Darin,
Since you asked .. yes .. I have a problem, (although likely to be
mine personally), leaving oil in the bike for extended intervals. The
viscosity loss is the biggest factor influencing this decision. I used
to change mineral oil between 1000 and 1500 miles .. along with the
filter of course, (previous to switching to synthetic on the max I
have always run Castrol GTX 20-50 mineral oil ... even when I lived in
Denver .. where it can get quite cold in the winter). This worked fine
for me and I have never really bothered to put the bikes into winter
storage anyhow.
Now that I am running synthetic on two of the bikes I try to target
the changes for between 2000 and 2500 miles ....... I have been
planning to take advantage of the opportunity to run a "better/finer
media" filter that is suitable for use with synthetic ... this is
possible with the Don-o-lator spin-on adapter on the max ... but this
will be a few changes down the road since I have loaded up on a
clearance deal of ACs ...... I really don't feel comfortable leaving
oil in the bike any longer than that ... as I feel that it looses too
much of its usefulness when it gets that thin. Someone recently posted
a link to an MCN report I think that documented this degradation over
predetermined mileage intervals. If my annual mileage were a multiple
of 3K .. I probably wouldn't feel that bad about moving it out to 3000
with the synthetic .......
I also don't use extremely light weight oils ..... this I leave for
the cars ... Living in Phoenix ... triple digit temperatures are very
common for several months of the year ... and even in Denver it could
really get hot, (if only in July and August). These 10-XX rated oils
are recommended in the owner's manual for a maximum of 60 degrees
outside operating temperature ... So I feel that starting that low in
the viscosity range in regard to the anticipated service life of the
oil is asking for it.
Obviously, most of us are not thinking of extreme economy when
choosing a lubricant for our Vmaxes .... nor do I think there is a
great interest in paying more to gain the advantage of extremely long
service intervals ... (my opinion of course). Even if I did leave oil
in the bike that long .. I would still be servicing the bike around
2000-2500 miles anyhow to check sync, rubber fittings, plugs etc,
wheel balance and such ....... On my wife's Saturn station wagon
however ... you got it !!!!! ... Once a year is fine with me ..... but
7000 is a maximum for me for automobiles .......
IMHO as always .....
campbell #95
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: oil reply
> snip <
> The oil manufacturer I use recommends 12000 to 18000
> miles drain intervals,
> snip <
> I choose to be more conservative, changing my oil about
> every 3500 to 4500 miles.
> snip <
> Any thoughts on this one
.............................................
To unsubscribe go to http://www.sayegh.org/unsubscribe.htm
.............................................
