Is this oil change really necessary ?

[bikelee]

I'm gonna put the V11 LeMans away for the winter. Soon the snow and salt will fly. I have 3200 miles since the last oil change ( last Fall ). Do I really need to do this ? I usually do this, I think just out of habit as I do not want dirty oil sitting in the crankcase all winter. Am I being OCD about this ?
If I do this oil change should I change the filter also ?
I see old wives tales debunked here such as " you must warm the oil first " before you drain it ". 
Is the " oil must be drained and replaced before winter " another of these old wives tales ?
Just wondering what you guys thought ? Thanks.
Leon

[fotoguzzi]

I wouldn't bother, winter is only a couple months long. how bad could it be to sit there till spring. I for sure would not worry about the filter.
I have 1,000 miles since last change and sure won't be replacing that oil jut to sit thru the winter.

[Lannis]

I wouldn't bother, winter is only a couple months long. how bad could it be to sit there till spring. I for sure would not worry about the filter.
I have 1,000 miles since last change and sure won't be replacing that oil jut to sit thru the winter.

Man!  A guy from Minnesota telling a guy from upstate New York that winter is only a couple months long!  Good on yer ....

Even if I didn't ride every month in the winter here, I wouldn't bother changing oil just because it will be a little while between rides.   I'd run some gas stabilizer through it, and keep the battery charged, though.

Lannis

[menzies]

I fill the tank with gas, add Stabil and have started taking the batteries out and bringing them inside and using a battery tender every week or so.

[drlapo]

I'll change the oil on all my bikes before winter storage
mileage ranges from 1000 to 5000
the old bikes (30 years +) always get a change at 1000-1500 miles
the new stuff is 4000 or at least once a year

[normzone]

I don't understand - winter IS only a couple of months long.

[wittangamo]

What's this "winter storage" you speak of?  ???

[rocker59]

I don't understand - winter IS only a couple of months long.

Three.  But who is counting ?

[Pfaff!]

I don't understand - winter IS only a couple of months long.

A couple. Thats six.

[acogoff]

     Winter is about 7 months long up on my side of the state(MN). If you have been doing any riding where the moisture is not cooked out well the last few days, drop out the oil, not sure I would do the filter though.  Moisture wrecks more engines than miles do.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

The oil is a year old with moisture and combustion contaminants collected in it. At 3200 miles it's time anyway. Change it! Even using the most expensive oil, it's still less than $50 and is an easy job. Why wouldn't you?

[Chuck in Indiana]

Oh boy, an oil thread.. ;D
I change the *synthetic* oil every 6000 miles or once a year, which ever occurs first. Dino more often. Looks to me as if your's is ready to change based on time.
OCD? I don't think so.. <rearranging my oil bottles by size and color> Over a year, there will be acids and moisture in your oil. Rust is not your friend..

[Guzzistajohn]

Heck no. Like others said too the tank throw in some stabil and keep the battery hot. Try not to overthink, it's gonna be ok, really

[twhitaker]

Been changing the oil during winterization for nigh on 40 years. The only place you want acid is in your battery.

[dibble]

What's this "winter storage" you speak of?  ???

It is an Annual Tradition in some parts of the world thought to derive from an ancient Norse festival.

Most types of Bike particularly Harleys and sports bikes are forbidden on the road under threat of an ancient curse called Kor-osian.

It culminates in midwinter with festival called "the best time of the year to buy a bike".

[Lannis]

What's this "winter storage" you speak of?  ???

I'm about the same latitude as you and also not sure about "winter storage", so maybe my opinion doesn't carry the kind of weight as someone who can't open the garage door from November to March because snow is piled 8 feet deep against it.

But even here, a lot of strictly "recreational riders" put their bikes away about now .....  I just can't do it.   I won't say I ride every single week in a normal winter, as sometimes the ice stays on the roads for a week because they don't use salt, but I come as close as I can.... !

