Oil change observations/questions
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Oil change observations/questions
So I changed my oil Saturday. Had the first 500 mile service done (November) by a dealer. Now up to 1500.
So the Manual does not call for an oil filter change, just the oil. Sounds a little weird to me, but that is me coming from cars where you change the filter every time. Or do you all change the filter each time too? I partly did not as I did not get the nifty tool from motorscoots yet. (UPS left a note today finally...)
Trying to replace the gear oil. Really need to get a syringe. I got a funnel with a long hose, but the gear oil was so heavy it just too forever to go through. Plus a lot of it just got stuck in the tube. So I added some more, but feel like I may go back and drain and refill again after I have a syringe.
Air filter. Looked at that. Manual very helpfully says replace when necessary. Any handle on what is “necessary”? Mine is black on the lower half, but only on the outer edges, there is still a lot of pink on the creases. I blew it out a little with compressed air.
Thanks to the Tech library, made all the difference in the world!
So the Manual does not call for an oil filter change, just the oil. Sounds a little weird to me, but that is me coming from cars where you change the filter every time. Or do you all change the filter each time too? I partly did not as I did not get the nifty tool from motorscoots yet. (UPS left a note today finally...)
Trying to replace the gear oil. Really need to get a syringe. I got a funnel with a long hose, but the gear oil was so heavy it just too forever to go through. Plus a lot of it just got stuck in the tube. So I added some more, but feel like I may go back and drain and refill again after I have a syringe.
Air filter. Looked at that. Manual very helpfully says replace when necessary. Any handle on what is “necessary”? Mine is black on the lower half, but only on the outer edges, there is still a lot of pink on the creases. I blew it out a little with compressed air.
Thanks to the Tech library, made all the difference in the world!
- EP_scoot
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Ed,
I have not even gotten to the first service yet, but I would change the filter every time I will change the filter regardless what the manual says. That translation just doesn't inspire confidence. In other words, just because it is not there, it simply could be the translator/editor just missed it all together.
For the air filter, at 1,500 miles I would just give it a big blast with an air compressor.
I have not even gotten to the first service yet, but I would change the filter every time I will change the filter regardless what the manual says. That translation just doesn't inspire confidence. In other words, just because it is not there, it simply could be the translator/editor just missed it all together.
For the air filter, at 1,500 miles I would just give it a big blast with an air compressor.
Beer is the answer . . . what was the question?
D.
D.
- toddrw2251
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Im no professional, but it makes sense to me that the filter doesn't need to be changed every oil change. The filter is nearly the same size as an cars, but it filters much less oil and oil that is changed much more frequently. It still should have much more filtering ability.
My buddy only has 1100 miles on it so I haven't gotten to the point to change the oil myself yet. The manual also isn't consistent about the intervals when an oil change needs to be done. I believe it says every 1000 miles at one point and every 2000 miles at another. Changing the oil every 1000 miles seems like overkill to me. My dealer agreed that changing the oil every 1000 miles was not necessary.
My buddy only has 1100 miles on it so I haven't gotten to the point to change the oil myself yet. The manual also isn't consistent about the intervals when an oil change needs to be done. I believe it says every 1000 miles at one point and every 2000 miles at another. Changing the oil every 1000 miles seems like overkill to me. My dealer agreed that changing the oil every 1000 miles was not necessary.
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Yeah, i have heard 2 different opinions on oil changes in cars. 3 months/3000 miles being an invention of the oil companies, and the other side of the argument is that it is the best way to keep your engine going a Loooonnnnggg time.
I have also read of it being a situation of how often you cold start your engine. (quite a lot in chicago. 35 degrees this morning )
But the manual I have says pretty much every 1000 miles to change the oil. And I guess I lean on the side of more frequent, as it seems like I am better off erring on that side? But I do not wish to be overly compulsive over it, i have so many other things I should be compulsive over!
But thanks for the thoughts, and I appreciate any others.
Ed
I have also read of it being a situation of how often you cold start your engine. (quite a lot in chicago. 35 degrees this morning )
But the manual I have says pretty much every 1000 miles to change the oil. And I guess I lean on the side of more frequent, as it seems like I am better off erring on that side? But I do not wish to be overly compulsive over it, i have so many other things I should be compulsive over!
But thanks for the thoughts, and I appreciate any others.
Ed
- jfrost2
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My dealer tells me, change filter every time to keep the oil as clean and smooth as possible, it helps in the long run so you dont have any bigger engine problems in the future.
And, they told me after my first service, to change the oil at every 2,000 miles. I agree with this too though the manual says every 1k.
A car that is new has the first change very soon, but a car who's had it's first service done has the oil changed every 3 months or 3k miles.
Anyone else think oil needs to be changed every 3 months or 2k miles on a scooter? Or just change it every season atleast once or every 2k miles?
And, they told me after my first service, to change the oil at every 2,000 miles. I agree with this too though the manual says every 1k.
A car that is new has the first change very soon, but a car who's had it's first service done has the oil changed every 3 months or 3k miles.
Anyone else think oil needs to be changed every 3 months or 2k miles on a scooter? Or just change it every season atleast once or every 2k miles?
- NathanielSalzman
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I just changed the crankcase and gear oil in both my Blur and the wife's Buddy this weekend. I ran into the same problem you're describing with the gear oil but found a nifty solution. I went down to the auto parts store and got four lengths of decreasing diameter silicone tubing. The largest fits into the opening in my everyday automotive funnel, and the successively smaller sizes fit snugly into each other. The little $0.50 funnel I have has a little tie-off hole, so I just used a piece of twine to tie the funnel off to the license plate. Then with four step-downs in tube size (plus the tubing is semi flexible so it makes a nice arc) I was able to pour out a measured amount of oil into the funnel and give it the ten minutes it needed to drain all the way in. Looking at the old oil, the shiny metal flake throughout was pretty alarming! Change your gear oil people!
