Engine oil: When and why should you replace it?

Changing oil at regular intervals is the secret to keep your bike's engine young. So, listen to your engine's calls and frequently change oil while you enjoy your journey!

Ever wondered what keeps your bike's engine cool even though it runs at amazingly high speeds? What is it that makes the engine parts run with minimal wear and tear? It's the engine oil. More particularly it is the viscosity of the engine oil that keeps the parts of the engine running and cools down the temperature of the engine.

Viscosity in engine oil also known as kinematic viscosity which is the resistance that a liquid faces while flowing. The viscosity of the engine oil acts as a lubricant to the various moving parts of the engine without which the moving parts would become more prone to wear and tear through internal friction.

You might be thinking, why do experts (and everyone who consider, themselves to be experts) advise to change oil frequently. Let us consider the benefits of changing oil first and then we shall look into the aspects of when to change oil.

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Need to change oil

The primary need to change oil is an element called sludge, an element that breaks down your engine and your journey plans. Sludge is created as a by-product when engine oil combines with oxygen through the oxidation process at high temperature. Sludge chokes the performance of the engine.

The second reason to change engine oil is that upon usage and exposure to heat, oil breaks down. This reduces the lubricating quality of the oil. The engine parts suffer from higher rate of wear and tear due to internal friction.

When oil starts to absorb sludge and other debris created during combustion of fuel, it starts to corrode the internal parts of the engine.

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What are the indicators that suggest that engine oil should be changed?

Among the many indicators that suggest that it is time for you to change of oil are mentioned as follows:

Cold start count: This indicates the level of condensation in the engine oil. If the number of cold starts increases beyond normal count, you should know that your engine is asking for desperate action to change oil.

Temperature: This indicates the time required to warm up the engine to prevent condensation of engine oil. In case your engine is requiring more than average time to warm up, this might suggest that engine oil in your bike's tank has condensed and is need for replacement.

Level of wear and tear of engine: The degree of wear and tear of internal parts of the engine also provides an indication when the engine oil needs to be replaced.

Miles covered by your bike.

Reduction in viscosity levels of the oil: Keep a tab on the levels of viscosity of your engine oil. Whenever the viscosity levels goes beyond the optimal level it is time for you to change your oil as at this stage the oil stops providing adequate lubrication which causes extra wear and tear between the moving parts of the engine.

Changing oil at regular intervals is the secret to keep your bike's engine young.

So, listen to your engine's calls and frequently change oil while you enjoy your journey!

If you find this information useful please share it with your biking friends. If you have additional information on when and why to replace engine oil please share it on the message board below.