Understanding When It’s Time to Change Your Motorcycle Oil
Keeping your motorcycle properly maintained is essential. Not only will it keep your bike purring like new, but it can also help to prevent otherwise avoidable problems from popping up. Changing your oil regularly is one major part of motorcycle maintenance. Still, many riders are unsure of exactly how often they should have their motorcycle’s oil changed. To learn more about motorcycle maintenance, give Gina’s Motorsport of Monee a call, or stop by one of our locations in Monee, Illinois, also serving Chicago and Kankakee County, Illinois.
Knowing Your Bike Is Key
There is really no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to determining how often you need to change your motorcycle oil. Instead, this requires you to take into account a number of different factors. The specific year, make and model of your motorcycle play a major role. However, the type of oil you use and how often you ride also need to be factored in.
Regular Oil Changes Prevent Corrosion and Damage
A good rule of thumb is to change your oil at least once a year, but you may need to do it more often depending on these various factors. Over time, contaminants will slowly make their way into your oil. If left unchecked, they could lead to corrosion and potentially damage your engine. This is precisely why you need to make sure to change your motorcycle oil at least once a year, no matter how much or little you’ve ridden your bike.
How Your Riding Style Affects Your Oil
The way you use your bike also affects how frequently you’ll need to change your oil. In this case, the most important factor is how long you ride at a time. Short trips of 30 minutes or less generally don’t allow enough time for the oil to properly heat up and lubricate your engine. This is why experts usually recommend getting the engine up to proper operating temperature for more than 30 minutes at least twice a month. If this isn’t possible, or you almost exclusively take trips of less than 30 minutes, you will need to change your oil more frequently. In this situation, you should consider changing your oil every four months.
Understanding the Importance of Oil Types
In addition to regular oil changes, it is important to use the right type of oil for your motorcycle. Fully synthetic, semi-synthetic and mineral oils are all available. Your owner’s manual will tell you which is best for your bike and how often the oil should be changed. Generally speaking, mineral-based oil should be changed every 2,000 miles or at least once every six months. With semi-synthetic oil, you’ll want to schedule an oil change every 5,000 to 6,000 miles, and fully synthetic oil should be changed every 7,000 to 10,000 miles.
Need more information about oil changes and other maintenance tasks? Contact the pros at Gina’s Motorsports, with two locations in Monee, Illinois, also serving Chicago and Kankakee County, Illinois. With our expert service and know-how, we can help keep your motorcycle in tip-top shape.