Retired

I used to have a 100 mile commute round trip to work everyday but now that I have laid the hammer down I go 4 miles each way to my little part time retirement job. How much damage am I doing. As you all know there is no way to tell when the bike is fully warmed up. In days of old when I was forced to ride this little I used to change the oil every 90 days no matter what the mileage. What do you folks suggest for me to do with this new bike. Nc700X DCT. Thanks.

Take the long way home (20-30 min) otherwise the oil isn't going to get warm in 4 miles

Enjoy retirement. It's great. I highly recommend it.

I would probably spend as much possible on the bike than at the other place...

Multi viscosity oil helps with short trips. BUT you build up contaminants like water in the oil as it won't reach its 100c operating temperature. (1) once a week take a 30+ minute ride. Shorten your oil drain intervals. Instead of the 8k I'd do 4k or less. You can send out a Used Oil Analysis to some places, like "BlackStone Laboratories" they test the oil to see how it is doing.

I plan on doing this at 4k, and 8k to see if my oil can do the 8,000 miles that Honda specs for an Oil Change Interval.

OriginalRocket said:

I plan on doing this at 4k, and 8k to see if my oil can do the 8,000 miles that Honda specs for an Oil Change Interval.

Click to expand...

I hope you'll post your findings, sounds very interesting.

4 miles? That is bicycling range!


I agree with the recommendations that you take the "long way" home whenever possible. At least a 10-minute ride will warm up the motor.
Else you should go for a long ride every week or so, just to clear up the carbon buildup.
I would not worry too much about oil changes and so forth.
We live to ride and not ride to live.

It is, no matter how precious you think it is, just a machine. Spend your time on other real stuff in life.
Talking to family, coffee with friends, etc.

Hope this is a good tip for ya!

If only doing very short trips regular oil changes are a must if you have any mechanical sympathy and have any consideration for the longivity of your engine. To my way of thinking despite it's high price these days oil & filters are still much cheaper than engine rebuilds

OriginalRocket said it well, oil has to come up to temp for a period of time for moisture to evap out. The beauty of a bike engine is the parts are so compact the oil film migrates easily from part to part keeping everything nicely covered. I dismanteled a 1979 honda 2011 and found a nice film on the upper cams, followers, and chain, the cylinders told a much different story. I would check the clear oil breather hose, (left side beside the front frame rail) for moisture. Moisture will collect there. If you find water there frequently, you should ride more or change your oil more.

Congrats on your retirement. I retired this year and wonder when I found the time to work!

I also retired this year. 4 miles is too short for this engine. There are almost 4 litres of oil to heat up in that journey. Get yourself a bicycle and enjoy the same spin while keeping fit !