Reminder, Winterizing info...

[WhiteNoise]

So Mike, you agree to "before winter" oil change? Did I get that right?

winter change or early spring?
I've read no harm done with either season, and I have done both myself. Hmmm...

>>> Take it away Greg! <<< Survey Says!!

[you you]

Sometime over the winter, when isn't earth shatteringly important

[MikeP]

[quote="WhiteNoise"]So Mike, you agree to "before winter" oil change? Did I get that right?

Yes, I believe its best to store equipment with fresh oil in them.

[Eiron]

... would it be better to change the oil before putting the scoot to bed for the winter, or to change it in the spring? For my little outboard, I change in the fall so that any water or other gunga doesn't get a chance to sit and corrode things. Would the same logic extend to our more terrestrial machines?

Generally speaking, yes, putting fresh oil in before storing for the winter is preferred. (Of course, that assumes you're draining a warmed engine (to get the contaminants 'stirred up' into suspension & out with the oil), & you're running the new oil for a few minutes to get the benefit of a that new oil coating your engine parts.)

I know the owner's manual recommends 5k mi/8k km or 12 mos Oil Change Intervals (OCI). I'm going to assume that you're not changing more frequently than this, and that your last change was more than six months ago.

As far as "water or other gunga" sitting in your engine goes, that's going to be determined by mechanical problems, and/or driving habits, and/or the quality of oil that you use.

So, I'm also going to assume you have no mechanical issues that are allowing water or 'gunga' to enter your engine (e.g., bad head gasket, no air filter, etc.). (BTW, what classifies as 'gunga'??)

For driving habits, do you primarily take short trips (less than 5 mi) on your scoot? Short trips are tough on any engine, because the engine heats up only enough to cause internal moisture condensation when you stop, & the oil never heats up enough to evaporate off the resulting condensate that mixes into the oil. The water then combines with the contaminants in the oil to form acids.
You can prevent this by taking a longer ride once a week (or more). A ride of at least ten miles should heat up everything for long enough to force out the accumulated moisture. Unfortunately, once acids have formed, you can't really 'boil' those off. Those have to be handled by the oil itself. Which brings us to ....

For oil quality, what kind of oil do you use? A basic 'conventional' 10W-30 oil? Or something better? And how much better? How well does it resist shearing? How well does it resist acid formation? How well does it cling to engine parts? These (and more) are all aspects of oil selection that directly impact what happens when you ride, the longevity of your equipment, and how much time, money, and resources you waste changing oil.

The real answer comes down to the question, "what's going on with my oil right now?" And you really don't know what's happening unless you have your oil analyzed. I've run Used Oil Analysis (UOA) on my cars, but not on either of my scoots. For my cars, engine design and repair condition both play a part in OCIs. The high-stress engines in good repair require more frequent OCIs than the low-stress engines that consume oil (worn rings) and need new oil seals (leak; i.e., they require regular top-ups of fresh oil). Also, car engines have replaceable oil filters that can dramatically extend OCIs if replaced partway thru your OCI. The difference can be as dramatic as 5k mi OCIs vs 20k mi OCIs.

So .... where are you on the oil spectrum? :-)
1) I don't care; I'm just changing the oil because it's 'cheap insurance' [Editor's Note: this is the standard BS/cop-out line]
2) What are you asking me .... ? (Is it warm in here??)
3) I feel ya, bro.

[wojtek_pl]

Also check your tire pressure. And probably add some air as in cold weather the pressure may be little low.

Now, riding in winter/cold weather wouldn't be so bad apart from mist on my glasses and inside of helmet visor.