Tyler Jane Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 My odometer is currently at 3150 miles, and I've owned the bike for about 53 days. And I've been worried that it needs an oil change sooner than anticipated (the first oil change was at 700 miles). I feel like I'm ultra sensitive to how the bike feels, and it just hasn't been feeling as great. I feel like I'm picking up more vibration and it just doesn't feel as peppy as it used to. And what makes me nervous is the fact that my oil sight window is completely black all the time. I keep going to check it and I can't see a damn thing. I've checked it after the bikes been sitting awhile, and I've checked it just after riding. Always pitch black with no indication of what the level is. Is this normal? I kind of want to just change the oil already but maybe I'm just being paranoid. It's not like it can hurt anything, right? Plus it might just be nice to give the engine it's first taste of synthetic. Do you think I should I just go ahead and do it, or should I leave it alone for now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JerzieFREQ Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 If you love your bike then you would change your oil about 1500-2000 miles. Please buy this and the K&N Filter. Best deal for synthetic oil. Change your oil asap. If its so pitch black that you cant see anything then its time to change it. and I seriously cant tell if you're trolling us. lol. But anyways hope you do it asap and let me know how it goes. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008MISF54?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amycyclenut Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 The bike should be upright when checking the oil in the sight glass (not on the side stand). It should be clearly visible what the level is. If it's not, it's either over-filled or under-filled. Either way, if you want to change the oil, change the oil. 2015 FZ-07 1986 FZ600 1974 CB450 1973 RD350 sold: 1970 CB350, 1972 CB175, 2009 Vespa S 150 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member jake Posted August 4, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted August 4, 2015 You are going to hear many different thoughts on this topic. I go with between 3 and 4 thousand closer to 3 oil is cheep insurance IMO. Like said above the bike has to be upright not leaning over on the stand. have some one hold it up for you if you need to its kinda hard to balance 300 lbs and look in the sight glass. 2015 FZ-07 2003 2014 GSXR 1000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magsz18 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 If you love your bike then you would change your oil about 1500-2000 miles. Please buy this and the K&N Filter. Best deal for synthetic oil. Change your oil asap. If its so pitch black that you cant see anything then its time to change it. and I seriously cant tell if you're trolling us. lol. But anyways hope you do it asap and let me know how it goes. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008MISF54?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER 1500-2000 miles? Um...Why? A modern synthetic oil will easily last 3000-4000 miles or FAR longer. Spending 50 bucks on oil and a filter every 1500 miles is a huge waste of money unless you can break it down for me as to why lovers of their motorcycles need to express their love every 1500 miles. Tyler, If you're concerned, do an oil change and collect a sample and send it out to a lab for analysis. Jet black oil is generally not what you want to see after only 2500 miles or so. ALL oil at that "age" will be darker than when it went in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ralph Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Yep paranoid absolutely no reason to change it so soon but it's your bike UK bikes are only slated for 6000 mile service mines just had it done, no noticeable difference they know that in the US you are really keen on oil changes so are quit happy to shorten the service intervals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JerzieFREQ Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 @magsz18 Well I've only had the first service at 600 miles at a dealer. So I've only put 600 on brand new oil and it seems to getting darker than I expected. Thats how I estimated 1500-2000. When I decide to do it myself and go full synthetic that estimate will change of course. I am hoping I can go longer between oil changes. You are absolutely right about it being a "huge waste of money." Trust me I try to save money where I can. Just at this rate I will be changing my oil when I hit 2000 miles for sure. Maybe you've had better luck than me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magsz18 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Tell us about your luck. Have you cooked an engine before from lack of oil? There are far too many people out there that have sent out oil for analysis that proves that modern synthetics and even dyno oil last far longer than most people give it credit for. The key is to use the CORRECT weight oil for your application. Peace of mine is one thing, paranoia is another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member hobbs Posted August 4, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted August 4, 2015 Visual tests reveal close to nothing regarding oil life or condition. You would need a lab to analyze a sample. Wouldn't hurt to change it however, then you can rest assured that all is well. At 600 miles did they sync the throttle bodies? And I mean actually sync, not pass it over and tell you it's good to go because the bike was new. Everything went braap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Jane Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Thanks for the comments everyone. I think I'm just going to