Many maintenance schedules are not formulated with ultimate engine longevity in mind. An advertising advantage, lower consumer cost, and amount of waste oil generated in the expected life of the vehicle plays a part in this as well.
Oil is inexpensive compared to an oil-related failure, and if I had to pick one over the other, I'd change oil earlier that what is recommended by the manufacturer. The impression I get from talking to vehicle service reps is that after the warranty period they arent much interested how long your vehicle lasts.
naah, that's not it - honda engine last long time with 12k km service, as well as yamaha, e.g. my xt660z is like 10k km oil change interval and this engine lasts hundred of thousands of km or miles.
I'm interested is that engine special in some way or just suzuki service wants to get more money out of you in warranty period. BTW many studies have been done and engine oil characteristics are as good as new when we change it. Could be more dirty of course but again suzuki recommends oil filter change every third time oil is changed...weird.
Asking because I'm on the market for a new touring bike now, considering v-strom 1000, Super tenere.
I'll go 5,000 miles on an oil change when running full synthetic oil regardless of what the manufacturer says. I won't go longer than that regardless of what he manufacturer says either.
Most years I don't get that many miles on the bike and I do an oil change every fall at the end of the season anyway so for lower mileage riders it is a moot point.
I'll go 2000 to 2500 miles for liquid cooled, and 1000 to 1200 for air cooled. Oil gets dirty from the byproducts of combustion, no matter what kind it is. Like MAZ says, oil is cheaper than engine work.
Maybe it is similar to what they do with road speed signs. They assume everyone is driving in wet or snow conditions, and set a safe speed for that. It is way too slow for dry conditions, but better than having a lot of crashes when a storm comes.
So Suzuki assumes you are going to buy the cheapest oil available, and then recommends you change it more often.
New 2015 Jaguar F-type. Supercharged engine. Approximately 16,000 miles for recommended oil change intervals. Which is what it got.
New 2018 BMW X3. Turbocharged engine. 10,000 mile oil change intervals. Which is what it got and will get.
New BMW R 1200 RT. 6,000 mile oil change interval. I have had the oil sample tested. Plenty of oil life left. Easy 10,000 mile interval according to people that actually know facts about oil. I will change it around, either over or under depending on how trips work out. Would not concern me at all to have 8-9,000 miles on the oil after a long road trip.
Engines like clean oil and enough of it. The confusion starts with describing "clean". You can put new oil in a pan and heat it to 190 degrees and it darkens. So it must be dirty? No, not at all. That is simply some of the additives changing color after heating. 190 is a good oil temperature by the way.
Some of the engines that get astronomical numbers of miles get long oil drain intervals. Proving to me that changing oil at 3,000 miles is a true waste of money. Factor in those that leave a filter seal on the engine, crossthread drain plugs, forget to put in the new oil and start the engine, and so on I will say the averages are in favor of going what your owners manual recommends for a long life of your engine. The less you mess with something, can mean you are better off!
exactly right, my VW Tiguan has 30000 km oil change interval so don't see why motorcycle should have much less.
Oil change scam is pretty common though, especially in US.
Looks like you are interested in a 1000 but my 2017 650 manual says to change the filter only with every third oil change, which in turn is every 6000km or 3750miles (which they round down 3500miles in the manual) or once a year, whichever is reached sooner. In other words one filter every 18000km or 3 years. I have always changed the filter with every oil change in all my vehicles, just seems like a cleaner way to “start fresh” and most manuals require it anyway.
My DL650 manual says the same, and I do the same as you. I just do not see the minimal extra cost as relevant - and I get to remove an extra 1/2 cup of used oil as well.
Undoubtedly it could be left much longer in high mileage situations. I have never stopped in the middle of a trip for a "must do" oil change.
I'm my own labor on anything I own, so cost for oil and a filter isnt a factor at all for me. Wet clutch engines, I'd prefer not to have metal particles or clutch material in my oil if I can avoid it. And I can, and do.
Whatever works for you.
Realistically, you dont HAVE to do anything at any time...until it quits.
In Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath", the Joad family threw a rod on their cross country trip. Tom Joad sourced a rod bearing from a junkyard, drained the oil, replaced the bearing, and poured the dirty oil back in the engine. Fortunately, the Great Depression is over and clean, fresh oil is available at reasonable prices anywhere in America.:grin2:
Mostly the reason motorcycles have shorter oil change intervals than cars is because the gearbox on a motorcycle shares the same oil as the engine. It is a fact that a gearbox is harder on oil than just the engine alone. Most cars that I am aware of have separate engine and gearbox oils.
The only way to truly know where the oil is in its service life is to get a sample analyzed. I venture to guess that well over 90% of the time we are draining out and throwing away perfectly good oil. But like I say if you aren't over maintaining your motorcycle you must be under maintaining it.
I used to change oils every 2 to 3,000 miles and right before winter no matter how much mileage. Now I do it at 5,000 miles. Still most likely leaving a lot of service life on the table but its easy to remember when you have mutiple bikes.
I need to look at my manual. I could have sworn it said 6,000KM and no mention of a filter every other change. But I am forgetful. Going to pull it out and review.
If you're really concerned, have the oil tested every few thousand miles. Not too expensive. This is what fleet owners do. Pays off when an oil change is 50 quarts or so. Find the mileage at which it begins to deteriorate and use that for oil changes.
I run full synthetic, ride mostly freeways and change every 5K miles.
Big B quote: "Paranoia will destroy ya". Ahhh the Kinks, loved them in concert!
I'm not paranoid at all. I have my own maintenance regimen just as I'm sure others have theirs. I do the work and move on, no fear involved.
No need to justify or explain your regimen to anybody. Do what works for you and gives you peace of mind, just as I do what works--and has worked for me.
