I just rolled 1000 miles on my Street Bob and plan on storing it for winter soon. My questions is, should I have the 1000 mile service done now or wait until after winter? The oil hasn't been changed yet and I don't plan on doing much (if any) riding this winter.

 

If you are not going to ride it at all this winter I would wait.

 

Just me, but I would go ahead and get that old contaminated oil out of there rather than letting it sit there and fester all winter. Might have some metal shavings in there somewhere too.

 

Agreed, there will be metal shavings in the oils for sure, and i spoke to a Harley Tech and was told they want the bike in the shop for its initial services between 800-1200 miles, and if you go over 1400 miles they will most likely void the warranty, thats just what I've been told. P.S. you can do your own oil change on your bike nad not void the factory warranty, and itll save you a little $$ on labor from the stealership!

 

Change the oil for sure. Oil is somewhat hygroscopic and picks up water from the atmosphere and water and acids from the combustion process. If this sits for a long period, it WILL pit the bearings in the lower end.
Synthetic oils are MUCH less hygroscopic compared to mineral oils.

 

where did you hear this dynamic... i have been told it takes years of sitting to do this... allthe studdies i have seen show the same... i always tell my customers to wait till spring to change the oil, with temp changes moisture tends to build up in the cases and the oil will need changes come spring... seems like a waste of money to me... all 8 of my bikes go away dirty and get fresh oil in the spring... been doing it this way for years including the boats and snowmobiles never had issues... my recomendation is to wait and change it in the spring... hell i dont know anyone that changes it before storing it, wastes good oil just letting it sit

 

Do the service before laying it up for the winter. NEVER store any motor with old oil that contains acids etc for an extended period of time. The acids can damage parts of the motor.

 

+1 on the service after storage.

 

I don't get this because even if the bike was being ridden everyday it still sits in acidic oil wouldn't it? I change my oil after the lay up because the oil collect moisture which means another oil change in the spring.

 

The oil would be circulating and not sitting in the bearings for months if it was ridden. Any moisture which would be present basically only if it was started and not warmed up to any extent would be boiled off when the engine reached temps in the springtime. This moisture would even be present in the old oil if you didn't change the oil before lay up so you would have acid and moisture then.