[Thursonly1]

How often do I need to do an oil change

 

[Silverbeard]

How often do I need to do an oil change

Expect some vastly different answers here, If you stick with the Honda recommendation and don't abuse the engine by overreving it you shouldn't have any problem.

However the best thing you can do for your engine is change the oil early, the oil carries contaminates,residues from combustion and condensation in suspension and if left long enough these elements can damage the internals. Your riding and environment will dictate what is appropriate.
for example I only ride my old XR 500 a couple of times a year, so I change the oil every time I take it away for a weekend, I ride my Suzy SV1000 once a week and generally ride it reasonably quick so I change the oil every 3000 Km's ( This is probably too often as the oil looks pretty good when I change it, but who cares it makes me feel better )

I think a key message should be don't run over the manufactures recommendation. Of course don't panic if you run over by a small amount, it's not like if you run over by 10km's the motor will go Boom - remember its a Honda they build them tough

 

[gpd211]

Change it as often as you can afford. There is no oil filter on this engine, only a screen and it only holds around a quart. With that little oil there isn't much expense to change.

I believe the manual says change every 2.5k miles. When I get mine it won't make it near that long. May not be necessary to change every 500 miles but it will make me sleep better. I don't think this will be a high mileage bike for me so maybe 2 oil changes a year.

 

[2riders]

Agreed gdp211: "Change it as often as you can afford." Use approved oil.

 

[jthspace]

Depends if you want to keep it - I want mine to last. I do very few miles a year, less than 2500, so my oil will be changed twice a year. As above, no filter, so change often.

Jeff

 

[hmiwb]

Clean, high quality oil will make a Honda last forever. Change it frequently, at least a couple of times a season and you'll go far!

 

[gromjim]

i do every 5000 miles. it's easy to remember.

 

[Floes]

i do every 5000 miles. it's easy to remember.

whut? did you just say 5000 or did you mean every 500 miles..?

 

[capebretongrom]

beginning & end of season for me... (canada, so snow marks end)

 

[hrcnick11]

By the way this thing has 2 cleanable filters, one is a screen and one is a centrifugal cartridge thing(not sure how that will work) I wish they would have just put a darn paper element filter on it like there other bikes.

At least they made it a full US quart. My darn 150r holds like 18oz of oil on one side and like 19oz of oil on the other. Such a pain in the butt to have two separate oil changes to do and with such little oil in the bike it gets changed a lot.

 

[trail90]

Hey guys, I think we can put more stock in Honda's oil change interval. The oil we get today is not your grandfather's oil. It is vastly improved! Even non-synthetic is extremely good.

People say to change the oil on small engines often because they seem to have so little oil. Actually, the Grom holds a lot of oil. If you compare how much oil the engine holds compared to the cc's, it is a lot. If my wife's car had the equivalent of the Grom, my wife's car (1.5 liter 4 cylinder) would need 3 gallons of oil at oil change (the car holds something like 3.4 quarts.)

My CBR250 has an 8,000 mile oil change interval! It is water cooled, so I think it is much easier on oil than a air cooled Grom. If my water cooled CBR can handle 8,000 mile oil changes, it should be conservative for the air cooled Grom to require 2,500 mile oil changes.

Over many years, we have been fed a constant stream of message advocating of 3,000 mile oil changes, with the implication that frequent oil changes will make our engines last a very long time. In the past, there was truth to this, but modern engines run better, and the oil we use today is vastly superior.

 

[CiscoSanJose]

After using dinosaur oil for the first 1000 miles or until my engine is broken in I switch over to this oil which I use on my Hayabusa my ZX6R and my soon to own GROM.

Amsoil synthetic 10w-40 is the best in my opinion

I used Motul 300V 4T 10W40 and my bikes did not like these oil.

If you want to be cheap I have had friends who used Mobil 1 car oil and changed their oil more often that when using the more expensive motorcycle synthetic oil. This one rider used Mobil 1 car oil in his R-1 yamaha and his bike ran strong and he use to ride mile long wheelies with no blown engine. I know of others who also use mobil 1 oil car oil. Like I tell people use what ever you want it is your bike and not mind.

 

[busarider2013]

I do it every 500 miles too be safe and kee her running good

 

[reg71]

I know the oil change debate rages on every forum. I use whatever is on sale and change when it starts looking dirty in the glass on my VFR which has around 89000 miles. Other on the forum are strong advocates of Rotella synthetic which can save you lots. I have used it and couldn't really tell a difference.

If it makes you feel better to change it more often, then more power to you but I agree with whomever above said you can go a lot longer than many people think.

 

[Joe90]

Will fully synthetic cause clutch slip on these engines? Iive always been told to use semi synth when the clutch is fed from the same oil as the gearbox etc.

 

[how2]

oil

Will fully synthetic cause clutch slip on these engines? Iive always been told to use semi synth when the clutch is fed from the same oil as the gearbox etc.

You can use fully synthetic oil. Use bike oil, do not use car oil.

I would reccommend Castrol 10W-40

CASTROL POWER 1 RACING 4T(Fully Synthetic)
Castrol Power 1 Racing 4T : Castrol Moto

CASTROL POWER 1 4T(Part Synthetic)
CASTROL POWER 1 4T : Castrol Moto

 

[Grommer2]

I use Rotella T6 full synthetic in all my bikes. It's 5W40 and not 10W30 as recommended, but that is not important. It does carry a JASO MA rating which means it is safe for a wet clutch motorcycle....ie, no slippage. The manual does say not to use energy conserving or high mileage oil. Those oils are what have the additive that can allow the clutch to slip. So really you could use car oil, if you avoided those two types of oil. The Rotella will cost less than $5 per oil change and sells in Walmart for $22 per gallon. Thousands of motorcyclists have been using it for years, including me.

 

[Joe90]

Thanks for the heads up guys. Ive had castrol fully synth here for a while and didnt use it on my road legal pit bike due to the clutch slip idea i had planted in my head. Now i know! Thanks

 

[Dodgerider26]

Hey guys, I think we can put more stock in Honda's oil change interval. The oil we get today is not your grandfather's oil. It is vastly improved! Even non-synthetic is extremely good.

People say to change the oil on small engines often because they seem to have so little oil. Actually, the Grom holds a lot of oil. If you compare how much oil the engine holds compared to the cc's, it is a lot. If my wife's car had the equivalent of the Grom, my wife's car (1.5 liter 4 cylinder) would need 3 gallons of oil at oil change (the car holds something like 3.4 quarts.)

My CBR250 has an 8,000 mile oil change interval! It is water cooled, so I think it is much easier on oil than a air cooled Grom. If my water cooled CBR can handle 8,000 mile oil changes, it should be conservative for the air cooled Grom to require 2,500 mile oil changes.

Over many years, we have been fed a constant stream of message advocating of 3,000 mile oil changes, with the implication that frequent oil changes will make our engines last a very long time. In the past, there was truth to this, but modern engines run better, and the oil we use today is vastly superior.

Your wife's car also isn't run at full throttle for 2-3 hours a day with a constant supply of clutch dumps to do wheelies. I'll plan to change mine early and often given the abuse I intend to give it. In general though, you are right. Honda gives oil change specs that they are willing to warranty the bike with. This means for general usage they expect their recommendations to be conservative enough to not cause any issues. If you ride hard, in the heat, idle a lot, offroad a bunch, and do tons of wheelies then you'll need to change much more often. If you spend most of your time cruising at 30-45mph and never sit at stoplights and always accelerate softly then you can extend your oil change interval and not worry about engine damage.

 

[Silentoreo]

I'm loving all this great feedback!