The first $100 oil change. | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

The first $100 oil change.

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AllistonGT said:
I thought (wrongly I guess) that the dealer would have by default, done an oil change before delivery to customer on a used bike.
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That's never been my experience. As @GreyGhost mentioned, that would significantly bite into margins.

The oil wasn't bad by any means (see photos above) aside from what I'm thinking (but could be entirely wrong) was moisture, but like I said, I always like to start with a baseline on fluid changes so I know what's in there and when it was done. Previous owner might have used the cheapest or incorrect oil for the engine, for example, so it's always best to start clean and fresh. Or it could have been Motul 1, fed to Swiss cats, refined by their digestive system and is collected after they poop it out, and I just wasted $200 in oil by changing it 30,000km before it really needed it, but it is what it is.
 
Keep an eye out at PA for the Rotella T6. They sometimes go on sale as well.
Last time I bought 2 X 5L jugs. (Oct 2022) I asked to price match it to WalMart or CT but they kindly said they don't do price matching. However, they gave me me the sale price. I got it for $42.99 each.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Thanks, will keep it in mind for my next oil change in 6000km.

I had a bad experience ordering liquid online long ago however, so it's honestly not something I've remotely considered doing since, but apparently need to reconsider. No issues with punctured or squished bottles or anything?

I typically order my Wix filters from Amazon so it'll go together nicely next time.

Today's oil change wasn't really planned however - I wanted to draw out some oil for my Blackstone test and kind of figured at that point I might as well do an oil change so I took off for Canadian Tire and the rest is history.

The colour of the oil suggests it wasn't that old, but I've no idea what kind of oil was in it, how long it's been in there, synthetic or not, etc etc etc....so I always like to start a new ownership experience with a baseline of my own.
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If you're riding in the US, you can always pick up some at Walmart for a little less:

www.walmart.com

Shell Rotella T6 Full Synthetic 5W-40 Diesel Engine Oil, 1 Gallon - Walmart.com

Today Buy Shell Rotella T6 Full Synthetic 5W-40 Diesel Engine Oil, 1 Gallon at Walmart.com
www.walmart.com

I get my jugs of Mobil 1 15w50 down there for about the same if not less. Canadian Tire doesn't carry it in jugs any more, and the 1L bottles never go on sale.
 
PrivatePilot said:
also drawing out an oil sample to send to Blackstone just to get some insight.
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What exactly is this? I usually dissect the old filter to check for shiny bits.
 
Relax said:
On the topic of oil changes, I was curious to see how well these anti-splatter mats worked. Turn out pretty good, unless you forget a step...

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That is interstesing. Never really thought of that but a good idea.

I'm sure something like this can be made from other filter material that someone would have around the house or garage.

Oil furnace filter (no the Filtrete ones) f or old car cabin air filter could probably work.
 
Thanks @oioioi. Like I said by dissecting the old filter I already know the motor is wearing.
 
Relax said:
On the topic of oil changes, I was curious to see how well these anti-splatter mats worked. Turn out pretty good, unless you forget a step...

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What exactly is the point? Looks like one more piece of haz waste when you're done.
 
timtune said:
What exactly is the point? Looks like one more piece of haz waste when you're done.
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I guess the idea is that this pad has a long life span and get reused over the years. I wouldn't expect anyone replacing this. Can't see it wearing out much or at all.
 
oioioi said:
I guess the idea is that this pad has a long life span and get reused over the years. I wouldn't expect anyone replacing this. Can't see it wearing out much or at all.
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Of course that makes sense. I was thinking it went with the old oil, instead the oil soaked pad just lays in the tray. Meh.
 
timtune said:
What exactly is the point? Looks like one more piece of haz waste when you're done.
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I don't know about you, but I'm constantly cleaning up drip splatter. The worst is near then end when it's coming out in a very thin stream. The amount of splatter is amazing. This would save a lot of shop towels.
 
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Relax said:
Also, I'm hearing you can use a hog hair pad usually found on floor polishers or air filters for much less.
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That's what I was thinking just couldn't come up with the name.

Need to call mom as she has access to those.