Webfors, my '14 DL1K manual shows the oil being replaced every 3500 miles, the oil filter replaced after 2 successive oil changes without changing the filter.
If I'm not mistaken, there have been a number of people on this site that have utilized their services.. I'd be interested in hearing feedback from people here that have used Blackstone as to what mileage recommendations/oil change intervals they are getting...
I have posted my results with a full synthetic oil (Amsoil) and Wix filter. I changed at 6,000 miles and Blackstone said to try 6,500, I could keep trying but 6,000 works for me. I change the filter every oil change.
Oil is the toothpaste for your engine. Do you brush your teeth after every meal or once a week?
The debate has a different minty flavor when you think of it that way.
Oil is the most important thing you can feed your bike. Forget the numbers. Be a good parent and brush those teeth. Often. It is cheap and gives you time in the garage. Priceless.
Not sure I get you toothpaste analogy but for me while oil is not expensive I'd not say its cheap. Instead of wasting time and money on a unneeded oil/filter change I'd rather spend that money on gas and the time riding.
Plus there is the problem of getting rid of the oil oils. I am fortunate and have a guy that uses waste oil and gear oil to heat his garage. About Twice a year I call him and he brings me an empty 5 gallon bucket and collects the full one. No reenacting the Exxon Valdez spill dealing with refilling old bottles just dump in a bucket and he deals with it. If I had to separate oils, refill old jugs and then truck the oil to the local recycle center I'd look for something that lasted as many miles as worldly possible.
Yep ....twice the distance as recommended and the top oil.
I was hooked on the full synthetic when I saw the Lincoln test on Mobile one. The filled a brand new engine with Mobile One and only changed the filter ..never changed the oil for 100,000 miles - topped as needed.
They pulled it apart and the engine was "as new" ...still had the cylinder machining marks.
The engineers were impressed ....so was I.
I'll use the mineral oil for break in but then synthetic all the way.
Manufacturers used to recommend short OCIs to keep business in their shops. Then while doing the oil they might see some other service required.
Now the EPA is leaning on them to use longer OCIs to reduce the waste stream and cars that require less service are viewed as cheaper by the buying public.
Toyota is now at 10,000 mile OCI with synthetic oils. I use that until warranty is over then move to 15,000 mile OCIs.
On both my Strom and my Tenere I use an OCI of 5,000 miles with synthetic oil. I have tested oil from both of them and could easily go 7,500 to 10,000 miles. I use shorter intervals because I pamper my bikes. I do not mind wasting a little money on them.
Well as long as we are talking about fluid....[hijack coming]
Remember to change your coolant. At my last job I was a district manager for an automotive company and GM specs say they have LIFETIME COOLANT.
Not for me I changed every 30,000 and never experienced the famous intake gasket failure common to GM products. My co-worker did not and his car needed intakes replaced at around 65000, for a cost close to a grand. Point is.....fluids wear out [absorb contaminants]. Most factory intervals are marketing tools, "our vehicle only cost this much a year to own verses there vehicle"
Do what you want....but fluids are cheaper than parts. :wink2:
I don't see any reason to push the limit on oil changes. A mechanical failure, or the engine/gearbox wearing out, would be far more expensive than regular oil changes. Environmentally, the oil is recycled so no big problem there. While the filter should catch particles big enough to cause issues, lots of small bits circulating in the used oil, which may cause long-term erosion. From what I've read, oil consists of long-chain molecules that actually hold metal parts apart, eliminating wear and friction. As the oil ages, the molecules get cut shorter, reducing the ability to hold the gap. Synthetics are probably more resistant than dino, but still, there comes a time. Sharing oil between the engine and gearbox probably doesn't help, and clutch particles don't either.
Very possibly Suzuki engineered bearings and parts to be more highly stressed, requiring fresher oil. Or maybe they plan for worst-case conditions, short trips, high temps, dusty air. Maybe they don't have a lot of faith in the air filter. I know I don't. If your rides are long-distance highway in moderate temps, I'm sure you can stretch it out. Not sure that regular oil analysis is much cheaper than regular oil changes. And you'd hate to get back a report saying you should have changed it 1000 miles ago, and there's metal in the oil.
I don't see any reason to push the limit on oil changes. A mechanical failure, or the engine/gearbox wearing out, would be far more expensive than regular oil changes. Environmentally, the oil is recycled so no big problem there. While the filter should catch particles big enough to cause issues, lots of small bits circulating in the used oil, which may cause long-term erosion. From what I've read, oil consists of long-chain molecules that actually hold metal parts apart, eliminating wear and friction. As the oil ages, the molecules get cut shorter, reducing the ability to hold the gap. Synthetics are probably more resistant than dino, but still, there comes a time. Sharing oil between the engine and gearbox probably doesn't help, and clutch particles don't either.
Very possibly Suzuki engineered bearings and parts to be more highly stressed, requiring fresher oil. Or maybe they plan for worst-case conditions, short trips, high temps, dusty air. Maybe they don't have a lot of faith in the air filter. I know I don't. If your rides are long-distance highway in moderate temps, I'm sure you can stretch it out. Not sure that regular oil analysis is much cheaper than regular oil changes. And you'd hate to get back a report saying you should have changed it 1000 miles ago, and there's metal in the oil.
I specifically used oil analysis to see where he oil breakdown was and it was not broken down or full of particles. I live in Las Vegas and ride in a variety of temperatures and speeds so I think if an oil would breakdown it would here. The analysis shows how your filtration is doing, how the additives in the oil are holding up, how much wear metal there is. It gives you a good snapshot of the inside of your engine and your oil's condition when you change it.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
StromTrooper
1.7M posts
66.6K members
Since 2003
A forum community dedicated to all Suzuki Strom owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, troubleshooting, purchasing, reviews, accessories, maintenance, and more!