oil mileage

[nuts4shovels]

 I am in Frederickson Tx. Home is Mass. Need oil change, have 2500 mi on Mobile 1  20/50 syn. Not easy to get any service around here.

How far can I push it.  2000 plus to get home.  1997 ultra  Evo.  Great oil pressure-no problems.

Nuts

[Grayrider]

I have used that same oil for over 5000 miles before I changed it out. Syn should give you double what dino oil will!
One other option if you are worried is to just change the filter and add what is need to top it off. A good filter will add miles to your oil life!
I have been told you should use a Syn oil filter on Syn oil as it is a finer screen for the thinner oil. Not sure if that is true and I haven't used one yet but have it and will use on the next oil change in the spring.

[92flhtcu]

I've gone 4 to 5000 on it a few times, had apart, looked fine, would not fret it. However after 3000 you may want to check it daily as i would start to use a little after that many miles on it
Safe travels, rob

[stroker800]

  The oil will be fine for 2000 mile ,,,I only worry bout xtra miles if I get stuck in heavy traffic on a 100 degree day...I believe the syn filter to be a myth,,,if it was true,, you could run a TC filter on your evo....NO you can't,,,,the filter media is a smaller micron,,thus causing your oil pump to build higher pressures in the motor..I perfer a K&N filter due to the extra filter material..have a safe trip.
Dave

[04glide]

I normally go 4-5 thou on syn oil. Have gone over 5 thou on trips. No problem at all.

[FSG]

I wont tell you how long I let mine go. 

[bikerdude57tx]

I change mine ever 4-5 and I use dyno. If I paid extra for syn I would expect to go a look futher.

[Princess Butt]

I don't hesitate to run 5,000 miles change intervals on Mobil 1. Not a problem so far.

If you're on a trip, and it's getting up to temperature, I wouldn't worry about it. If you're around town on short trips, you should shorten change intervals.

BnEUC

[george248]

like they all said... that oil is just getting "broke in"     run it...

[nuts4shovels]

thanx guys--around home I don't pass 2000 mi.  On this trip I changed my oil in Florida where I could get filter and oil.
It never occurred to me in Texas this would be difficult.  The last dealer I saw was in Boerne.  Should have got stuff
at that time for the future. DUUUgh Can't figure why auto parts stores  NAPA  etc don't carry the stuff.  Did run into one NAPA
had royal purple for 13 plus 8%/ quart. made me sick

[Evo160K]

Nuts4shovels,
Will you be passing a town on the way home where you can buy the oil and filter from the Harley dealer and change it yourself?  I'm fairly certain that dealer will loan you a pan and dispose of the old oil.  Have a safe trip.

[fxr4mikey]

thanx guys--around home I don't pass 2000 mi.  On this trip I changed my oil in Florida where I could get filter and oil.
It never occurred to me in Texas this would be difficult.  The last dealer I saw was in Boerne.  Should have got stuff
at that time for the future. DUUUgh Can't figure why auto parts stores  NAPA  etc don't carry the stuff.  Did run into one NAPA
had royal purple for 13 plus 8%/ quart. made me sick

well, I don't intend to start a war on this .... so I'm just stating my experiences

on my trucks I change the oil about every 15K miles or so, if they need it or not. Whenever I get around to it, I don't even really ck the milage, I just guess at it. One of the trucks has 165K miles on it ... no problems (1998 Dodge Ram 150). The other truck has about 60K miles on it (2003 Dodge Ram 250).. no problems.

My 2004 HD FXR4 has 27K miles on it.  It's had the oil changed about 4, maybe 5 times.  NO PROBLEMS .... I am in the middle of a mild build on the bike right now. There was NOTHING wrong with the way the bike ran. The build was only because I WANTED more power, and to fix a leak on the rocker boxes.  There was no sign of wear on any of the components that I've taken out.  Putting the stock piston back in.... had the cylinders ball honed and new rings.

..... It's just my experience, and MHO, that engines don't really need to have the oil changed every 2K miles ....

I rode from here, Columbia SC, up to Michigan. Went all the way around Lake Michigan, up in the upper peninsula, across the top and back down to SC. I put about 4800 miles on on that trip. That was last August.  I'm changing the oil now with the build that I'm doing ... it was time anyways .....

The trip that I did before that, I changed the oil at a buddy's house up in ND.  I rode from his house south to Arkansas, rode there for a week, then across LA, AL, GA and back to SC. I put about 4300 miles on that trip and didn't change the oil again until I got home.

I know a lot of people say that I'm nuts, and that I'm destroying my bike, but I don't have any problems with it .... I wouldn't be afraid to fire it up and ride it over to Ca. ... maybe change the oil, maybe not, depends on how I felt about it, then ride it back.  I change the oil twice on one rear tire change   :O

[smittyon66]

Not looking for an oil debate, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

If your doing a lot of city miles, stop and go traffic, or extremely high temps, you need more frequent oil changes.

I ride mostly highway, use M-1 15w-50 and change oil every 5000 miles. Been doing that for years with no problems.

[tinkerman]

The bottom line is, that even if an engineer writes an oil change mileage interval in the sand, or, you have a preferred change interval there is still some flexibilty.

So I guess to answer the original question....to double the mileage every now and again in special circumstances is likely not to have any noticible impact on the engine, especially with a fellow that cares about his ride. Change intervals are a guideline....not a law. Run her home and enjoy the ride.

Tinkerman

[fxr4mikey]

The bottom line is, that even if an engineer writes an oil change mileage interval in the sand, or, you have a preferred change interval there is still some flexibilty.

So I guess to answer the original question....to double the mileage every now and again in special circumstances is likely not to have any noticible impact on the engine, especially with a fellow that cares about his ride. Change intervals are a guideline....not a law. Run her home and enjoy the ride.

Tinkerman

you got it right Tinkerman !!

[fxr4mikey]

Not looking for an oil debate, everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

If your doing a lot of city miles, stop and go traffic, or extremely high temps, you need more frequent oil changes.

I ride mostly highway, use M-1 15w-50 and change oil every 5000 miles. Been doing that for years with no problems.

I'm inclined to agree ... it you're 'city bound' you might have a different experience.  More vapors and sludge will devleop in your oil than if you're mostly OPEN ROAD riding, which is what I  do.  I live 8 miles from town, and there's only about 3K people in that town, next town is 15 miles down the expressway, or 20 miles county highways ....  I'm not driving 'in town' on a regular basis...... everyone has their own experiences to deal with .... I do like it the way Tinkerman put it ..  there's 'no rule' only some guidelines ..... it will not hurt your bike to double your own guideline is you need to ..... don't sweat it ,,,,, ride it home and do it when you get back..... easy said, easy done

[hudsonxo]

friend and I did an 8,000 mile run last summer (got caught in some high temperatures and traffic jams)  pulling trailers.  His a twin cam with syn, mine evo with dino. I finally changed mine on the road after a bit over 4,000. then came on home for another 3800+. He did not change. added a little toward the end of the trip. Neither one broke....my evo has 80,000+ on dino only. I tend to worry less about oil and try to ride more....and there are more critical issues on the bike to worry about than the oil. Changing oil every 2,000 miles sells a lot of oil and oil changes for those in the business...
your oil will be fine for the rest of your trip....check it when you get gas...add if needed.

[EagleFTE]

It will be fine.  Just check to make sure the level is correct.  Auto Zone carries the M1 Vtwin in the MC section if you need a top off.  Walmart and Auto Zone also carry the 15W50 which should blend just fine with the M1 20W50.  Some Walmarts carry the 20W50 Vtwin as well but all don't.