Oil change on the road?

[Willsmotorcycle]

Do any of you guys ever change your oil at the hotel or campsite or...? What do you use as a pan and how do you discard the old oil? I’m excited to here this.

 

[Slydynbye]

I would do my maintenance before hitting the road, the hassle and mess of dealing with it on the road isn't worth it.
If anything I would drop into a shop for a quick oil change.

 

[Buckeye Rich]

I've done oil changes on the road before. Once in Salt Lake City in 2004. We pulled into the BMW dealership and asked if they would dispose of our used oil. They had us pull around back and even lent us an oil pan. I was on a 2002 Connie and one of the guys I was with was on a BMW R1150 RT. If I remember correctly, he bought the oil and filter from them.

I've also done it at an autozone. I bought one of those aluminum oven turkey pans and drained the oil into it. Autozone disposed of it for me.

At this point in my life, I'd try to find a shop that could get me in or someone from the forum that would allow me to use their garage if I really needed it. I'm a little old school and hate to go more than 5k miles on an oil change.

 

[SMSW]

I never would, too much hassle to get to the filter. If you start taking fairing screws and push pins out in a parking lot or campsite, as sure as roofing tar will spread all over your hands and hair, those fasteners will walk off when your hands are full of used oil. This is an easy to foresee maintenance item that it should not be a surprise. Worst case? Ride into a quick oil change place for cars, offer the guy $10 and ask to use an oil pan, etc. Like @Buckeye Rich said, most mc dealers will be happy to sell you the oil and lend a catch pan. Bring plenty of rags if you are going to do the filter. Truth be known, you can probably go two oil changes with a better filter like Purolator. There are many good filters and all can go two changes occasionally.

 

[dduelin]

Not yet, I haven’t been on a ride exceeding 6500 miles yet. Maintenance at home, fun on the road.

No fairing parts need to be removed to change the 13’s oil & filter and with a piece of aluminum foil to direct oil out of the filter, no oil gets on the ground or the bike. Drain the sump on the center stand then remove the filter on the side stand. The foil folds over the left hand exhaust collector and directs the oil off any bike parts into the oil drain pan moved from under the sump to behind the center stand.

 

[caldercay]

I'd never do maintenance "away from home" ... there's always the potential for unforeseen issues.

However, if traveling that many miles away from home, I can understand that

If I were up against that, I'd go to the grocery store and buy a disposable aluminum roasting pan ...

Pour the old oil back into the now empty "new" oil bottles ... then take them to an auto parts store or Walmart or Firestone store who has an oil dump

 

[Igofar]

 

[caldercay]

You BETTER NOT do that within my eyesight ...

 

[ToddC]

Amazing what people used to think was OK.......

In the 70s we used used oil to control dust on the side road of my father business...."fling that pan nice and thin now ya hear..???!!"

 

[Jethro]

I have had oil changes done at HONDA dealerships with my filter, their oil far from home. Some will drop you off at a roadhouse,pick you up when done.$10.00 tip .Small town U.S.A. Good reason for a rest stop,or end of day siesta.

 

[red one]

Yes I agree with the if your close change your oil before you take your trip. Believe it or not if you go a few hundred miles over your engine will not explode. I think you have to go over 8K for that to happen

 

[Obo]

I can one up that... there was an old guy around here who did body work and painted cars... all the old paint and thinner he poured down an old metal well casing in his back yard....

You can't make this Sh1T up...

 

[the Ferret]

When I was a kid, my dad would have us pour it in the street rain drain....that was in the 50's. People weren't afraid of used oil then lol.

Like others I start a trip on new oil/ filter and change it when I get back home, but my longest trip has been 5500 miles.

 

[Kevcules]

I'm also amazed at what was considered normal long ago. My father said when he was driving motorbikes back in the woods long long ago, they would go through a big mud hole, stop and drain the oil on the ground, refill and keep going??
Then there are huge companies pouring their waste directly into the rivers and oceans..... The environment is suffering and can't take much more. Good thing the government and big companies are starting to foresee the future!
PS.......changing your oil too soon, is BAD for the environment. Most of the used oil doesn't get recycled I'm guessing.

 

[Bikeric]

Before I go on a trip I change the oils and filter, then check brake pads, tyres, lights and change as necessary. Then I check the wheel, head and swinging arm bearings as I would before taking her to the MOT test.

 

[Upt' North]

Like the rest have said, do it at home and ride.
If you ride over the mileage limit (if it bothers you) use the RAN list on here, someone will loan you their garage and a beer.
The oil will also be having an easy time on long rides with few cold starts and little town work.
Just ride.
Upt'North.

 

[Upt' North]

Larry, it isn't that log ago when we used to pour all kinds of crap down the drains, strange innit.
Come to think of it we still put crap down the drains, but that's a story for another time.
I recently took a gallon of old coolant to the tip and said, "where do I put this".
I was told to throw it in the general waste and it would be buried/burnt after collection.
We might as well pour it in the ground.
Upt'North.

 

[Willsmotorcycle]

Ahh the old aluminum turkey pan, brilliant. I may consider the dealer or equivalent, or just wait till I’m back. It will definitely be fresh when I leave and I tend to use the car filters so they’re a little bigger. I’ll confess I have gone into the 6k range on my V65 but it burned a little so it was always getting fresh oil. This is my first new bike and I don’t want regrets in 50k miles, I’m going with as limited human contact as possible (normal for me).

Disposal in my area is easy, a few places have signs asking. They burn it for shop heat.

 

[Pop-Pop]

Do any of you guys ever change your oil at the hotel or campsite or...? What do you use as a pan and how do you discard the old oil? I’m excited to here this.

Go to the dollar store and but a turky pan and a funnell. U know the rest

 

[Flexit]

How far are you going? To be quite honest, my oil gets changed once a year, when the bike goes to the dealer for a service, normally around about May each year (MOT time too). I've never been too stressed about the 4,000 mile figure! The furthest it has gone between services was 12,000 miles, the least 350 (Covid-19 year).

Only once have I changed oil en-route and that was back in the 80's with a BMW K100RS which had just had an engine rebuilt, we ran it in on a run down to Portugal, then at a remote campsite undertook the change. I bought replacement oil at a local petrol station + a cheap plastic fuel tank. Cut the side off the fuel tank and 'voila' I had a drain tank. Once the old oil was out it was poured into the 'new' (now empty) oil container using a rolled up newspaper as a funnel. All this done very, very surrepticiously at the campsite with lots of newspaper to ensure no spillage on the ground. Then both containers dumped safely and legally back at the fuel station.