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Old 09-09-14, 20:56
Pleiades Pleiades is offline
XT-Moto SuperStar
 
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Location: North Norfolk
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamslay View Post
However, I'm blown away by the fact that most riders of such bikes do an oil change every other ride or at least every 20 hours. I know these bikes are in a higher state of tune, and can rev higher, but does that really mean that an oil change is required every other ride rather than annually???
One reason they require more frequent oil changes is that most off road bikes have a far smaller oil capacity than their dual-sport cousins. Of course it depends entirely on how and where you ride, particularly where water is involved! 20-25 hours does seem the norm though for most of folk I know who run with these sorts of bikes. Doesn't cost much though, as it only takes a paltry 1.4 litres and worth it for peace of mind.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamslay View Post
Leading on from that, would that suggest that if the XTR starts going off-road more, and being used perhaps a bit more aggressively, that one should also consider more frequent oil changes? Or is the XTR in such a laid-back state of tune that it really doesn't matter?
Again, depends on how and where you ride. The bigger oil capacity of the XT and lower state of tune/revs will mean it'll go a lot further/longer, but I'd still be tempted to change it more often than once a year. Maybe twice, three times a year? Any chance you think you might have got water in there, then drop the oil though. Also depends on how many miles you do in between the off-road stints too.

I do mine twice a year on average (one with a filter change). I cover about 6K miles a year, maybe 90% on-road and about 10% fairly sedate miles off-road.