Another handy tip would be to drop by your local motorcycle shop and get a measuring cup. Use it to catch the old fluids as they drain. That way you can keep track of how much oil came out of your gearbox - as it's only supposed to have .100 L max in it. I was able to measure exactly how much came out and replace with exactly that same amount (about .09 L) so I know I'm not overfilling.
As for when to change oil filters, on the filter itself, it says it's good for 5000 km. There's no harm in changing it, but don't sweat it if you follow what the manual says. Swapping the oil itself has the greatest benefit to the engine, as whatever is caught up in the filter element is pretty likely to stay there. And if you're worried about when to change oil, I'd recommend switching to synthetic oil once you're well out of your break-in period. Synthetic has a lot longer life and doesn't go to sh__ as fast as it gets old.
Regarding air filters, an easy test is to pull the element out and hold it up to the sun. If you can see light clearly through it, hit it with compressed air from the back side and put it back in. Change it when it gets noticeably dirty because only then will it be making any real difference in airflow or performance. Like the oil filter, it's unlikely that any grit it's caught will come loose. I wouldn't do more than inspect it at oil changes. Unless you're up and down dirt roads all the time, changing the air filter that much is probably overkill. For what it's worth, the air filter on a lot of the old Vespas looks like a little cage of three layers of metal screen door. So the proper air filter in our scoots is a huge improvement. Keep an eye on it, but don't sweat it.
Another handy tip would be to drop by your local motorcycle shop and get a measuring cup. Use it to catch the old fluids as they drain. That way you can keep track of how much oil came out of your gearbox - as it's only supposed to have .100 L max in it. I was able to measure exactly how much came out and replace with exactly that same amount (about .09 L) so I know I'm not overfilling.
As for when to change oil filters, on the filter itself, it says it's good for 5000 km. There's no harm in changing it, but don't sweat it if you follow what the manual says. Swapping the oil itself has the greatest benefit to the engine, as whatever is caught up in the filter element is pretty likely to stay there. And if you're worried about when to change oil, I'd recommend switching to synthetic oil once you're well out of your break-in period. Synthetic has a lot longer life and doesn't go to sh__ as fast as it gets old.
Regarding air filters, an easy test is to pull the element out and hold it up to the sun. If you can see light clearly through it, hit it with compressed air from the back side and put it back in. Change it when it gets noticeably dirty because only then will it be making any real difference in airflow or performance. Like the oil filter, it's unlikely that any grit it's caught will come loose. I wouldn't do more than inspect it at oil changes. Unless you're up and down dirt roads all the time, changing the air filter that much is probably overkill. For what it's worth, the air filter on a lot of the old Vespas looks like a little cage of three layers of metal screen door. So the proper air filter in our scoots is a huge improvement. Keep an eye on it, but don't sweat it.
Nathaniel Salzman | Founding Editor at ScooterFile.com
- jmazza
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From the issues posted here surrounding oil changes, it almost sounds like you're better off NEVER changing the oil!!!
I read an email from Genuine that ericalm posted that said after the initial change, 1000-1500 miles thereafter if you're on dino oil and 1500-2000 if you're on synthetic. That's what I'm sticking to as well. My dealer said they agreed with that.
Where is the air filter? Anyone have a pic of that?
I read an email from Genuine that ericalm posted that said after the initial change, 1000-1500 miles thereafter if you're on dino oil and 1500-2000 if you're on synthetic. That's what I'm sticking to as well. My dealer said they agreed with that.
Where is the air filter? Anyone have a pic of that?
- KRUSTYburger
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I changed my oil filter out the very first oil change... I also plan to do it the second time, then I will probably skip to every-other change. Reason being is the little metal flakes that come off in the oil as you're breaking it in. Anyways, the only thing that went wrong with my oil change was that the oil drain plug (not gear oil) fell into the funnel and stopped the oil from coming out so it overflowed and made a mess. Next time I'll be more careful to catch it so it doesn't fall out of the socket... No technical probs tho.
Oh yeah, here's the pic of the air filter case, there are 7 screws (don't forget the one in the hole)!
Oh yeah, here's the pic of the air filter case, there are 7 screws (don't forget the one in the hole)!
- vitaminC
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Re: Oil change observations/questions
I changed the filter every time. It doesn't take much effort, and to me the (small) additional cost was offset by the additional peace of mind.Ed Hit wrote:Or do you all change the filter each time too?
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gear oil solution
Here's what works for me: I went to Tractor Supply Company and bought a big plastic syringe in the vet dept. It holds only 30cc, but it fills the gearbox easily and doesn't lose a drop. It was about $10 and looks like it will last forever.
- r0sa
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- toddrw2251
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I saw in the service manual today that the oil filter should be replaced every 5000KM or about 3100 miles. Not sure how that relates to buddy units
http://modernbuddy.com/pdf/buddy125_service_manual.pdf
Page 28
http://modernbuddy.com/pdf/buddy125_service_manual.pdf
Page 28
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- ericalm
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Well... it's more than most others (including Genuine) recommend but that's probably okay if the motorcycle shop is your Genuine dealer.r0sa wrote:i was told to bring it in for the first service at 700 miles by the guy at the motorcycle shop...is 700 miles too much?!
Eric // LA Scooter Meetup Group // Stella 4T // Vespa LX // Vespa LXS // Honda Helix // some, uh, projects…