[DLL66]

When I bought my 1st H-D in 1994, my dealer, at that time, told me to put 500 miles on it to break it in and bring her in to change the oil which was a free courtesy change . Now I'm living in another part of the U.S., and bought a 2003 Electra Glide and this dealer is telling me that they don't do the oil change until the 1000 mile period. Anyway, I'm going to change the oil myself at 500, but my question is aren't you suppose to change the oil after 500 miles on any new engine that you are breaking in??

 

[GR8FUL]

The Motor Co. changed to 1k with the intro of the Twin Cam. Better filter now is maybe part of the reason.

 

[Paladin1]

Might not be "a free courtesy change" either (LOL).

 

[logical]

So just change it at 500.....who cares what they say?

 

[Unome]

So just change it at 500.....who cares what they say?

Really....
You wanna hear some bitching? Go in there when you are ready for maintenance/oil change and tell them you want to use synthetics all the way throughout the bike. Some shops refuse to put synthetics in because "it voids the warranty" or "synthetics aren't good for motorcycles".

 

[Rocko]

Synthetics cannot LEGALLY void the warrranty !!!!!

 

[JFScheck]

So just change it at 500.....who cares what they say?

Someone better back me up here in case I am wrong but DO NOT CHANGE YOUR OIL AT 500 miles!

I was told that you need that "break-in" oil for the first 1000 miles to get everything all "set".

After re-building many car engines I was curious about this, but so far my dealer service shop has been pretty damn straight and good with the points.

 

[logical]

Someone better back me up here in case I am wrong but DO NOT CHANGE YOUR OIL AT 500 miles!

I was told that you need that "break-in" oil for the first 1000 miles to get everything all "set".

After re-building many car engines I was curious about this, but so far my dealer service shop has been pretty damn straight and good with the points.

Yes, you need break-in oil during that period but all that means is don't yet switch to synthetic...it doesn't mean that dirty oil is good.

The point is stay with dinosaur oil during the first 1000 miles or so....it's optional and up to the individual whether he wants clean or dirty oil between 500 and 1000 miles.

HD uses standard dinosaur oil in a new bike...there is no longer such a thing as special break-in oil.

I say change engine oil only at 500 but use dinosaur oil ....and then at 1000 miles change all fluids to synthetic...some say wait even longer....I switched at 1000.

 

[xl1200c_01]

The book says to do the first change at 1000 then every 5000 after that. I did mine at 1000 then do it at 2500 mile intervals after that.

-jeff

 

[Unome]

Synthetics cannot LEGALLY void the warrranty !!!!!

Rocko, I was aware of that because the package of stuff I got about AMSOIL talks about the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Improvement Act.

What I was throwing off on is the $tealer$hip$ that will tell people who don't know any better that synthetics will void the warranty. Lots of people out there who are buying h-d because they are in. All they do is ride a little bit, put a bunch of chroms on and listen to the $tealer$ship feed them lines of BS like that.

I'm running AMSOIL 20w50 in bike and tonight, I'll jack it up and replace the transmission lube with AMSOIL 70/w90 and next weekend replace the primary fluid.

 

[JimmyK]

If you change it at 500, do it again at 1000. It is still making "fuzz".

After the first 1000 change, every 5000 is cool.

The syntetic debate will never end and I kind a view it as a matter of choice.

 

[Unome]

JimmyK, You're right. The debate will go on & on. Hell, www.j-p.cycles.com website has a thread called 'Oil Again' that already has over 300 comments about pros/cons of synthetic oil vs. regular oil.

Wonder how many NHRA, NASCAR, etc. cars really use the regular oil they have stickers on their cars for?

 

[DLL66]

I do intend to change the oil and filter at 1K as well. What I'm trying to get at is on any engine that is new or rebuilt, isn't it common practice to change oil and filter at 500 miles??

 

[RMharleyman]

Synthetic Oil

i was told by my dealer NOT to use a Synthetic oil in my new roadking Classic till

5000 miles on bike..

 

[NCFatBoy]

I was told by my dealer that synthetics cause the pin bearing(?) to get worn flat.

 

[Sidewalk]

I was told by my dealer that synthetics cause the pin bearing(?) to get worn flat.

LOL

As far as I can tell, the reason not to use synthetics at break-in is because it is just a waste of money. You are only going to run it 500-1000 miles, why spend all of the money? I have heard the "synthetic is to thin for break-in", and I do not believe it. A 50 weight oil, is a 50 weight oil, no matter what it is made of.

If you want to spend the few extra bucks for synthetic, go for it. It will not effect your warranty. It is mostly just piece of mind. I know a lot of people who have got high mileage engines that only used discount oil and filters.

HD suggests changing it at 1000 miles. So, at 1000 miles, change it. If you feel like changing it at 500, fine, change it again at 1000.

I myself use Mobil 1 synthetic, every 5000 miles. 15w-50 in the tank, 75w-90 in the primary.

 

[Thealien]

If the oil was so slippery that bearrings wouldn't spin how could it cause wear, that is an old wives tale. Many automobile manufacturers ship their cars with synthetic so break in is not an issue. I do believe there is a different additive package between mobil 1 auto and their Vtwin oil, check their website or call tech support. I do believe synthetic is superior to dino in every way, heat, shear strengt, cleaning ability.

 

[DLL66]

LOL...........How did we get into synthetic????? I thought I was just asking a simple question which was "isn't it a general rule to change oil and filter at 500 miles on new and/or rebuilt engines"? LOL

 

[NCFatBoy]

I was told its 1000 miles on the new VTwins... was advised to change it anyway at 500, just to check the plug to catch anything earlier.....

 

[SIN]

Wow.. It use to be when you bought a new car "not sure about bikes' the manufacturer would use a break in oil that was a lighter viscosity. Once you had 500 mi. you would change the oil to get rid of the break in oil and all the metal that was from the break in.
Most people did not even know about the break in oil, but only knew that they were to change oil at 500 mi.
The MoCo says 1000 mi. I personally changed mine at 500 mi. just for peace of mind.
As for the big oil debate I'm all synthetic now but ,you should have your engine completly broken in before changing from dino oil. Most cam manufactures caution about using synthetic untill you properly break in your cam with fosil oil.
The biggest difference is cost and peace of mind. Just my .02