For those that do cam swaps, do you change the oil right after the first run, let it go until the next OCI, or somewhere in between? And in any case, do you look at the oil in sunlight just to inspect it? Is it fairly clear, or does it have a bit of metallic look to it?

 

I immediately changed mine after swapping the cam.

 

@$tonecold - what do you think? I've got 5 quarts of Red Line V-twin 20W-50 in there with only a couple hundred miles on it before I did the cam swap.

That ain't cheap, but I wouldn't think a new set of cams, lifters, and pushrods would wear that much, would it? Or maybe change @ 1,000 miles like a new motor?

 

With roller lifters there's nothing really "breaking in", so no shed metal. I'd run it until the next oil change is due. Changing it before then is a waste.

 

I would change that out as fast as I can, I hate redline oil and my brother was a distributor and I got it for free.

 

I changed my oil 40miles after the cam change.
It should be fine after 40~50 miles to change, anything that would be shed off would be done so by then.
I did my cam change right before an interval, timed it specifically so that I'd install the cam, and then the oil change interval would come up, so all that assembly lube, and whatever shavings or whatever that would come off would be in the oil by now.

 

Yeah, we get hard winters around here and I didn't want to take the bike out of service during our only 5 riding months or so, and didn't want to leave the ridden oil in there waiting for my builder to get around to my bike. So I changed the oil and ran it for a couple hundred more miles before winter arrived.

So, the question is, does the factory do an initial engine break-in and drain? If not, then wouldn't their recommended 1,000 break-in be ok? If factory does do a break-in run and drain, then I'd be concerned for shorter. I'm not a cheapskate, but a quart of Red Line motorcycle oil is pushing $20 a quart since the big price inflation push. I got it for $17 a quart last year.

Not sure what the other commenter is referring to Red Line oil not being good. It is one of the best formulations on the market with heavy polyol ester blended base oil and PAO, with heavy moly for wear. We use it on Hemi engines to save their camshafts and roller lifters, since Chrysler screwed up the oiling system. https://www.zippersperformance.com/redline-20w50/

 

There really is no good reason to change the oil after a cam swap. Ride and enjoy it and change it out at the next scheduled oil change.

 

This. There really is no reason, or requirement. If it makes you feel good, do it. I have many, many times, just to make myself feel better, but really, it is just fine to wait for the next interval.

 

You're good. No need to change it until the regular interval. If you had done a complete top end with new rings you would probably want to change it at 500 - 1000 miles. When I do a top end I really like to put dino oil in for the break-in period.