In the 800 miles you ride the garage Princess you get blow by and contaminants in the oil. It never cooks out any moisture either. The contaminates change the PH of the oil to the acidic side and it goes to work on you very expensive metal parts in the motor. I think that you are actually hurting it by not riding it more. You are better in my opinion to just change it at the end of your riding season, don't start it and with out the blow by you'll be fine. 800 miles a year it will make a fine ride for the next owner!!

 

What a waste of a bike! Get on her or give her a new home where she can get lots of exercise.

 

Shame on you,there ought to be a law for low mileage

 

I change the oil in the spring because I do the majority of my riding during the warm half of the year and I like to start out with fresh oil. I also change the oil in the fall because I don't do a whole lot of riding during the cold half of the year and I don't want dirty oil sitting in the bike during that time.

 

I would change it once per year in the fall prior to storage, but before parking it for the winter ride it long enough to heat it up thoroughly to remove all remnants of water in the oil and exhaust system. Don't start it up again 'til spring or unless you plan on doing a ride long enough to warm it up again. Water is a byproduct of combustion and if the engine is started cold and not allowed to warm-up fully the water stays in the system. It would also be wise to use synthetic oil, as it adheres to metal surfaces better and eases start-up after periods of non-use.

 

Damn Iclick....I was gonna say that....LOL....Yeah what he said makes sense....

 

Can someone post a some pictures of actual damage done from letting old oil sit in a motor?.,,

 

No, because you won't find any damage worth noticing. Change the oil once a year. Make sure your last ride of the season is long enough to warm the bike all the way off and burn the moisture out of the oil. Don't start the bike over the winter to "circulate the fluids".

 

You want to change old oil if you are going to let it sit for awhile because of the acids developed in the old oil. Acid is a by-product of the exhuast gases mixed into the oil. Do this for your lawn equipment as well. I still struggle not running the bike at all because there is also another problem created by letting it sit awhile and that is the crank being pulled down to the bearing. As iclick stated, some oils stick to the engine parts better than others (synthetic), but eventually gravity pulls the crank through the thin layer of oil that separates it from the bearing and you start the motor up those parts touching metal to metal. Now some folks will say that it is better to only start it once that way instead of doing it several times just to circulate the oil. But I personally fire up my bike at least once a month and let it run long and hot. I just feel better that way.

Beary

 

I will be the only guy in this thread to say, change all 3 fluids in the Spring so you have everything fresh for the summer, then in the winter, just change the engine oil and filter. The following Spring, change all 3 again.