Do you wait 5,000 between oil changes?
Road Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 768
Likes: 55
From: chico
Annual on chain cases/trans, spring and fall on big end...or whenever, 'specially if the old ladies have had their bellies opened for surgery - in which event I wash her out with straight run 40 weight before pouring in the synthetic oil. 50 weight synthetic summer 20-50 Fall.
The Splatman has a nice Mustang 45 there!
The Splatman has a nice Mustang 45 there!
Grand HDF Member
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,599
Likes: 5,175
From: SWMO
Back in February, I purchased this Softail, which is a 2012 with 25,000 miles on it. Harley Said they had serviced the bike as they do all their trade in's. Service manager stated the next service is due in 5,000 miles, and the bill for it would be between $400-$500.
My Question; I'm on the extended warranty, and 5,000 miles seems a bit much for the lubrication change, especially an air cooled motor. I've purchased the service manual to do the service myself. Am I in the majority or minority thinking 5,000 is a bit much on the engine? What mileage interval do you follow?
Thanks in advance for your answers and opinions.
My Question; I'm on the extended warranty, and 5,000 miles seems a bit much for the lubrication change, especially an air cooled motor. I've purchased the service manual to do the service myself. Am I in the majority or minority thinking 5,000 is a bit much on the engine? What mileage interval do you follow?
Thanks in advance for your answers and opinions.
Thread Starter
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6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 14
Likes: 2
From: Slidell, LA
About 1,200 so far. A friend mentioned the other day he does his at 3,500 although the dealership says 5,000. Being air cooled, and not water cooled I was wondering if 5,000 was pushing it. I wanted to research this question b4 getting to the 3,500 mark. I've been slammed with so much overtime work, and rainy days, I'm finally starting to see a little riding daylight in my future.
Road Master
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 789
Likes: 4
From: Utah
Oils have come a long ways since the old days of every 3k or 3 months. Shops will still try to sell you on this so they can get more service, but 5k is fine, especially if you are running full syn. Hell, my truck and my wife's car both call for 10k on the engine and 150k on the Trans. Just check fluid levels to make sure you don't run low. IMO that's the biggest risk with running extended changes. And for what it's worth, we have a fluids lab where I work specifically for testing fluids so that people aren't spending thousands on changing fluids in large machines prematurely, and to catch issues before they become catastrophic failures. I have sampled my bike a few times, and even at 5k the oil didn't need to be changed. Your bike might not have the exact same results, but I wouldn't hesitate to run 5k these days between changes.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,814
Likes: 5,120
From: SW Ohio
That would cost me 10 oil changes every 12 months. I've ridden twin cams past 100k miles using 5k intervals and full synthetic oil. If an air cooled engine gives me 100k the way I treat it, we're square.
As for the SYN 3 oil. I might change that a little sooner than 5k miles; it's only a semi synthetic blend oil. Not a full synthetic.
Here's the MSDS
Component CAS # Concentration
(1) 1-Decene Homopolymer, hydrogenated 68037-01-4 50% - 70%
(2) Proprietary Ingredients Proprietary Mixture 1% - 10%
(3) Polyisobutylene 9003-27-4 1% - 10%
(4) Distillates, Petroleum, Hydrotreated Heavy Paraffinic 64742-54-7 0% - 20%
(5) Distillates, Petroleum, Solvent-Refined Heavy Paraffinic 64741-88-4 0% - 20%
(6) Zinc Alkyldithiophosphate 68649-42-3 0% - 2%
As for the SYN 3 oil. I might change that a little sooner than 5k miles; it's only a semi synthetic blend oil. Not a full synthetic.
Here's the MSDS
Component CAS # Concentration
(1) 1-Decene Homopolymer, hydrogenated 68037-01-4 50% - 70%
(2) Proprietary Ingredients Proprietary Mixture 1% - 10%
(3) Polyisobutylene 9003-27-4 1% - 10%
(4) Distillates, Petroleum, Hydrotreated Heavy Paraffinic 64742-54-7 0% - 20%
(5) Distillates, Petroleum, Solvent-Refined Heavy Paraffinic 64741-88-4 0% - 20%
(6) Zinc Alkyldithiophosphate 68649-42-3 0% - 2%
Last edited by Campy Roadie; May 14, 2016 at 12:17 PM.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,599
Likes: 5,175
From: SWMO
About 1,200 so far. A friend mentioned the other day he does his at 3,500 although the dealership says 5,000. Being air cooled, and not water cooled I was wondering if 5,000 was pushing it. I wanted to research this question b4 getting to the 3,500 mark. I've been slammed with so much overtime work, and rainy days, I'm finally starting to see a little riding daylight in my future.
Club Member
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 145,895
Likes: 821
From: 40 miles Northeast of Indy..
between 4-5K for me and less if its the end of the yrs...
Price's for a service Varies across the country.. Our dealer only charges $260 for a full service, and only $180 if I do the oils before taking it in..
If you can do it and have the tools and a manual,, then go for it and save your $$$
I also have an INDY I use for changing my brakes, tires, and lubing my cables every yr and He's really reasonably on his labor VS my dealer...
Here's a list of what a dealer or YOU should do and check every 5K...
http://www.adventureharley.com/softa...nance-schedule
Hope it helps ya...
and a service manual is only about $60....
There are many check offs that a dealer does/should do (if done right) other than just an oil change at a service as you see above...
.
Price's for a service Varies across the country.. Our dealer only charges $260 for a full service, and only $180 if I do the oils before taking it in..
If you can do it and have the tools and a manual,, then go for it and save your $$$
I also have an INDY I use for changing my brakes, tires, and lubing my cables every yr and He's really reasonably on his labor VS my dealer...
Here's a list of what a dealer or YOU should do and check every 5K...
http://www.adventureharley.com/softa...nance-schedule
Hope it helps ya...
and a service manual is only about $60....
There are many check offs that a dealer does/should do (if done right) other than just an oil change at a service as you see above...
.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 32,851
Likes: 17,888
From: Newcastle, OK
I change it when it`s getting darker than normal. Mileage is not necessarily the determining factor. How hot did the oil get? What kind of riding did I mostly do?... all of the things that determine the breakdown rate of the oil...