Oil change schedule

[mpillis]

Just want to make sure I am not reading the schedule wrong. I am still running non-synthetic oil. According to maintenance schedule, shows oil change every 6000 miles?? Right?
So on a 5500 mile or so trip I shouldn't need to stop and get the oil changed. Right?
I am asking because a fellow mentioned that I was going to need to stop. I got home and checked schedule and became comfused.
Thanks for clarification.

[strsout]

I would say you do not need to do an oil change, but as a new bike I will be assuming it 's using some oil (my first 1999 and my actual 2002 all used some oil until 12K-15K miles).
So probably you will need to complete the level after some miles.

[mpillis]

True, I noticed coming back from Florida last year that I had used about 1/2 quart. Thanks

[RVB1019]

You can but I wouldn't. I change mine every three thousand like clock work- just like on a car. I do a lot of short runs so that taxes the engine more than the LD rides.

At 18G, I switched to synth. oil but I still plan on changing the oil every three thousand.

Call me nuts but, for the approx. 30 bucks and 30 minutes that it takes, isn't your LT worth changing the fluids regularly?

[dshealey]

Just want to make sure I am not reading the schedule wrong. I am still running non-synthetic oil. According to maintenance schedule, shows oil change every 6000 miles?? Right?
So on a 5500 mile or so trip I shouldn't need to stop and get the oil changed. Right?
I am asking because a fellow mentioned that I was going to need to stop. I got home and checked schedule and became comfused.
Thanks for clarification.

I always changed oil at the recommended 6K miles, even after switching to synthetic.

Since your trip is only in that range, why would you worry about it? Going a little over the 6K is not a problem, especially since much of your trip is likely to be pretty long mileage segments, which are MUCH easier on the engine oil than a lot of short trips.

Heck, when I did my 10/10ths ride I did not change oil until I got home, using synthetic. But, that was 10K miles in 10 days, so there was absolutely NO short distance riding in it. Pretty much on the road any time I was not sleeping.

[Big_E]

I wouldn't change oil on the road even on a 10,000 mile trip. I always start a long trip with about 1,000 miles on an oil change & don't worry about it until I get home even if it's over 6,000 miles. Most of the time it works out where I change oil before a trip & run it until before the next trip.

[messenger13]

I wouldn't change oil on the road even on a 10,000 mile trip.IMHO, that is not good advice. Last year when I went to Seattle from Cleveland, OH...I changed all my fluids at a member's house in Kent, WA. (Thanks Terry!) There are so many people willing and able to help on this forum, there simply is NO excuse to not change your oil at least.

A 5000-mile trip? OK. But a 10K-mile trip? No way José!!! http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/sad/1004.gif

[Big_E]

Good point! I have not made a 10,000 mile trip yet, but I have gone 8,000.

[dshealey]

IMHO, that is not good advice. Last year when I went to Seattle from Cleveland, OH...I changed all my fluids at a member's house in Kent, WA. (Thanks Terry!) There are so many people willing and able to help on this forum, there simply is NO excuse to not change your oil at least.

A 5000-mile trip? OK. But a 10K-mile trip? No way José!!! http://users.pandora.be/eforum/emoticons4u/sad/1004.gif

Time and short trips on oil is it's worst enemies, runnning it at nearly constant road speeds for 10 days, especially for synthetic which some run 10-12 K under normal riding conditions, is NOT a problem.

I never changed my oil at less than 6,000 miles, and when I had the engine apart because of the broken piston lands at 100,000 miles, there was NO measurable wear in the cylinders or bearings, and even the ring gaps were still within INSTALL tolerance, not even into the allowable wear range yet. I even re-assembled the engine with the same crank and rod bearings, because there would have been nothing to gain by changing them.

The only issue I ever had that could possibly be related to long oil change periods was the sprag clutch sticking, but I attribute that to the thousands of miles I ran with the broken piston ring lands, which did cause the oil to get black pretty quick due to the excessive blow by.

Running ONE time with an extended oil change period, with long miles driven at a time and over a pretty short time period is not going to harm the engine.

[Frenchy]

So on a 5500 mile or so trip I shouldn't need to stop and get the oil changed. Right?

