My intent is not to start a new oil discussion, but I thought I'd just put out this info since a previous post involved changing spark plugs at 10,000 miles. I have too many vehicles that include ATV, chainsaws, lawnmowers, a tractor, a generator, weed eaters and two motorcycles--the 07 Softail and the 90 Zx-11 Ninja. Therefore I use Amsoil because I want long intervals between oil changes and I live in the sticks therefore I do the changes myself. To the point: H-D recommends changing oil at 5000 miles. I run 20-50 Amsoil (for Harley's) in primary, trans and engine as they recommend. And I use the Amsoil oil filter in the H-D. The recommendation is that you can double the mileage ie. 10,000 using the synthetic.. I just changed all the holes in the Harley after 10,000 miles as I ran a 2500 mile run trip to PA and back to MO., then 6150 miles that took me from MO to Brownsville, TX to SFO and back here in MO.(and PGR missions the rest of the year) Sometimes I felt like I was pushing it. The bike used about 1.75 quarts in the 6150 and I kept the oil tank filled all the time. I ran it through Death Valley, and Texas was hot. In fact the whole trip was sort of hot. I just got done servicing the bike and changed all the oil holes, the plugs and cleaned the air cleaner. On none of the drain plugs was there any metallic sediment. The only time I saw any of that was during the first oil change-which is understandable. The clutch did not need to be adjusted either. Actually doing the servicing of the bike and detailing it, along with my dog Hans, and a few beers, was quite enjoyable.

 

Because you don't want to be bothered changing something as cheap as oil on a regular schedule your willing to risk a $4500 + dollar motor ? Quit buying into the snake oil hype and change it , oil is your first line of defense in motor problems it can tell you a problem is coming if you look regular . If not you deserve it man .

 

Roof so what your saying is you went 10k on your oil changes and the oil looked pretty good? Your engine oil specifically because the Primary and Tranny can go longer intervals? How many miles on the bike, what year and model, and do you have an oil cooler and does it still have the catalytic conv in it?

 

So, after 10k on the oil what was its viscosity? What was the TBI? Without an analysis you really don't know whether you're pushing the interval too far or not. And I live in Texas, do about 90 mile roundtrip every day to/from work, and change between 2500- 5000 miles on an Evo motor. Never uses oil between changes.

 

Actually poco has a good point, if you could have the oil checked for integrity and read the data to the masses now that would be something everyone would be interested to hear (I know I would) and forced to hold back comments.

 

I recently learned a hard lesson on keeping up with oil changes.
My chevy conversion van is rarely used, and the oil hadn't been changed in 3 years! The truck only gets about 2K miles a year (spends 5 months a year in storage), so I wasn't really worried about it. I started it up one day and had a stuck lifter! It was rapping pretty loud too!
It kept getting worse the more I ran it (only for a few minutes in the driveway). I changed the oil and much to my surprise the lifter noise went away after driving it around the neighborhood some. This made me much more aware of how important changing the oil is.
I did add some snake oil when I changed the oil (lucasoil), so I'm not sure if that helped or if it was just the oil change that fixed it.
I was sure glad when cleared up, and now it purrs like a kitten!
Goes to show how much a lack of simple maintenance can bite you in a arzzz!

 

Oil changes is comparatively cheap maintenance when you measure it against the the benefits for your motor. I would change my oil and oil filter and use a good quality oil.

 

Hey Ragtop you had regular dino oil in that van didn't ya?

 

ya, I did, that lifter noise was scarey loud too, thought I was going to have to trash the thing, or open it up and replace lifter(s), and vans are not that easy to work on, hard to get to things. PITA!

 

Thought so, I've seen dino oil turn into gelatinous muck in no time flat, it is after all organic so it's just decomposing. I would suspect a good synthetic wouldn't break down like that. Either way I'm glad you got your van running back to normal, sounds like your fond of it.