Miles on oil change

[gerald37]

I know the manual says 9,000 miles on oil changes. How many people on here go that far? It just seems a little far for me. I have always changed my oil around 4 to 5 thousand miles. I am going to be using Mobil 1 4T 10/40. I have a 2015 RT with automatic transmission. It had the original service at 3,000 miles then it was changed at 8600. When I purchased it I did not know it had been serviced at 8,600 so at 10,800 I changed it again with Can Am oil kit. Now I have about 4,000 miles on the oil. That means I could go another 5,000 miles but I don't think I will.

[Highwayman2013]

The only way to tell how far to go is with oil analysis. I did an analysis on BRP oil in my 2012 RTL and at 4,600 it was confirmed the oil was shot. Going to do one on the 2016 F3L when I get to 9,000 on the oil. However I do know someone that has 122,000 on her 2014 RTS using Amsoil at 9,000 mile changes.

[ARtraveler]

It is 9000 miles or ONCE A YEAR. I have 5000 plus on my 2014 so far this year. The dealer will see mine for service in the Spring--after the winter sleep. My new Vulcan stole over 3000 miles from the Spyder.

Most people do not actually run the full 9000 miles between oil changes. Earlier than recommended cannot hurt. If in doubt, change it out.

[Chupaca]

from being here for a spell I have seen many oil analysis and the great majority show oil breaking down from 4,000 miles on up. I change my oil between 3,000 and 5,000 miles depending on the ryding I am doing. Mind you mountain twisties require a lot of shifting and is tougher on the oil running through the gearbox, clutch and the engine. There I will do it at 3,000 where as ryding the freeway long distances with little shifting is easier on the oil so I will go the 5,000 mile change. The new recommendation of 9,000 or one year I think is more for the crusier and touring units which are less harsh on the oil....

[Saluda]

Mine will be changed long before 9000.

[gerald37]

from being here for a spell I have seen many oil analysis and the great majority show oil breaking down from 4,000 miles on up. I change my oil between 3,000 and 5,000 miles depending on the ryding I am doing. Mind you mountain twisties require a lot of shifting and is tougher on the oil running through the gearbox, clutch and the engine. There I will do it at 3,000 where as ryding the freeway long distances with little shifting is easier on the oil so I will go the 5,000 mile change. The new recommendation of 9,000 or one year I think is more for the crusier and touring units which are less harsh on the oil....

I have had this Spyder for 2 months and have put over 4,000 miles on it. I do all my own service so it won't be going to a dealer. I think I will change it the same as I have with all my other bikes 4 to 5 thousand miles.

[Cleg]

After seeing the engineering that goes into the Spyder line at the 10th Anniversary, and having dinner with one of engineers, I have to say I believe they know what they are doing... they say change the oil at 9300 and use their XPS oil. My 2 cents is to follow the directions and run it as they say. I may change my mind after someone posts the results of oil analysis and convinces me otherwise. In any event regular maintenance can’t be beaten, 🕙 will tell. P

[Samson]

I had the dealer do the 3000 mile service , I supplied Castrol 4t 10 40 at 3000 miles. I will change every 3000 miles. Pretty cheap insurance to know I have clean oil. I have not done the oil analysis but I am pretty sure changing at 3000 miles still leaves me with a good margin of error on when the oil is getting bad.

[SpyderAnn01]

I change mine st 9,300 miles. 123,000 miles and going strong.

[missouriboy]

Mine will be changed long before 9000.

But you don't say what you're ryding. The 9000 recommendation is only for the 1330 engine, not the 998. I think...

[PistonBlown]

I have an RS with the 998 engine so in theory the changes are every 7500km but I change my oil and filter every 5000km. With the sort of riding I do it puts a high strain on the engine so I prefer to keep things happy.

However in truth the Rotax engines do seem to be very robust and will happily run all day, day after day, so I suspect I'd be fine leaving it longer.

I've always changed my oil on my bikes more regularly than specified in the manual. Just work on the principle that the cost of the filter and some oil is a lot cheaper than having to strip the engine down to replace something major.

[barryhn]

I change mine every 6,000 miles. Besides oil is not too expensive.

[Saluda]

have heard discussions saying this is not just about miles to a oil change, but the government trying to reduce the amount of waste oil in this country.

[Cleg]

have heard discussions saying this is not just about miles to a oil change, but the government trying to reduce the amount of waste oil in this country.

Big brother is really stretching it to suggest that! Although there may be some, well truth, to that I tend to doubt it.

[Buckeye Chuck 54]

I used XPS for the first 100,000, changed at 7500 miles. Then I switched to Amsoil and change at 8000 miles. 142,000 and still runs like new.
Chuck

[gerald37]

After reading all the replies I am going to continue doing what I have in the past and change my oil about every 4000 miles. I do all my own servie oil is pretty cheap. I will use a good motorcycle oil.

[gerald37]

I used XPS for the first 100,000, changed at 7500 miles. Then I switched to Amsoil and change at 8000 miles. 142,000 and still runs like new.
Chuck

I was planning on switching to Mobil 1 4T but I found on the internet on sale XPS 4 Stroke Oil change Kit 219800356 $65.59 shipped prepaid. I decided to stay with Can Am oil instead. I would think it would be as good as any oil for the Spyder.

