My '06 RKC's been sitting under wraps in a relatively heated garage the past four to five months now . It's been hooked up to a trickle charger, and had fule stabilizer addedto a topped up tank prior to storage.
I did not change my oil (syn3) prior to putting it away andwant to now. Should I fire up my bike to get it warm so the oil runs more freely, or do I want to drain it cold so the old oil doesn't mix around the engine too much? Will likely change to Amsoil or similar.

 

change it hot so most of the corrosive garbage is suspended in the oil and runs out the drain.

 

+1

 

I often wonder about the other side of the coin.......Changing it cold seems that it would drain all the crap out of the bottom of the tank where it has settled since the bike has been sitting instead of spreading it all over the enginefrom where you warm a bike up.

Personally, I don't think it matters. I also would not change the oil in the bike when you take it out of storage, unless it is time to mileage wise.

 

Needs to be Hot

 

You could, without starting the engine, drain the oil as is, and, with the drain plug still out, pour in a quart of fresh "warm/hot" oil to flush junk sitting in the bottom. Then replace oil/filter as usual.

 

Oil of winter soaks up water the oil does it job and traps that water once oil tarps water is does not release it on it's own. The normal amounts of water in oil are cooked off when riding. the amounts that can build up over storage take to long to cook off and can cause early wear.
Thats why Army store engines in sealed vacume units for long term.
It is best to warm it up good and drain it, cheap insurance.
todays oil both dino and sny are a lot better than some years back so it is not as big a deal as it was.

 

If water in motor oil is like water in a boat's lower unit gear oil, it will separate after sitting for a long while and the water will go to the bottom. The water will be the first thing that comes out if you take the drain plug out on a unit that hasn't been ran for a while. At least that is how it goes on every boat I have ever serviced.

 

I don't think there is a wrong answer. If you have kept the bike at a reasonably constant temperature then there wont be any water build up in the oil. The water builds up as a result of condensation due to temperature fluctuations. Depending on time/mileage the oil has been in there I would consider running it until your ready to change. Synthetic oils tend not to be as hydroscopic as dino oils. If you intended to change anyway because you wish to move to a slightly better oil I would suggest that you wait until you are able to go for at least a 30 mile run to get the motor upto full operating temperature and give it time to burn off any normal water in the oil, then drain it hot. This will also put any solids in suspension to come out with the oil.
If you have however started the bike over winter to circulate the oil, as unfortunately some do, then all bets are off and you may have a water build up in the oil, in which case I would do the 30 mile run and change the oil. If you check the dipstick and its at all milky I would change it cold without running it, and depending on how dirty the oil was consider changing the oil only, to a cheap semi syn doing the 30+ mile run and then changing hot to the good stuff with a new filter.

This is all pretty much overkill, but you should do what you will be happy with.