I can't imagine stopping on a trip to change my oil :eek:

The schedule gives the ideal maintenance, but I don't think it's that important. Many bikers (ok they're not the best ones :rolleyes: ) don't even change their oil between 2 maintenance (I mean every 12k). The level is the most important part. Of course oil has to be changed frequently but the engine won't break for some thousands miles late over the schedule... ;)

[Frenchy]

that was 10K miles in 10 days

Wow... :eek:

Just wanted to salute that. :yeah:

I always dreamed of such trip, but work... wife... and now a little girl... It won't be really soon...

well, BRAVO

[messenger13]

Running ONE time with an extended oil change period, with long miles driven at a time and over a pretty short time period is not going to harm the engine.OK...let me put it this way. Finding someone on the forum to help you change your oil mid-trip is "better" for the engine, and "better" for your soul. Who knows? It might even make the trip more enjoyable. It did for me.

Of course...I realize this doesn't work for IBA rides. Unless you figure out a way to change your oil whilst doing 80mph rolling down the highway. :D

[TimVipond]

Don't you know your engine will blow up if you don't change your oil every 6,000 miles?

Don't tell my bike or the Admiral's bike that. I've done 12,000 mile engine oil changes since 60,000 miles for the past 76,000 miles and he has done 15,000 mile oil changes for the duration of his 300,000 miles.

We both use synthetic. Long trips in warm weather are very easy on motor oil. Don't interrupt your nice trip with an oil change or use valuable luggage space hauling 4 quarts of oil, filter, etc..

[Frenchy]

Don't tell my bike or the Admiral's bike that. I've done 12,000 mile engine oil changes since 60,000 miles for the past 76,000 miles and he has done 15,000 mile oil changes for the duration of his 300,000 miles.


AGREED :)

(even if I Think every 15k is really too much :D )

[mpillis]

For all the help. Riding thru yeeehhhaaaaaaaaaa

[dshealey]

--------Of course...I realize this doesn't work for IBA rides. Unless you figure out a way to change your oil whilst doing 80mph rolling down the highway. :D


Hmmmmm. We have fuel cells, why not an oil cell? Put a drain valve on the engine, find a dirt road, pull the valve string, drain the oil, then close the valve, turn on the pump of the oil cell, ride away. :D :D Of course you would have to check carefully for EPA police.

[hschisler]

Hmmmmm. We have fuel cells, why not an oil cell? Put a drain valve on the engine, find a dirt road, pull the valve string, drain the oil, then close the valve, turn on the pump of the oil cell, ride away. :D :D Of course you would have to check carefully for EPA police.David, that is starting to look like an old news reel I saw many years ago. It was in the early days of the automobiles (1920s-30s, let's say); the goal was to drive across the United States non-stop, and they did it. This meant no stopping for fuel, tire changes (frequent, back then), driver changes, tune-ups, and so on. How'd they do that?

They took a big touring car that had 2 banks of straight-8 engines that could be run independently. Rigged it up with walking platforms all around, for access and service; fabricated wheel jacks (w/temporary tires) at each corner of the vehicle. Rigged up a system to take on fuel from a support vehicle while underway.

Flat tire? Activate that wheel's jack; use the temp wheel while you change the tire -- without stopping!

Low on fuel? Signal the fuel truck; he pulls alongside and he passes you the flexible fuel line; fill up your tank.

Tired of driving? One of the other guys in the car takes over. They had several people on board, IIRC, and this was a LARGE automobile.

Food and bathroom breaks were not discussed, as I recall, but we can figure that out ourselves.

Need a tune-up or engine work? Turn off that bank of cylinders; do the engine work -- without stopping! :thumb:

I'd love to see this video clip again.

[scout70]

I recently rode from Seattle to Las Vegas on my 2006 LT. I found myself close to the 3000 mile point and opted to call ahead and have Las Vegas BMW change the oil when I arrived. They got me right in, changed the oil, thoroughly checked the bike over, washed it and got me out the door. Of course it cost me $80.00, but, there was no muss or fuss, I was on the road, and in the big picture, changing at 3000 miles is not inconvienent and is cheap insurance.

[dshealey]

-------changing at 3000 miles is not inconvienent and is cheap insurance.

Strictly a matter of preference. In my opinion, changing oil at 3K on the LT is a HUGE waste of money and oil. And, I would LOVE to see any factual data that supports any difference in engine longevity.

Spending $80 for no good reason does not seem like insurance to me, just a waste of time and money.

Now, if we had ANY evidence of LT engines failing because of oil changes being extended, or even more so done at the BMW recommended 6,000 miles instead of the unwarranted 3K that some use, that would be different. But with MANY LTs well over 100,000 miles, and quite a few at over 200,000, and no evidence of engine issues due to oil change times, I feel that there is NO good reason to change at 3K.

