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well then i'd say do it at 500-600 miles then and do it by yourself and save some bucks...and thanks DieZiege for clearing that up.

On all my new bikes I change the oil before 200 miles. This is just a precaution. If something bad is in the oil its not like it will wait for 600 miles to tear up your engine.

Its just being safe. After you change it, you can then change it again at 600 or change it at end of break in (sometimes around 1000miles). With the knowledge you haven't been running bad oil.

If you don't think its worth it, you can at least just change out your oil with some cheap stuff until 600. Personally I think oil is oil once it meets the spec, especially if you are changing it frequently. So get some cheap stuff to spec and put it in without a filter change, as an alternative. That will cost you around 5 bucks.

Btw I didn't want to start some oil thread, as we know how those go. Change your blinker fluid for 50hp and I use sucker oil brand x for 15 a quart and I get 50 hp mwhaha. I digress, change it without filter change if you feel a little nervous.

All good points. Probably safest to change it before every ride.

It can't hurt to change it but unless something is wrong it won't help. Also check out www.ninja250.com they have a FAQ that will walk you through virtualy all maitenance, or other questions, about that bike.

Sometimes, the manuals are b.s. Take for example the new GL1800 Goldwing, the manual states some crazy amount before the first oil change, like 4000 miles or something. Some of this has to do with the EPA regulations on how much waste the bike emits, or something to that effect (had a few brews tonight, forgive me). Rule of thumb is do the first service at 600 miles. Every service after that 4000 miles (by manufacturer), I usually go to 3000 miles.
Do not put synthetic oil in your new machine until 3000 + miles to allow break-in. In some cases, avoid synthetic oils in older machines which will prematurely wear out the clutches.
And as I stated before, I personally don't think you can change your oil too much.
My wife bought a brand new Honda Civic in 2002, and they told her not to change her oil until 10,000 miles!!!! Can you believe that b.s.?

10K miles is correct for a good synthetic in a modern engine. The 3,000 mile oil change is one of those "wrong but safe so nobody will really argue" falacies.

Modern cars (e.g. recent BMWs) have sensors that measure the crud in the oil and light the light when the oil needs changing. Typcally they'll go 15,000-30,000 miles between changes.

I typically do car oil changes at 10-20K miles. Of course, I use good oil and drive 500-1,000+ miles a week, so I was still do three oil changes a year.

Initial break-in oil should not be synthetic. I don't know anybody that wants synthetic for the first 500 miles. 500-3000 it probably doesn't matter. Quite a few manufacturers want synthetic from the 500th mile.

I just don't understand why you would want oil in your engine for 10 - 20k miles. Oil is not that expensive!

Why waste it though? If it meets specs, it meets specs... you take rates of viscosity breakdown, suspension of particulates, and disolving contaminants, figure out how long it takes to reach the "not good enough" level, and change it a little before then.

It is just silly to do oil change every three weeks. Even with the quick oil drain I installed, it meant unbolting and lowering the skid plate among other things. Waste of money, waste of time.

CORSCO wrote:Oil is not that expensive!

it's a true story.