oil change fall or spring

[czdaryle]

Okay...I have about 2500 miles since last oil change. For storing for the winter is it better to change oil in fall or spring. I do not want to do two oil changes when in fall and spring as the cost. Just like to know what every one else is doing. I was planning on doing it in the spring but my dealer suggested fall as not to let it sit with the bad oil

 

[NancysToy]

Okay...I have about 2500 miles since last oil change. For storing for the winter is it better to change oil in fall or spring. I do not want to do two oil changes when in fall and spring as the cost. Just like to know what every one else is doing. I was planning on doing it in the spring but my dealer suggested fall as not to let it sit with the bad oil

I change oil in the fall for all my vintage bikes. That assures that no acid or moisture contaminants are present to cause problems while they sit. For the only one that has a filter, I do not change the filter until it is due, but do put in fresh oil before storage. I also change the oil (and filter) again at the original interval, even if it is only a month after Spring startup.

I do not change the oil on my BMW R1100RT until it is due. The reason is that I ride as much as I can in the winter, so it doesn't sit unless we get snowed or iced in. It also has the advantage of synthetic oil. These oils have great clinging ability, and film strength, so they do not tend to flow off the parts in time and leave them exposed to corrosion. I say this after a 27 year career in the wastewater industry, much of it in engineering and maintenance. After we switched to synthetic oils, we no longer had to worry about three month oil changes, merely due to contamination, or damage from corrosion to equipment out of service. There is no worse environment in the winter than above a steaming wastewater tank in the winter cold.

I do not think you would have trouble with the Spyder for storage of a month or two, but for longer, or if you want to change the oil for storage to feel safe, do it in the fall. It is almost due, anyway.
-Scotty

 

[BeRight]

My motorcycle and soon to be Spyder approach, maybe an overkill: Change oil before winter shutdown. My bike usually sits for 3+ months: Come Spring before first ride change oil and oil filter.

I also fill gas tank and include Seafoam gas treatment- run for a couple of minutes before the oil change.

Very little money, once a year, for my peace of mind.

The money is lost in the noise, when you think about your dealer visits to keep your machine under warranty and those times when you have issues/problems with the Spyder.

 

[boogllasti]

My motorcycle and soon to be Spyder approach, maybe an overkill: Change oil before winter shutdown. My bike usually sits for 3+ months: Come Spring before first ride change oil and oil filter.

I also fill gas tank and include Seafoam gas treatment- run for a couple of minutes before the oil change.

Very little money, once a year, for my peace of mind.

The money is lost in the noise, when you think about your dealer visits to keep your machine under warranty and those times when you have issues/problems with the Spyder.

:agree::agree::agree:


I could not agree more. If you are storing it for the entire 3 months in winter - change the oil in the fall - and then in the spring do the oil AND filter. It's a small price to pay for piece of mind.

I'll be running mine once a week all winter - at least idle up to 2 bars to keep everything in good shape. I'll do a total oil change in the fall (almost at 6,000 now anyway) and then again in the spring before any serious riding.

 

[cisaacs]

I am not hard core but plan on running mine on every warm day this winter, which will mean it should not set much at all. I am just on the line between cold and warm weather and we have a lot of nice days all winter.

 

[LittleJohn]

I'll be running mine once a week all winter - at least idle up to 2 bars to keep everything in good shape.

FYI
As I understand it, this may not be the best route to go. If you are gonna start it frequently, you should let it get all the way up to operating temps, or you are more likely to get condensation in various places, including water absorption in the oil. Bringing it all the way to operating temps will help evaporate that water.
Just what Ive heard.:read:

 

[boogllasti]

Guess I'll read up on that - but around 2 bars in the cooler weather seems pretty normal operating temps for me - at least it was riding home the other night when it was in the high 50's.

 

[NancysToy]

FYI
As I understand it, this may not be the best route to go. If you are gonna start it frequently, you should let it get all the way up to operating temps, or you are more likely to get condensation in various places, including water absorption in the oil. Bringing it all the way to operating temps will help evaporate that water.
Just what Ive heard.:read:

You are right on the money, Little John. In addition to having to get the engine hot enough to boil off any condensation, it has to be there long enough to evaporate the water completely. This is difficult to achieve sitting still in a closed garage. I personally never start them in storage, unless I am going to ride them. In very long term storage, I will turn the engines over by hand once in a while, to prevent seizing and to coat the gears and such with a fresh coating of oil.

The oil temperature is usually hotter than the water temperature on an engine, but keep in mind that we were just told in another post that the fifth bar on the water temp gauge doesn't come on until the water is 212 degrees. Just at the boiling point. Assuming the oil is a little hotter, it would take several minutes running at a level of at least three or four bars to evaporate the water. Hard to achieve in a cold garage in the winter. My preference, keep the batteries charged, and either ride them periodically, or completely mothball them and let them sit quietly. These methods have not failed me for dozens of motorcycles and cars, and many decades of collecting them.
-Scotty

 

[boogllasti]

I should have mentioned - My Spyder will be stored in 100% climate controlled building - will be 68-72 degress all winter long.

 

[Director]

You are right on the money, Little John. In addition to having to get the engine hot enough to boil off any condensation, it has to be there long enough to evaporate the water completely. This is difficult to achieve sitting still in a closed garage. I personally never start them in storage, unless I am going to ride them. In very long term storage, I will turn the engines over by hand once in a while, to prevent seizing and to coat the gears and such with a fresh coating of oil.

The oil temperature is usually hotter than the water temperature on an engine, but keep in mind that we were just told in another post that the fifth bar on the water temp gauge doesn't come on until the water is 212 degrees. Just at the boiling point. Assuming the oil is a little hotter, it would take several minutes running at a level of at least three or four bars to evaporate the water. Hard to achieve in a cold garage in the winter. My preference, keep the batteries charged, and either ride them periodically, or completely mothball them and let them sit quietly. These methods have not failed me for dozens of motorcycles and cars, and many decades of collecting them.
-Scotty

Correct Scotty. That is how I have stored my motorcycles over the winter for many years. I use a Battery Tender to keep my battery up to snuff.

Bruce

 

[czdaryle]

thanks for the feedback. My dealer said the samething to do it fall and spring. You know unfortunatly tho my dealer has been nothing but great you nevere know. I thought maybe he was trying to get another oil change. Damn I was hoping to get away with one...does oil break down that much just sitting? Oh well you guys are right with the cost of the bike might as well do it. Just out of curioisty I had a boat and for storage you only changed is once...either spring or fall, why is there a difference?

 

[BeRight]

Well it's not a bad idea to do both on your boat - - I know that I do on mine - it even sits longer than my motorcycle.

Different strokes for different folks

 

[Star Cruiser]

What's the point of changing your CLEAN oil in the spring after you've already removed the contaminated oil and filter before prolonged storage in the fall?? Doesn't make sense to me...

I change the fluids on my bikes according to the service schedule. Even though I'm in the Northeast, if the the roads are snow free, I'll ride all winter. The bikes rarely sit longer than 30 days. I do use a battery tender on them if they're going to sit longer than a week or so.

:agree: I have always changed my oil before I store my bikes. Then in the Spring, start 'er up. Start off nice and slow for a warm up period (riding slowly through the gears). After about 15 - 20 minutes I am off to the start of a new year. I usually put stablizer in the gas tank, full tank. This has never been with synthetic oil though, but I was expecting to do the same with my Spyder. I store it in an unheated garage, covered with an indoor cover, with the battery removed and kept at room temperature inside the house. Most of my Bikes have had more than 100,000km on them. Bikes are usually stored from Mid October until Late April/Early May.