I can only think of three engine failure issues we have ever had on the LT sites, and I don't beleive any of these can be attributed to not changing oil soon enough. Mine was due to non oil related issues, George's was due to a bad oil leak not caught in time, don't remember the third, if there indeed was one. Victor posted recently about engine failure, but we don't have the details yet. He did mention something about his "mistake" though, so it was not likely oil change related either.

[scout70]

I can easily afford the $80.00 for a 3K oil change and appreciate having the bike looked at while away from home. On this ocasion it was worth it. An oil change is 49.00 back home and I don't mind paying for it either because it is convienent and the bike is under warranty and I can have any issues corrected while the bike is in the shop.

[petepeterson]

David, I must agree with you... BMW not Havoline said to run 6k between oil changes... Seems they would know they built hte motor....

Secondly,, running the motor over 6k will not hurt a thing.. Its a short time period so a few extra miles won't do ANY damage...

Time has a far worse effect on oil than miles... Time allows the carbon particles and grit to stay suspended and in the motor..Plus the motor heating up and cooling off over and over will draw more moisture than long non stop miles...........Regards Pete

[mneblett]

6k here, too; no technical reason to do it sooner with the daily driving routine I have.

Before this turns into another religious oil thread, folks also need to keep in mind that 6K is a semi-arbitrary number, with considerable flexibility built in.

Remember, 6K wasn't specified because a German slide rule arrived at this number with "scientific" precision -- 6,000 miles is the closest English equivalent to the originally-specified 10,000 km intervals. Whether that 10K was precisely defined, or instead was a "close enough, Klaus, to ensure no one goes *too* long," I don't know. I suspect that it's based more on experience and an oil life estimation algorithm which considers different driving styles and rates of oil additive depletion, oil component evaporation and breakdown, and water condensation effects, rather than "proof testing" to try to define a definitive "must change" point.

Personally, I believe it's more important what *type* of miles, than how many. The little reading I've done on the subject suggests that the additives and oil consistuents are barely starting to deplete at 3K, and aren't all that much lower at 6K, so I wouldn't think twice about going to 12K if I had to and it was primarily low-strain highway miles (especially after I knew the rings had finished seating, minimizing carbon blow-by into the oil). Water is the big variable here -- lots of riding where the oil gets little chance to warm up long enough to drive off condensation, and my oil change intervals would be much more frequent, regardless of how good the additive levels still were.

Guess we need BMW to put an oil life function in the computer on the '08 LT :)

[yaklt]

Lesse if I can remember the 3 things that really can cause your oil to ... not protect your motor:

1] Particles (carbon isn't nearly what fine metal particles are); Your filter will really take care of all but the smallest of these... too long, and too many small particulates... worry if you race, have a new motor (or motor pieces) or already have something wrong that you don't know about yet :-)

2] chemistry / acidity - this is why I change my oil before putting up for the "winter" (ya, all two months or whatever I refuse to ride!)... Good to get it nice and hot, and put in fresh at the start of the season too just to get the moisture and chemistry effects out (a chemical / petroleum / fleet analyst would be able to give you specifics; I remember looking over reams of this kind of data once - impressed, but don't remember much except that there's chemistry going on in the oil)..... This is one reason I go synth now - I _think_ it reduces the amount / kinds of chemistry going on (but could be blitheringly ignorant about it!)

3] Viscosity and breakdown of oil... Heat, time causes petroleum molecules to break down ... resulting hydrocarbon chunks other's have mentioned are one product, "thinner" (shorter molecule) oil is another.... this is second reason I use synth (and it's even more important in an air cooled boxer twin).

I remember my dad (the engineer in this area) would've said [1] says buy good filters, period. [2] and [3] says change your oil, especially if your engine stands, or goes thru many cold operating condition cycles (like my 1 mile commute to work - not enough!).

So - what does that say about changing oil on a trip? Warantee considerations aside, ENGINE LOAD / HEAT should be considered. If you're riding one up leasurely accross country - different than if you're loaded 2 up for camping, with trailer running the mountain passes.... a little over won't affect much (if no extreme operating conditions), and when in doubt --- just change it!

BTW - worse than all I've read in this thread is OVER FILLING your crankcase: when you're driving, the oil and combustion gases mix _into the oil_!!! If you EVER see your dealer overfill the crankcase, and claim "it'll burn off" - make him drain it down (or he'll be complaining at the next change about "how black your oil is - what'd ya do to it?" - idiot service guys.... grrrrr....).