oil change

well its getting to that time of the year again that the bike will be put away , so what do you guys and girls do change the oil before it goes away or leave the old in till it comes out in spring and change it . . cheers.

 

Far too early to put the bike away IMO.
I do my oil changes at the start of the year after the first run. That way it flushes out any condensation in the engine.

 

Also, even if the bike has new oil and is not used, there must be some degeneration of its properties, if only by the addition of condensation as mentioned above.

 

That's the reason why short journeys are so harmful to engines. The oil needs to get to more than 100 degrees so the condensation boils, turns into steam & then gets 'taken care of' by the breather system.

 

Definitely this. Still a few more weeks where the weather may be dry enough, just need some decent base layers to keep you warm.

Oil won't be changed until Feb/March next year, basically the last job I do before the season starts.

 

I was told you should change at the end of the season as you don't want old oil with acid in stuck in there over winter. So I change the oil then turn it over on the starter motor with the kill switch on so it won't start. also do not start the engine unless you are going for a run as this just puts acid in the oil. every way seems to be justified one way or another.

 

while on the subject does anyone have any good input for oil choice, smoother gear changes etc

 

Never heard that before about acid in oil. As my oil only does about 2-3,000 miles between changes I just stick to something half decent like Motul, but not mega high spec stuff as it is wasted on me.

Saying that though the last lot I put in was Motul 5100 and I did notice that in the run up to it being changed that I was having problems with clutchless up changes. Fresh oil from dealer during the service solved that issue so will probably not use 5100 next time.

 

Acid by-products come from combustion gases leaking past the piston rings. That's one reason why dry sump systems are better.
The oil also gets contaminated from clutch linings wearing away. Decent oil filters trap most of the crap though.