Modern day syntetic oil

[Blastedbones]

An oil like Mobil 1 4T synthetic would probably be perfectly ok after 10k of cruising miles in a stock R3.I'd not leave it in the bike longer than a year tho. It's one of those things we tend to over do ( oil changes) but it won't harm the engine to have clean oil!

 

[TriumPhil]

Much of this has to do with where and how you ride. If you tend to ride hard and push your motor somewhat or if you ride in a lot of dirty or dusty air then I wouldn't take your oil and filter much past the 5-6,000 mile mark. Contrarily, the OEM guideline is for intervals of 10,000 miles between oil changes for an "average" rider. Personally, I seldom venture much beyond 5,000 miles between new oil and a fresh filter.

If you ride in relatively clean air and you aren't throttle-crazed or pushing into the higher RPMs that frequently, I think that by following Gothlander's advice, you risk little by sticking closer to Triumph's recommended oil service interval:

 

[pjsmithres]

Synthetic
It will last long past 10000 miles in any modern day auto engine and at least that long in a Rocket.

But

For the engines, dirt/dust/sand in the oil should be changed in the 5000 miles no matter the oil.

Desert riding might be more often.

 

[Paul Bryant]

All this is very interesting, I don't live in a dusty environment, nor do I blast the bike severely often (honest Bones !)
But I like to change the oil at around the 5K mark and find that the bike does seam to like the fresh oil, runs quieter, gear changes are smoother and just generally feels nicer.

 

[Blastedbones]

Stock Rocket is hardly a stressed motor, 5k changes @ <1yr intervals & you can't go wrong....But you'd probably get just the same life ( or sell the bike before it was an issue) with 10k changes on Synthetic.

 

[RocketEd]

I've often wondered about the same thing, Mexican - the time vs mileage thing. My 4 wheeled vehicles especially will likely see less than 2K miles a year. I know Dino oil will form acids if left to sit too long, but I don't know about the synthetics. What I'm doing for now is putting synthetic oil in all my vehicles and running them at least once a month for at least 20 miles to burn off moisture, etc., in the oil, and then go no longer than 2 years between changes.

 

[zenbiker]

It seems that no one knows about the TIME thing. If you only put 1000 miles per year on your bike and have synthetic oil...does this mean you are good not changing the oil for ten years! Something seems counter intuitive here!
The real question is, "Does synthetic oil break down in any way" after sitting in the crankcase over time?
Does anyone here really know the answer?

 

[JRock]

I am not a petroleum engineer.
I did ask such an engineer what the shelf life was of an unopened bottle of Mobil 1 Synthetic.
He said, indefinite.
That doesn't mean it will last forever sitting in a sadly neglected bike.
Come on, common sense says change it sooner than 10 years.
(Could not resist my 2 pennies worth.)

 

[Willtill]

I change my oil by mileage, not by the seasons.

 

[Blastedbones]

Along those lines, I use cheap ( I guess) oil in my mower(labelled as motor mower oil)... changed it twice in 8 years, & she still runs fine....