fall or spring oil change

[DeanR]

To change oil when putting away for the winter or to change oil when starting up in the spring.
Which do people generally think is the best idea?

[Ken Talbot]

After last fall ride, fresh cheap oil for winter storage. Then, that oil changed out after first ride in spring, replaced with the good stuff. Which button is that?

[DeanR]

Ken, why do you suggest changing it twice?
Double the mess!
Condensation over the winter?

[Ken Talbot]

Double the mess - yes.

Condensation - yes, that's my theory.

Or at least the theory I think I remember reading somewhere. I certainly wouldn't want the bike to sit all winter with dirty oil. The springtime flush always seems to get rid of a bit more - it never comes out perfectly clean.

[Pat Kelly]

Winter storage..... what a concept.
I'm glad I live in California.
Sure, it gets down to the high 20's F in winter. It rains. Fog that cuts visibility to 30 feet is a hassle.
Winter storage? That's why I have 2 XS11's. Summer bike (LG) and winter bike (E).

[xs650mike]

What winter?

I'm with Pat on this one; but if there were winters hereabouts that required putting the bike away I'd vote for the changing it fall and spring. 3 winters ago my driveway needed to be shovelled twice. Last year not at all. I ride all year, except when there's ice. I change oil every 2,000 miles or 2 months whichever is soonest. I can't remember when 2 months was soonest.

[John]

Winter?

What is this winter of which you speak? Is that when the temps go below 40 degrees? Hell, that's a summer morning where I come from. (Maine) Here in TX, the folks think 40 is cold. I used to ride in most any tmperature, but now I don't go out if it is below 35 degrees. It seems to take these old bones longer to warm back up.
I usually change my gear oils (synthetic) and do my heavy inspections when my yearly state saftey inspection comes due.

[Snow]

It gets into the 20's at night sometimes here in January I'd also vote for both after the last ride (cheap stuff) and before first of the Spring with good stuff. Or if you use Rotella, just do it twice as it's pretty cheap.

[Shuriken]

I want to ride more than old man winter wants me to. I've attempted to ride my various bikes in the winter, but here, it's just too darn cold. I've experienced how hard it is on my car to try and start it at -20f. Fortunately, those days are anomalies. But it's regularly too cold to ride in the winter where I live.

Once I had about 3 layers plus coveralls on to do a 2 hr ride in the winter. Couldn't keep my hands and feet warm, not to mention I can't keep it warm inside the helmet.

Ben

[Jerry]

Well, while I don't have to put my bike up as long as I did in Wisconsin, winter does come to Colorado's high country and I unpack my trusty V-Max snowmobile and put the XJ away for a while.

Fresh oil and filter over the winter is the way to go. I don't want the contaminants of summer in the crankcase all winter. Also top off the fuel tank and put a float charger on the battery. (Float charger is on a 24 hour timer, runs about an hour a day.)

Since my bike is in an unheated garage and the relative humidity out here is around 5 - 15 percent, I don't worry about winter condensation. Although I usually do my first oil change of the summer before the 3K mark, I don't hold to a rigid schedule...just depends on how my riding has gone. Most of my miles are 75 mph freeway running to and from work (30 miles each way), very little in-town or stop-and-go conditions, different situations (thus best practices) will vary.

I do turn the petcocks off and run the carbs dry. After the engine quits I drain the fuel bowls, easy enough on an XJ, to make sure there is no water accumulated there. (The XJ carbs have built-in drain screws (Phillips) with small spigots; put a hose on the spigots so you don't drain gas over your engine.) Takes about 10 - 15 minutes to drain all 4.

A good cleaning finishes off my winterizing technique. Nice to come out in the sping and look at a nice, shiney bike; gets the wanderlust going.....

[Czekus21]

Well I had to chime in on this poll. MIYAMI gets her "transfusion" when she needs it. It seems that I put more miles on her in the winter then in summer. Mabee it's because the home projects are on hold, and things slow down a little at work. I go over the bike in early spring ( during the cold rain season ) inside and out. Every nut, bolt, clip, hose, evrything gets inspected, repaired, altered, changed and or replaced. This is the one time a year that I don't like to ride. I don't mind cold and I don't mind wet but both together are for the birds. as far as changing the oil. I bought the spin on oil filter adapter from TopCatgr58. We'll see how well it works. This should get me to change the oil a little more often.

[sixtysix]

I just read in one of the magazines that changing the oil before storage is the way to go then just run it in the spring like it was (and is) a nice fresh oil change. The acids and contaminates are not good for the metals blah blah blah. Any condensation over winter would boil out the first time you heat it up anyway.

That being said, I have always considered the spring oil change to be a ritual, and have always done it the other way as long as the oil was reasonably fresh.

This year I am going to change oil before storage, and I also hooked up battery tenders on all the bikes so I would not have to pull the maintenance free batteries!

I think it will be easier to sneak out to a winter rally someplace warm (anybody who lives someplace warm, please have a winter rally!!).

[Czekus21]

Well if the winter weather does this year, what it's done the last few. It'll be 70 degrees here in South Dakota Christmas.
A winter rally in south Texas or New Mexico would be cool.

[Wayne]

Riding season in SE Texas is March to June (July and August too damn hot!) and Sept. to January (sometimes its too cold and rainy in Feb to ride, sometimes not).

So I usually have mine changed in Summer or when Ive ridden enough miles to warrant it.