 5 hrs, no matter what

[Live2Ride300]

I change my oil and filter about every 4 rides

[ridefastrgetoff]

Our Rider Support Program has spilled over into Micro Sprint Car racing ( 600cc Motorcycle Engines ) running at 14 - 15,000 RPM's for 30 laps and sometimes 50 laps depending on the race; these guys and gals go thru hot laps, heat races, "B" and "A" Features. I have oil analysis results from two of these race teams and the only thing that appears to be a problem is the K&N Air Filter they are using; too much contamination is going straight into the carbs and thus into the oil eventually. The oil is still good for continued service but the air intake is recommended to be checked.

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www.microoutlaws.com www.ilmomicrosprints.com

[Dave400ex]

Yeah I have quit using my K&N and I am running the Stock Filter for now. I want to get a No-Toil.

[kxrider]

you have to change that stuff:huh








joke:D