Anyone send a sample of their oil out for analysis? I've had my car oil analyzed at Blackstone (Blackstonelabs.com) and have found the results very useful. Their analysis gave me a good idea as to when to change the oil in the car. That is, I could extend my changes to 7000-8000 miles. Of course I wouldn't wait that long for the bike, but their reports will give you a good breakdown of the wear of the internals.

 

it seems for the cost of a few qt's of oil you could have it analyzed to determine if you can run it longer.

my bike has a service duty of 5K miles but tipically I change it every year which results in it being changed between 2K and 3k miles.

might be some warranty issues if you extend the service interval beyond 5k.

 

What are you having your oil tested for? Viscosity? Metals? Water?
You can have your oil tested for many things, but unless they have a history of the engine...just because they find iron/aluminum/or steel in your oil...does not mean something is wrong. Things 'wear'...and it is that history that tells whether something is wearing more than normal.
Me? I change my oil on schedule...you though.....could save $40 (or more) by extending the miles.

Chuck

 

What a coincidence that you asked this question today. I changed my oil yesterday and saved a quart to send in for analysis. I even requested a sample mailing package from Blackstone today. I've never had this done before.

The reason I'm considering it this time is that I inadvertently ran my last oil change 7200 miles. Don't ask me how I did that. I'm trying to figure it out myself. The miles just accumulated without me realizing I had been riding so much.

I sure no damage was done but just for my own peace of mind I thought I'd sample it and see if it comes back ok. If it doesn't, oh well, too late now.

As for the warranty question, if you extend your intervals based on oil sample analysis I think you'd have a pretty good chance of winning any claim. Remember, in order to deny a warranty claim the manufacturer would have to prove that your extended interval was the cause. With a laboratory analysis showing the condition of the oil as acceptable, HD would be hard pressed to prove otherwise.

 

Naw. I figure they'd charge me a pretty penny and just say; "Yep, it's oil."

 

From what I understand they have quite a database from previous samples to base their opinions on. The first thing that comes to mind though is if they find plastic in the oil....chain tensioner. If they find an inordinate amount of a certain metal in the sample that could give you a heads up of possible impending repair. Obviously you have to send in the first sample to establish a 'baseline' for your particular bike. Then you can interpret the results for yourself.

When I sent in my car samples, they knew immediately when I was using a Mobil1 oil filter. My samples were cleaner.

And if I'm not mistaken it costs between $20-$25.

 

the correct analysis, would be "Yep, its DIRTY oil"!!

 

See, I woulda got screwed!

 

Final UOA on my 2010 FLHTK.

 

5train... what oil have you been using?