Lannis

[Guzzistajohn]

So..... In a few years you sell the bike and tell a prospective buyer "hey I changed the Oil every fall weather it needed it or not" buyer says "oh well then, I'll throw in an extra thousand bucks"  that happens ---never! :)

[wittangamo]

I'm about the same latitude as you and also not sure about "winter storage", so maybe my opinion doesn't carry the kind of weight as someone who can't open the garage door from November to March because snow is piled 8 feet deep against it.

But even here, a lot of strictly "recreational riders" put their bikes away about now .....  I just can't do it.   I won't say I ride every single week in a normal winter, as sometimes the ice stays on the roads for a week because they don't use salt, but I come as close as I can.... !

Lannis

We are lucky to have four seasons of more or less equal length. While I'll confess my blood is thinner and my bones more brittle than when I rode dirt bikes in snow and ice for fun, I still can't resist suiting up on a frosty morning now and then and enjoying the strange and pitying looks I get from clueless cagers. It keeps the bike, and me, tuned up year-round.

[Nic in Western NYS]

 I won't say I ride every single week in a normal winter, as sometimes the ice stays on the roads for a week because they don't use salt, but I come as close as I can.... !

Lannis

Shooting for riding at least once a month here in north central MA this winter.  I'll be silent if/when it does not happen.

[kirkemon]

Ship the bike to California, I'll change the oil before returning it next spring ;)

[kidsmoke]

I'm in Chicago, not a lot of snow...but plenty of cold. I also intend to get this bike out every dry day above 30 anyway, Meaning it may go a week or 3 here and there, but not longer. Last year was the exception, and I just can't see a winter like that happening again for a while, so I'll continue to watch the odometer rather than the calendar.

I agree with others here though, if you're certain it'll sit for 3 months, spend an hour and $50.00, and you save yourself that time next year, when the sun is shinin'

[RayB]

I just can't see a winter like that happening again for a while

....famous last words.

'Smoke, I hope you're right but I remember the winters of '78 and '79 back to back bad winters around here.

[fotoguzzi]

....famous last words.

'Smoke, I hope you're right but I remember the winters of '78 and '79 back to back bad winters around here.

can you say "Polar Vortex"?

[Cal3Me]

 All you mid-westerners can rest easy now cuz it ain't gonna snow so much this year cuz I bought a new snowblower :BEER: :BEER: I promise  ;-T :-\

Tim
100 miles west of Chi-town

[Waterbottle]

The oil is a year old with moisture and combustion contaminants collected in it. At 3200 miles it's time anyway. Change it! Even using the most expensive oil, it's still less than $50 and is an easy job. Why wouldn't you?

This , plus acids formed by the combustion contaminants , I wouldn't like them sitting in my sump all winter ?
I had an owner question me this week because I changed the the oil in his piper Cherokee after 4 hrs of use. The last oil change was 3 1/2 years ago  :D

[kidsmoke]

....famous last words.

'Smoke, I hope you're right but I remember the winters of '78 and '79 back to back bad winters around here.

I know I know, but man last winter was off the charts. Easily the most demoralizing and claustrophobic winter of my life. There's bad, then there's 13-14 winter.

Allow me to dream.

[Waterbottle]

45 deg C in western NSW last week.  :D
Wish I could see a decent winter .

[luthier]

45 deg C in western NSW last week.  :D
Wish I could see a decent winter .

Plenty of winter here in Stewarts Brook NSW if you wish to sample some. Frost from April to November most years though it stopped early this year in late September.
Come down next May and we'll go firewood cutting.

[Waterbottle]

Plenty of winter here in Stewarts Brook NSW if you wish to sample some. Frost from April to November most years though it stopped early this year in late September.
Come down next May and we'll go firewood cutting.

That sounds like work. You cut, I'll mix the drinks  :D

[luthier]

That sounds like work. You cut, I'll mix the drinks  :D

You have to move to keep warm so you can load as well as handing me the beers. :) It's seriously pretty country out here.