hiya,changed engine oil the weekend on my r1100gs,only after 10miles its BLACK like the stuff i drained out,normal or what?
how long before engine oil goes black
- Thread starter bart2181
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D6
Registered user
well mine doesnt, but iv seen it on other bikes, never caused any harm
did you use engine flush? how old is the bike? how long between services?
it's a lot of questions but there are some answers in there to some degree
it's a lot of questions but there are some answers in there to some degree
Have you thought about changing the oil again? Might be the stuff now in has flushed the crap out ....
alimey4u2
Registered user
Racist...
to be honest its the first oil change since ownership previous owner had just changed it novemberish,27kmiles,don,t know the history,does,nt use any oil,i,ll give it till next weekend and change again,maybe use an engine flush.first time ive come across this in a bike,seen loads of times in car deisel engines.thanks for replies
Stewart H
Registered user
If the motor was not fully hot when drained then some of the old stuff might be lurking in the oil cooler, once that got into circulation then it would tend to darken the new stuff.
Stewart
Stewart
what sort of engine flush that's a good question I think.
bmwrover
Registered user
My Honda VFRs oil stayed goldish with black streaks in between the oil change intervals and I have mentioned that to a mechanic and his reply had been : Thats a sign for a not so good oil, oil is supposed to get black as it should carry the carbon particles WITHIN the oil and not let them sediment somewhere in the engine.
So be happy that it is black.
So be happy that it is black.
The oil is black on every bike i ever do an oil change on - don't fret over it 
If you did'nt change the filter at the same time there would have been 1/2 litre of the old black stuff still in there to mix with the new stuff. It will go black anyway pretty quickly so I would'nt worry about it.
no mate filter was changed with oil,like steptoe said im probably fretting over nothing,i was just supprised at the short time at which it went black.oh well at least its gave us something to talk about
Paul90
Registered user
I'd say there was probabaly still some old oil in it and it's mixed with the new. Just ride it.
The oil in my 1200 has been in it 1000 miles and it's still just dark brown, not black yet.
I'd avoid any engine flush. You'll never get it all out and it will contaminate the new oil. If the oil is changed regularly it's not necessary to flush. I've been in 100k mile engines that are still clean and have never been flushed.
Paul
The oil in my 1200 has been in it 1000 miles and it's still just dark brown, not black yet.
I'd avoid any engine flush. You'll never get it all out and it will contaminate the new oil. If the oil is changed regularly it's not necessary to flush. I've been in 100k mile engines that are still clean and have never been flushed.
Paul
D6
Registered user
might be black but its small enough to pass thro the filter so why worry,
if theres enough to block a filter , your bike was well fecked anyway before the oil change
if theres enough to block a filter , your bike was well fecked anyway before the oil change
Only changed the oil on mine once so far but it went black almost immediately. I guess due to mixing with the residues of old oil.
The good thing is that the oil I use (Rock Oil) is very dark green so it looks almost black anyway
The good thing is that the oil I use (Rock Oil) is very dark green so it looks almost black anyway
rockchunk
Registered user
they say once you had black you never go back
mine stays fairly clear in the sight glass until it's relatively near service time. probably fairly black when emptied into a tray though. not done that myself on this bike though 
Does Duckhams go black or just darker green 
Beetle2112
Registered user
Seminal Story..........
Years ago when I used to be a Bike Mechanic at a large South West London Dealership, A customer rang and complained that the brand new bike that he bought had NO oil in it......As I had built it and done the PDI, I took a bollocking and was sent on a bike with 5 litres of oil to sort the problem out. When I got to the guys house there was a brand new ZXR 750 in his driveway with him and his neighbour sitting on the wall waiting for me.
I got off and the Neighbour started immediatly about how the bloke had paid a lot of money for the bike and that he should be recompensed for all his trouble and that he should be given a new bike for our mistake as the ZXR had PDI oil in it and not proper motorcycle oil......."EH ?" I said,"PDI oil?". "Whats PDI oil?"
"The stuff that they put in when its transported from Japan.....PDI oil, That yellowy/greeny shit....He needs proper Motorcycle oil , YOU KNOW THE BLACK STUFF!!!!".
I then proceded to Inform the Neighbour that he didn't have a clue what he was talking about (politely) in words of mostly one sylable, and went back to work.
I believe that the Owner and his Neighbour are both owners of brand new 1200 GSAs' now
Years ago when I used to be a Bike Mechanic at a large South West London Dealership, A customer rang and complained that the brand new bike that he bought had NO oil in it......As I had built it and done the PDI, I took a bollocking and was sent on a bike with 5 litres of oil to sort the problem out. When I got to the guys house there was a brand new ZXR 750 in his driveway with him and his neighbour sitting on the wall waiting for me.
I got off and the Neighbour started immediatly about how the bloke had paid a lot of money for the bike and that he should be recompensed for all his trouble and that he should be given a new bike for our mistake as the ZXR had PDI oil in it and not proper motorcycle oil......."EH ?" I said,"PDI oil?". "Whats PDI oil?"
"The stuff that they put in when its transported from Japan.....PDI oil, That yellowy/greeny shit....He needs proper Motorcycle oil , YOU KNOW THE BLACK STUFF!!!!".
I then proceded to Inform the Neighbour that he didn't have a clue what he was talking about (politely) in words of mostly one sylable, and went back to work.
I believe that the Owner and his Neighbour are both owners of brand new 1200 GSAs' now
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