[jcthorne]

After seeing the engineering that goes into the Spyder line at the 10th Anniversary, and having dinner with one of engineers, I have to say I believe they know what they are doing... they say change the oil at 9300 and use their XPS oil. My 2 cents is to follow the directions and run it as they say. I may change my mind after someone posts the results of oil analysis and convinces me otherwise. In any event regular maintenance can’t be beaten, 🕙 will tell. P

Its already been posted here. XPS is one of the worst that has been analyzed. Even the best synthetics have broken down by 5000 miles.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

have heard discussions saying this is not just about miles to a oil change, but the government trying to reduce the amount of waste oil in this country.

Let's see, 1990 was what, 27 years ago? My 1990 Acura Legend had a specified oil change interval of 7,500 miles, so long intervals are not new. And that was with dino oils! Actually, I remember it as being 15,000 miles but a copy of the service manual I just now found shows 7,500 mile intervals.

[gerald37]

Its already been posted here. XPS is one of the worst that has been analyzed. Even the best synthetics have broken down by 5000 miles.

No matter what oil I would say it would be the worst same as when I was asking about tires. Everyone of the manufactures has the best. If you change oil every 4000 miles I don't see any problems. I would not think Can Am would offer the worst oil on the market.

[Saluda]

have heard discussions saying this is not just about miles to a oil change, but the government trying to reduce the amount of waste oil in this country.

Heard it coupled with a discussion on the ability of garages to burn waste oil in Mass. Came from a friend (mechanic) who had one such burner .

[jcthorne]

Heard it coupled with a discussion on the ability of garages to burn waste oil in Mass. Came from a friend (mechanic) who had one such burner .

I burn all the waste oil from my shop in my truck (its an older diesel that is speced to run up to 7.5% waste oil) but that has no bearing on the recommended oil change intervals.

The biggest reason oil does not hold up well in the 1330s is the combined engine and trans. Motor oils do not hold up to shear from gears well and gear oils do not do well in engines. The engine oil in the 1330 breaks down to a thinner oil over time.

[jcthorne]

No matter what oil I would say it would be the worst same as when I was asking about tires. Everyone of the manufactures has the best. If you change oil every 4000 miles I don't see any problems. I would not think Can Am would offer the worst oil on the market.

I never claimed XPS was the worst oil on the market. I said it was the worst among those oils users here had submitted used oil analysis for. Its also the only NON synthetic in the group so a bit of an unfair comparison. Most owners that move away from the OEM XPS oil go to a full synthetic. The used oil analysis results have consistently shown that is a great move. Even if it does not allow 9300 miles on an oil change.

[missouriboy]

have heard discussions saying this is not just about miles to a oil change, but the government trying to reduce the amount of waste oil in this country.

Yes, it's true alright, according to a long article I read in an Auto Service Business trade magazine long ago. Here's the gist of it, as best as I can recall:

The government (EPA?) was concerned that literally tons of perfectly good oil was being discarded due to the standard recommendation of 3000 mile oil changes. The 3000 was intended to cover the worst-case scenario, to protect the engine (that was under warranty, of course). But, the vast majority of cars are NOT driven in worst-case conditions, so the 3000 mile rule was very wasteful for those cars. What to do?

The gubmint colluded with the smart folks at SAE, which resulted in the solution known as the computerized Oil Life Index that's found in most cars today. The rest of the article then described and discussed those index algorithms. I had just acquired a car with such an index (2001 LeSabre) so I was very interested in learning about them.

The computer tracks four metrics to compute the index: RPM, oil temperature, time, and (I forget the 4th one; number of cold starts, maybe?). As driving progresses, these variables reduce the "percent of life remaining" in the oil, which gives differing results for each vehicle depending on its actual usage. (When I change my oil every 6000 miles, the Index generally shows 30 to 50 percent life still remaining. The manual says don't go over 7500 miles, or 1 year, as a maximum.)

Since there was no history with which to define the algorithms, three different "best guess" formulas were developed. Each one was then assigned to Ford, GM, and Chrysler for testing. As dealers did oil changes the oil was analyzed and statistics were compiled for SAE to evaluate the formulas, and eventually select the best one. And also to make improvements to it, if indicated.

So it wasn't just "gubmint meddling." Sounds like mighty smart business to me!

[kep-up]

I burn all the waste oil from my shop in my truck (its an older diesel that is speced to run up to 7.5% waste oil) but that has no bearing on the recommended oil change intervals.

The biggest reason oil does not hold up well in the 1330s is the combined engine and trans. Motor oils do not hold up to shear from gears well and gear oils do not do well in engines. The engine oil in the 1330 breaks down to a thinner oil over time.

The best solution is to use motorcycle oil. It is designed to be used in engine/transmission applications. It can be purchased very easily from your local motorcycle shop. I have used HONDA's GN4 for many years in my motorcycles and now in my Spyder RSS. Have never had any type of oil related breakdown in over 30 years.