EDIT: Order placed. lol
 
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timtune said:
Thanks @oioioi. Like I said by dissecting the old filter I already know the motor is wearing.
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Blackstone sends you a ton of information on your oil, not just "are there any shiny bits in there". It gives you an amazing level of insight on what's happening with not only your engine, but your oil. You can also draw out an oil sample part way through a usage cycle and see how your oil is wearing and if you need to bother with an oil change yet or not. On a small engine where you're talkind 4-5L of oil, not a huge deal, but on a big engine with 20, 50, 100+ litres, the $50 test cost can be the difference between changing oil unnecessarilly early at the cost of many hundreds of dollars, or not bothering for another x number of hours or kilometers.

With a motrocycle you also notate such and they check the sample for clutch material as well.

Seeing what I saw with the oil that came out of my bike I'm debating sending in the current sample I have or not as honestly it's probably going to come back saying that the oil was perfecty good etc etc etc, but who knows.

As for that oil splatter thing, dollar store scrubbie pads will do the same thing. ;)

I also use cheap packs of puppy training pee-pads to go under the bike and oil tray while changing the oil and then dumping out the catch pan etc afterwards. Any drips or spills (as well as the drips from the plugs etc) end up being absorbed by the puppy pad. Fold up afterwards, into the trash, done.
 
oioioi said:
Keep an eye out at PA for the Rotella T6. They sometimes go on sale as well.
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I checked the digital flyers before opting for CT, but it wasn't on sale anywhere. It did show a little cheaper at WalMart, but my experience actually *finding* it there even when it says it's supposed to be in stock was very hit or miss in the past, plus the one time I did find it it wasn't at the advertised price on the shelf and I had to spend 20 minutes a customer service to get the $10 or whatever it was back.

Yesterday I didn't feel like pissing around only to once again waste my time, so I just went straight to CT.

I will keep that Walmart USA deal in mind however, worth bringing back a few jugs for sure at that price.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Blackstone sends you a ton of information on your oil, not just "are there any shiny bits in there". It gives you an amazing level of insight on what's happening with not only your engine, but your oil. You can also draw out an oil sample part way through a usage cycle and see how your oil is wearing and if you need to bother with an oil change yet or not. On a small engine where you're talkind 4-5L of oil, not a huge deal, but on a big engine with 20, 50, 100+ litres, the $50 test cost can be the difference between changing oil unnecessarilly early at the cost of many hundreds of dollars, or not bothering for another x number of hours or kilometers.

With a motrocycle you also notate such and they check the sample for clutch material as well.

Seeing what I saw with the oil that came out of my bike I'm debating sending in the current sample I have or not as honestly it's probably going to come back saying that the oil was perfecty good etc etc etc, but who knows.

As for that oil splatter thing, dollar store scrubbie pads will do the same thing. ;)

I also use cheap packs of puppy training pee-pads to go under the bike and oil tray while changing the oil and then dumping out the catch pan etc afterwards. Any drips or spills (as well as the drips from the plugs etc) end up being absorbed by the puppy pad. Fold up afterwards, into the trash, done.
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Is the motorcycle oil test $50?
What's the turn around time for results?
 
oioioi said:
Is the motorcycle oil test $50?
What's the turn around time for results?
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$35 USD, so yeah, about $50.

Turnaround is usually about a week or so after they receive it, sometimes less depending on how many they have to process.
 
My 1981 Volvo GLT wagon had a main seal oil leak.
Since it had 350,000 on it with some body damage it did not justify doing an engine rebuild.
I never changed the oil or filter again for the next 3 years but just topped it up every few weeks with the cheapest oil I could buy.
Put another 100,000 on the car before I drove it to the scrap yard because the body, suspension, brakes and transmission where shot.
Motor ran just fine.
 
guzzirider said:
My 1981 Volvo GLT wagon had a main seal oil leak.
Since it had 350,000 on it with some body damage it did not justify doing an engine rebuild.
I never changed the oil or filter again for the next 3 years but just topped it up every few weeks with the cheapest oil I could buy.
Put another 100,000 on the car before I drove it to the scrap yard because the body, suspension, brakes and transmission where shot.
Motor ran just fine.
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Had a girlfriend long ago who drove an 80's station wagon that did the same thing, at least 1L every week. I think at the end she was basically feeding it cans of STP instead of oil.
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