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First Oil Change On New Bike // 600 miles OR first month?

11K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  Hendryk1982 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone, I'm torn about when to do the first oil change. The manual has it listed as part of the 600 mile maintenance, but in the timing interval below it also says "Month 1". I interpret this as whichever comes first. I got the bike at the end of November, so I really only put about 50 miles on it before it got too cold. Now it's just sitting in the garage. Should I just wait until the light comes on or do you think it makes sense to do it when the new season starts?

Probably overthinking this, but it's my first motorcycle and I don't want to mess up the break-in period. Thanks for your thoughts!!
 
#3 ·
The oil degradation was also my initial thought for dismissing it. I found a few more articles though that say the first up to 200 miles is when the new engine components mate and you’ll have the most metallic shavings/debris. So from that angle changing earlier would make sense, especially if it’s just sitting for weeks/months with a few miles on it. I think I’ll change it one of these weekends for peace of mind and then again at 500 or whenever the light comes on based on mileage. In hindsight I probably should have done it before winterizing. If anyone is interested I’ll update with how the oil looked.
 
#4 · (Edited)
I did my fifth oil change at 600 miles, as part of a precise and fairly intense break-in (which I have used on every new engine I have owned -- after the first one, anyway) designed to produce the best possible long-term engine durability (it can also reduce post-break-in oil consumption and slightly improve post-break-in power). I generally only go by mileage for oil changes. I don't think time should be an issue unless your bike is sitting around unused for VERY long periods (as in several years). Clearly, I'm a big proponent of the early-and-often philosophy, which should help you get the most out of any new motor, but I would tie that more to engine run-time, as that is what breaks down oil via friction/heat/shearing. I intend to keep my R3 for many, many years and am looking to get 100,000 miles out of it without an engine rebuild.
 
#6 · (Edited)
No problem. On new motors, I change the oil and filter at 0 (after letting the bike idle on the side stand for about 3 minutes), 25, 100, 250, 600, and 1,000 miles -- normal intervals thereafter (typically "by the book" for street bikes and every 1,000 miles for dual sports). There is typically at least some small amount of minute metal particles but not a cause for concern (as long as you get rid of them via oil changes!).
 
#10 ·
It's 600 miles or 1 month, whichever comes first. If it's a new bike, it's most likely has conventional oil in it, which will coke (a type of oil breakdown) over time. Full synthetic won't (or at least very little) over time, which is one of the primary advantages of synthetic oil. So for the first service on a new bike, it's still 600 miles or 1 month, whichever comes first.
 
#12 ·
Yeah, do it at 600 miles and by God don't go to the dealer! Where I live they charge $500+ for this. Learn to change the oil yourself. Get the Yamaha filter, get a new copper washer of the correct size, and you'll have to get an oil recycling container and recycle the oil. It's simple but it will give your confidence. Or else take it to a private shop. By the way, now's a good time to change to synthetic and get better shifting.
 
#18 ·
Thanks! I’m comfortable doing the oil change by myself. A local dealer said if I do the oil change the actual inspection/maintenance should run between $100 and $150. Sounds like a standard rate for about an hour worth of labor for an OEM shop. I was going to get this done just to make sure everything’s tightened and the way it’s supposed to be. Based on the comments it sounds like I could safely skip unless I notice something that doesn’t feel right?
 
#22 ·
I agree with KJ7687 about oil changes being subjective, just how there are different opinions about synthetic vs conventional and brands. That was actually the reason for me bouncing off this idea within the forum and I think all opinions are welcome and valid. If you had multiple bikes and never an issue with not doing them, great! If you’re uncomfortable thinking there’s a bunch of gunk in the oil after break in, then that’s cool too. Let’s just learn from each other’s experiences, that’s what this is all about.
 
#23 ·
New engine manufacturing technologies, tight tolerances, materials used in bearings, rings and cylinder walls, coupled with the cleanliness of factories today, fine surface finishes applied to the cylinder wall and reciprocating bearing surfaces, and factory initial fire up processes - mean that there is virtually nothing in the oil and filter after 600 miles, except oil. Just stick to the factory specs. 600 miles for the first oil/filter change.

The engine/trans is designed to operate on Yamalube 10W40 and 10W50, that meets both API SG and JASO MA specification (MA2 is aplos applicable as it exceeds the MA rating). This indicates the intended specific oil is Yamalube FS4, which is fully synthetic. Interestingly, the SG specification is obsolete, so we can assume that SN or SP will be adequate as the modern standard - however, API specifications do not cover motorcycle engine oil use directly. The JASO MA standard, which covers engines where the engine and transmission share the same oil, is actually more applicable in the case of the R3. This includes their MA2 rating, and now the latest T900 and T903 specification. At this time, the following oils meet both standards:

Yamalube FS4
Yamalube GP Racing Spec 4T
Yamalube HP High Performance 4T (available in a change kit with filter)
Valvoline 4-Stroke Synthetic Motor Oil
Mobile 1 Racing 4T
Amsoil Synthetic Metric Motorcycle Oil
Motul 300V 4TMotul 3000 Plus 4T
Motul 5000 and 5100 4T
Castrol POWER1 4T
Castrol Actevo Synthetic Motorcycle Oil
Castrol Actevo X-Tra T
Silkolene Pro 4
Silkolene Comp 4
Silkolene Super 4 (semi-synthetic)

While there are many who feel that any motor oil will work, and will attest that they have never had a single issue running whatever brand they find at the auto parts store, there is no harm putting in a little extra effort to utilize a proper motorcycle lubricant that covers the needs of the gear box and clutch, rated JASO MA, MA2, T900 or T903. I have personally found that Yamalube gets the job done, and have been running it in pretty much every motorcycle I have owned for years, including Kawasakis and Aprillias, etc..
 
#24 · (Edited)
I also changed my oil a bunch of times for break in, I use regular car motor oil (not synthetic or even no synthetic blend) right from the start. I do the first one at 10 miles, second at about 40 and so on. I also run the engine right up to redline right away and always vary the rpm as much as possible. There is a web site that shows why this method works from a while back that even shows pictures of the pistons after this method of break in vs the baby the engine method of break in and the hard break in pistons show like no visible blow by, meaning much better piston ring seal, while pistons from a normal (low rpm) break in show lots of blow by from the piston rings.
 
#26 ·
Interesting, thanks for sharing!! Probably too late for me, I’m at about 230 miles now with an oil change at about 40. Did go full open throttle but never went above ~7,500 for a second or two. Here’s a picture of what the filter looked like although I wasn’t sure if the gunk was from the engine or from me cutting it open. I was pretty careful though.

Hand Product Finger Material property Gas
 
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