Question To change or not to change ... that is the question!

[Ulrich]

I am in the process of changing my engine oil ... and got to thinking, that this may be a good topic to put towards the forum.
Ever since I had bikes (and that is a long time!) I change the engine and transmission oil and at the same time and grease and adjust the chain ... well with the BMW I don't have a chain so I also change the final drive oil at that time. It adds about $20 to my oil change and I always considered it well worth the while ... especially considering that the final drive takes quite some punishment (at least in my case ) ... what do you all think ...
By the way that happens around every 4000 miles ... or at least somewhere close to that, when convenient.

 

[Noelpolar]

Generally, I see it as just a little bit more peaceful garage time, the oils are pretty cheap if sourced correctly, so I just do the 3 at the same time. For me it is just once a year as milage is split between 2 bikes..... brake fluid every 2 years. Not much oil in the diff or gear box..... and it's pretty low as far as enviromental considerations go (if that is one's thing).

 

[Ulrich]

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Rufus]

I’ve always over serviced my stuff really but it’s because it gives me pleasure and satisfaction. Garage time as Noelpolar puts it so well. It’s an escape from the madness we all live in……

 

[Star-Lord]

I agree on the thought that performing the maintenance is relaxing and an amazing outlet to forget about my day job for a couple of hours.

I track the miles as the trigger point to replenish the fluids; however, I try to replace the air filter at the end of each Fall Season as riding slows down as the Winter season starts to take hold. I typically have 1 to 2 new stock paper filters on hand, as well as oil filters and crush rings.

I always offset the cost of the oil, filters, tools and of course the time out riding against what it would cost me to see a therapist....

 

[BobW]

Pretty similar. We no longer see "severe" v. "normal" use intervals provided that were routinely listed on every piece of machinery/vehicle I've owned until recent years. We now see OEMs limit owners manuals information to more and more of mostly useless info let alone allow OEM repair manuals to be purchased. I think motorcycles in general are designed with limited cooling capabilities and minimum quantities of all fluids in components demanding a lot from their lubricants and being used in a way that they all would benefit from "severe" use servicing intervals. If one doesn't put on many miles they may never see any issues, but for the more demanding and/or longer miles owner some prudent preventative servicing that compliments "routine" scheduled maintenance is my preferred way to approach it.

 

[Noelpolar]

The real quesrion needed here is..... what to drink whilst servicing your bike and how much? Should one torque critcle fastners after xx number of whiskies.... or phone a friend?

Part of me does think drinking whilst doing fork work is not a good idea, especially on your own bike.... so maybe bleed the brakes, do the forks first before things get too happy.... this is real man internet problem solving....

 

[Keehn]

The real quesrion needed here is..... what to drink whilst servicing your bike and how much? Should one torque critcle fastners after xx number of whiskies.... or phone a friend?

Part of me does think drinking whilst doing fork work is not a good idea, especially on your own bike.... so maybe bleed the brakes, do the forks first before things get too happy.... this is real man internet problem solving....

Hefeweizen is my beer style of choice.

As for wrench-turning, not a whole lot of brainpower goes into that for me, making beer/garage time a proper affair. OTOH, when I'm writing a computer program...that's different

Plus beer makes busted knuckles a little more tolerable

Mike

 

[Ulrich]

The real quesrion needed here is..... what to drink whilst servicing your bike and how much? Should one torque critcle fastners after xx number of whiskies.... or phone a friend?

Part of me does think drinking whilst doing fork work is not a good idea, especially on your own bike.... so maybe bleed the brakes, do the forks first before things get too happy.... this is real man internet problem solving....

Proper #12 and Corona 'Familiar' to chase ... and that is why I invested in a good set of torque wrenches!