go ahead and change it. That will give me a chance to put full synthetic in it (this time and from here on out), and it'll make me feel better about not being able to see anything through the window. I figure it's better to do this now as a precautionary troubleshooting measure, rather than do nothing and wait for something worse to possibly happen. Even if it turns out to just be baseless paranoia on my part, at least I'll have gotten some peace of mind out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Jane Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Visual tests reveal close to nothing regarding oil life or condition. You would need a lab to analyze a sample. Wouldn't hurt to change it however, then you can rest assured that all is well. At 600 miles did they sync the throttle bodies? And I mean actually sync, not pass it over and tell you it's good to go because the bike was new. I took it to the dealership for the first service and the throttle body sync was part of the work order. Of course, I didn't actually watch them do it so I'm not 100% certain it was done, but I have no reason to believe they skipped over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Jane Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Tell us about your luck. Have you cooked an engine before from lack of oil? There are far too many people out there that have sent out oil for analysis that proves that modern synthetics and even dyno oil last far longer than most people give it credit for. The key is to use the CORRECT weight oil for your application. Peace of mine is one thing, paranoia is another. So just curious, what kind of analysis do they actually do on motor oil? Are they checking specific properties of the oil, or looking for metal shavings/debris, or what? What properties of the oil change as it reaches the end of its lifespan? Edit: Nevermind, did some quick googling: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/engine-oil-analysis/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member ch3rryghost Posted August 4, 2015 Premium Member Share Posted August 4, 2015 @magsz18 Well I've only had the first service at 600 miles at a dealer. So I've only put 600 on brand new oil and it seems to getting darker than I expected. Thats how I estimated 1500-2000. When I decide to do it myself and go full synthetic that estimate will change of course. I am hoping I can go longer between oil changes. You are absolutely right about it being a "huge waste of money." Trust me I try to save money where I can. Just at this rate I will be changing my oil when I hit 2000 miles for sure. Maybe you've had better luck than me.Just because it's dark doesn't always necessarily mean it's time for new oil. Instead of just going off visual why don't you get a real analysis done and remove all guessing? http://www.blackstone-labs.com/motorcycle.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JerzieFREQ Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 @ch3rryghost will do. I was just looking at their website. Have you used them personally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmwpowere36m3 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 @ch3rryghost will do. I was just looking at their website. Have you used them personally? I've used them before with my M3... No issues. It's definitely neat seeing the results. It used to cost $20 + shipping a sample. However you really need to do a few to get a baseline for your engine and oil change interval. I use Rotella oil, $12 for 5 qts is cheaper than sending in an oil sample multiple times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemer Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I believe the 2nd oil change was suppose to come at 3k miles. If you can't see any oil in the window you best get some oil in there. If it's low or hopefully none at all no wonder it isn't as peppy! Don't hurt your engine, get some oil in it fast! Beemer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Jane Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 I believe the 2nd oil change was suppose to come at 3k miles. If you can't see any oil in the window you best get some oil in there. If it's low or hopefully none at all no wonder it isn't as peppy! Don't hurt your engine, get some oil in it fast!No, I don't think it's too low. If anything, it's overfilled. All I see when I look at the sight window is black. All black. No line of any kind. And it's pitch black too; like it doesn't seem translucent at all. I'm just going to go ahead and change the oil for my own peace of mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemer Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I believe the 2nd oil change was suppose to come at 3k miles. If you can't see any oil in the window you best get some oil in there. If it's low or hopefully none at all no wonder it isn't as peppy! Don't hurt your engine, get some oil in it fast!No, I don't think it's too low. If anything, it's overfilled. All I see when I look at the sight window is black. All black. No line of any kind. And it's pitch black too; like it doesn't seem translucent at all. I'm just going to go ahead and change the oil for my own peace of mind. Good idea, too much oil in an engine can hurt it's performance (not as peppy) and the engine itself. Beemer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruizin Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Moving this thread to tech problems and answers Yamaha MT-10 ForumYamaha Tracer 900 Forum Yamaha Ténéré 700 Forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ralph Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 What ever you decide do not use any oil in your bike that says "Energy Conserving" on the label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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