Recently bought a '99 Drifter 1500, no owner's manual. Wondering on oil change interval? I just recently (1000 mi) changed it. Using Vlavoling 10/40 conventional MC oil. Also, what about the Mobil 1 synthetic MC oil everybody swears by on the forum? When can I switch to that (currently have 19K on the odometer.) How does that affect the change interval? Thanks!
Time, mileage, storage, and weather determines when you should change the oil.
One primary reason to switch to synthetic as soon as possible is the fact its more resistant to moisture (and heat) which means even if the bike sits in the cold, outdoors, etc you don't have to accelerate your oil change frequency very often.
I always change my oil the beginning of each riding season. I may change one time during the season - makes me feel good - and we have a long season. I change before any multi-day/week trip. Rarely is mileage a factor for me as a result.
Honestly, most motorcycle riders don't use the bike as daily transport so mileage is a non-factor. The books says 5K or 6 months.
Go to a good full synthetic asap. I use only full synthetic in all my bikes and autos.
If you use Mobil 1 synthetic, do yourself a favor and use the blend specifically for motorcycles, 4 cycle ones. There is apparently a huge difference and the regular automotive oil sticks the clutch plates together and shortens the clutch life.
I've had 3 clutch jobs and finally switched to the Mean Streak spring, Judge washers and Mobil 1 Motorcycle oil. Pulling stumps out back,
Varooom
Varoom and I agree - NEVER use automotive oils in the drifter. They have friction inhibitors which will cause problems with our wet clutches. I think all auto oils have them nowadays - used to not be that way. So any oil you use, get the one made for bikes... or ensure there are no friction inhibitors in whatever you get.
Use of the old MS spring and judges washers can't hurt and it does work as VR says, but all vulcans (1500-1600) now have updated holders and springs (you can upgrade using these... I did). Mine has been working fine for about 10K miles after the update. There is a thread here on that subject... if your clutch isn't slipping it's not something you need to worry about.
And, I forgot to mention my HO on oil change intervals. Been following Consumer Report's guide and doing 10,000 (they said that could be stretched to 15k!) on our 20 year old, 245,000 Volvo sedan and it purrs. Our shade tree mechanic says we only have about another decade to go on this car before the floor rots, guessing. Regular automotive oil with their turbo filter, 9" long.
My Drifter just hit 80,000 and is running perfectly. 5,000 mile changes with Motorcycle Oil and auto oil for the first 50,000 and two clutches, til I found this site and smartened up.
Varooom