1200 DVT Oil Change

Bloody friday builds from italy 'marked for uk' get the special treatment. Same thing happens with the rear wheel nut, quite pathetic really considering the amount of money ducati have invested into its factory equipment. That no one seems to be checking that the factory workers are fitting items at the correct torque settings.

 

OK, I know the DVT handbook says the oil only needs changing every 9,000 miles. 9,000 miles! This makes me slightly uneasy, as I am a bit old fashioned about oil. I am still not entirely happy about running an engine on the same oil for 9K.

So today I gave in and did it. Dropped the old oil and poured in some lovely new clean Shell Ultra 15W-50. Also I wanted to take a good look at the magnetic drain plug to check if there were any visible metallic particles - there weren't. Just for peace of mind really.

By the way, dropping the sump guard is a lot easier on the DVT than it was on the 2010-14 Multis, because the screws are more accessibly positioned.

 

Yes, 3.5 litres, which does not seem much for a 1200cc engine. I paid £53 for 4 litres, which is about £13 per litre including postage.

 

Being old fashioned about oil changes is fine, change it as much as you feel safe with, but I'll bet you are not using old fashioned oil! Modern synthetic oil will last for many more than 9,000 miles. Some BMW diesel cars (diesels are hard on their oil) will only need changing every 30,000+ miles.
If you have access to an oil analysis lab (EFDC) and just took samples to see if it needed changing then you would feel very uneasy with the same oil in for many more miles.

 

Fair do's. But if you are a track day addict, like me, you should change your oil regularly. I change mine every couple of TD's. If you're caning it there will be a degree of 'fuel dilution' where a small % of petrol will make it into your oil compromising its wear protection. Plus, as Pete pointed out, you can check for metal particles.
Anyone that's had their engine custom mapped will have had a degree of 'overfueling' dialled in. Particularly on race bikes. Overfueling aids cooling (think of the evaporation process). A lean fuel mix can lead to piston damage through overheating. This is my understanding of regular oil changes for track whores....

 

I don't quite understand the meaning of this sentence, @Bob T . Many more than what?

 

Many more that the 9000 that Ducati suggest. I worked in an industry when aircraft oil changes were done when the sample told us when the engine needed a change rather than just change at a pre determined mileage/time.
The reason for changing oil always has been due to the breakdown of additives. Many years ago you could buy additive packages to use in the oil to extend oil changes, these were made by Wynns or STP. A bike used on the track or the road will get a certain amount of fuel getting into the oil, but with hot oil that fuel evaporates very quickly.
Because modern synthetics are engineered to be used in engines, they need hardly any additives, so do not need to be changed as often. They are also more robust and heat tolerant so will not become damaged (additives burnt off) by higher temperatures.
At the end of the day the individual must decide what oil he wants to use and how long to use it for, but that decision should be based on modern day materials rather than what used to be done.
Many people think that thicker oil is better - not so. It leads to higher oil pressures and more strain on oil pumps and pipes, you doctor will tell you about that if you have high blood pressure. If thicker was any better then why do people not fill their sump with 80/140 gear oil? It would wreck the oil pump and take 10 minutes to circulate to the extremities of the engine on start, three start ups and the engine would be worn out!

 

Agree with your post. I too work in modern engineering (gas turbines) and oil changes are often prompted on analysis feed back. And for example, a lube oil filter will be changed on a delta p reading as opposed to periodically.

Aaaaaaand - thicker oil will create mechanical drag and impact performance. And we can't be having that now, can we?

 

What you say about the undesirability of excessively thick oil is obviously right, as is what you say about modern additives and about petrol blow-by. The issue which makes me uneasy is rather different.

When you put in new oil it is visibly clear and clean. It looks, smells and feels new. During use it gets progressively darker and more dirty-looking. Eventually it becomes black and filthy. Are you saying that is irrelevant and can be safely ignored? This is a genuine question; I'd like to see informed opinions.

 

No. If oil becomes dirty looking its because it is indeed dirty and its wear protection is probably shot. Change it, I certainly would.

 

If I were to look at the oil in any of my bikes that had covered more than 500 kms on that oil then I would expect it to be black. If it is not black then something is wrong. Larger particles of debris (that may be so small that you could not feel them between your fingers) will be caught by the super modern filters that we use these days. Smaller particles will be held in the oil and discolour it. It does not mean that the oil has lost any of its lubricating properties. As an analogy, diesel particulates can be seen coming out of an exhaust as black smoke, but you cannot feel it as it is too fine, but it discolours the air so that yo can see it.
Once your has been discoloured then no amount of changing will keep it golden coloured as you can never get everything out of the engine when you change that oil, therefore the new oil will still have some fine contamination after starting the engine.
I suspect that my 848 does not drain the oil cooler when I change the oil as it is very low in the system.
Ducati will tell you to change at 9000 for many reasons, one is commercial, dealers get work, but another is that they have to cover every eventuality, for example Joe blogs who has 4 cans of Duckhams Q left in his garage from his Ford Escort that he owned in 1981.
A few years ago I had a Range Rover 2.5 DHSE which was almost new at the time. The manufacturers oil changes were 6000 miles, but those intervals were decided on back in 1996 when decent oil was not so available. At the time I was still working in aviation and had access to EFDC for oil analysis. After filling the engine with full synthetic (very expensive then) oil, we tested every 6000 miles. I ended up changing that oil at 24000 miles and it was still good according to the analysis. I kept the RR on 24000 changes till I sold it with 175000 miles on it.
At the end of the day it is your choice what you decide to do.

 

Thank you for a very well informed and beneficial analysis. I'm sure there are many readers, including myself, that had no idea about the lifespan of engine oil. Excellent.

 

Thanks for your helpful and informative comments. I am somewhat reassured.