CURIOUS-how often between services???

[buellbabe]

Went in clean.... came out clean, a year later.
Thats the thing with a good engine and top oils...... they last

Hmmm you have a good point there D. Brings back memories of my first Sporty... she didn't have an oil change for about 10,000kms and altho it wasn't clean-as when it came out I swear the oil LEVEL had barely changed!!! Damn good little bike!

[dangerous]

she didn't have an oil change for about 10,000kms and altho it wasn't clean-as when it came out I swear the oil LEVEL had barely changed!!!

Ahhhh... but this brings us to another point BB, condesation.... now most engines will use some oil, but the reason the level dosent drop is due to a condensation build up.
Now this will be a lot worse for a bike that dosent travel very far in a week ie: a bike used every day on the open rd will avaparate any condensation.

So if the bike has done 10,000k or 1,000k in a year it still pays to replace it, remember my point initally was that oils last longer these days when being used.

Just to reionforce my pointy today (cos really I could be spouting a load a shit again) A deisel engine will use oil... however they often get a lot of blow by of deisel past the rings... this drains to the sump were it dilutes the oil, hence the level dosent ulta.... but the state of ya engine does IMHO

[Bonez]

Ahhhh... but this brings us to another point BB, condesation.... now most engines will use some oil, but the reason the level dosent drop is due to a condensation build up.
Now this will be a lot worse for a bike that dosent travel very far in a week ie: a bike used every day on the open rd will avaparate any condensation.

So if the bike has done 10,000k or 1,000k in a year it still pays to replace it, remember my point initally was that oils last longer these days when being used.

Just to reionforce my pointy today (cos really I could be spouting a load a shit again) A deisel engine will use oil... however they often get a lot of blow by of deisel past the rings... this drains to the sump were it dilutes the oil, hence the level dosent ulta.... but the state of ya engine does IMHO

Now if the condensation was that bad how come when one drains the oil there isn't a litre of water draining out first when one removes ones sump plug? After all oil sits on top of water.

[Ixion]

It can (and does) happen to a limited extent. The water will be emulsified into the oil. Doubt it would be enough to show on the oil level though. however , the diesel thing IS correct, used to work for a diesel service place, they saw it in diesel cars that were just used for sommuting/shopping. (BAD idea)

[dangerous]

Now if the condensation was that bad how come when one drains the oil there isn't a litre of water draining out first when one removes ones sump plug? After all oil sits on top of water.

Duh... I never said a litre, and do you think with all them gears and spinnie things in there that the condensation (NOT water) and oil... wouldent get mixed up

It can (and does) happen to a limited extent. The water will be emulsified into the oil.
the diesel thing IS correct

Yeah thanks.... emulsified, good word

[Bonez]

Duh... I never said a litre, and do you think with all them gears and spinnie things in there that the condensation (NOT water) and oil... wouldent get mixed up

Try not to take my posts to heart.

Condensation buildup in engines IS water. It can also be caused by storing your vehical outside where the temperatures alternate all the time. Hence the reason to keep vehicals undercover, where possible, when not in use. It reduces , note "reduces" not eliminates, the chances of condensation occuring.

Edit- I should add the Fc2, now this m/c is 20 years old, has a collecter box for gathering most of the moisture generated during operation from within the crankcases. It's situated below the air box with a tube attached that has a plug fitted. This plug when removed allows WATER and emulsified oil to drain out.

[buellbabe]

Ok another good point Dangerous but I DID own that bike over 14 yrs ago and have since been made more aware of bike maintainence and I now admit that I really didn't look after THAT bike very well... it didn't seem to matter tho cos she never missed a beat... I have become more anal retentive about servicing over the yrs!!! The Buell is a keeper, totally in lust, so I always service on time and so far that has paid off cos I have a primo bike that never gives me cause for grief.

[Motu]

I was reading something a few years ago where some studies were done in the States (of course) on cold starts,and the amount of water produced in the crankcase of a cast iron V8 is huge.The problem is not so much the water,but what it turns into - it combines with other by products of combustion..eg...N0X...and turns into acids,like nitric acid,and acids just love to act as electrolites.Some studies say most engine wear is caused by these acids....and they just love to sit there undisturbed.So changing your oil every 6 mths no matter what the kms is important.

What a diesel gets in it's sump is soot,that's why a diesel turns it's oil black,fuel also enters the sump,and this is what keeps a diesel so clean inside - believe it or not when you strip down a diesel and wash all the engine parts they come up much cleaner than inside a petrol engine.It's not the high detergent oil...otherwise why doesn't a petrol engine using a diesel rated oil stay that clean?

This soot can thicken an oil.A strange thing happened a few years ago,say around 2000 - draining the oil of some of our regular customer diesels and on some the oil came out thick like molasses,at a regular oil change interval and using the same old oil we always used.The oil company reps had all sorts of theories,and I had to use this or that oil...but they were at a loss to explain to me why it suddenly started to happen.Then a year or so later we stopped seeing thick oil,I haven't seen thickened oil for several years.So I'm pretty positive it was an oil thing,but no oil company would ever admit it.I still get a couple of vehicles in that went through this thick oil stage,nothing has been done to them and have always used the same oil...mostly.Only damage was camshaft wear on one engine.