Oil Change. Cost and Which Oils?

[Lou]

Hey Folks. So, my local dealer, who I bought the California Custom from, is charging me $350.00 for a 15K oil change. That's not a typo. Now, I do live in New York City, but...really??? What do people pay for such an oil change on the 1400?

Also, he said they have to change three oils including the final drive. Does the final drive oil have to be changed? When is it normal to change the final drive? Obviously, I'm not terribly technical. Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ssmith996]

I changed my oil for about $70 ($50 for 10w-60 Motul full synthetic, $15 filter, plus 5$ other stuff). The local dealer charges about $80. I don't know how he can do it for that, but he does. Typically, i would have him do it, but he does have a waiting list.

 

[CBJoe]

Are you sure they aren’t quoting you for more than the oil change? Eg. valve clearances etc??

I agree with the above....I spent about 65$ including the filter wrench

 

[PaulDavies]

Hey Folks. So, my local dealer, who I bought the California Custom from, is charging me $350.00 for a 15K oil change. That's not a typo. Now, I do live in New York City, but...really??? What do people pay for such an oil change on the 1400?

Also, he said they have to change three oils including the final drive. Does the final drive oil have to be changed? When is it normal to change the final drive? Obviously, I'm not terribly technical. Any wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If they are changing the rear diff oil, that's at least an hour's labour to take the wheel off to get at the drain/top up plugs (unless he has some magic tool) and put it back together, probably more. Having said that, it's not a requirement to do it 15k miles (at least not according to the owners manual). Many just do it when they replace the rear tire. How old is the bike has it been left sitting around for a long time

 

[Lou]

Thanks Folks! The bike is not that old. It's a '14 I bought, new, in '15. I ride it regularly, nothing out the ordinary and the tires have plenty of miles left. They're not, uh, "dishonest" per se, they always have reasons for doing what they do, but it is NY and they have a tendency to work you for more bank. He said they replace the final drive oil. I told him I thought the point of a shaft is you don't have to do that every oil change. To be fair I run the bike in traffic more than the average person who owns this bike, I would think. But still. I'm going to call a couple other dealers in the area and see what they quote. Thanks!

 

[Mr paul Wilson]

All oils every 6.000 miles...I do mine myself ...I use over here in UK...Morris 10/60...as a guzzi technician of 25 yrs told me its better than the standard poil guzzi use....I use standard guzzi oils in gearbox and carc..

 

[John L]

The owners manual only calls for final drive oil change every 50,000km (30,000 miles), so if you change it every tyre change you are well in front. I wouldn't worry about it until your next tyre change.

 

[Chet Van Aken]

I changed the gearbox oil at the 18k service so you are close at 15k. You can change the engine oil, fiter and gearbox fluid yourself in about an hour, there are a few places online to purchase the materials. Only the oil filter is a little tricky to access. John L. is right about the rear diff. have it changed when you put on a new tire, You can get the fluid and give it to whomever changes the tire. I'd guess the with labor at $100 + per hour the quote is not crazy high but I would not pay it when its so easy to do yourself.

 

[Robert Gibson]

The owners manual only calls for final drive oil change every 50,000km (30,000 miles), so if you change it every tyre change you are well in front. I wouldn't worry about it until your next tyre change.

Alternatively, ditch the plastic trim and you can change the diff oil whenever you choose.

 

[Robert Gibson]

The owners manual only calls for final drive oil change every 50,000km (30,000 miles), so if you change it every tyre change you are well in front. I wouldn't worry about it until your next tyre change.

Alternatively, ditch the plastic trim and you can change the diff oil whenever you choose.

 

[Chet Van Aken]

I did not think about that, noticed it had a cut out in it the other day when I was cleaning the rear rim, wonder if you can access through that? If not have you taken your trim off? Can you just rip it off with the wheel on?

 

[PaulDavies]

I did not think about that, noticed it had a cut out in it the other day when I was cleaning the rear rim, wonder if you can access through that? If not have you taken your trim off? Can you just rip it off with the wheel on?

I wouldn't try to "rip" the whole plastic thing off, it's held on by 3 decent sized nuts/bolts inside - it would most likely be a mess afterwards and you'd pretty much damage something else in the process. On the other hand I did think about cutting the small tab off the top (above the fill plug) a long while back, but then you'd have to measure what oil came out and what you put back in (~250ml), as the level check plug (the 3rd plug) would still be hidden.

From what I've read, those who remove the plastic trim tend to be owners of the Touring model with saddlebags that hide the cosmetic gap, but if it doesn't bother you - go for it, but I have to say that given a rear tire only lasts 10k'ish miles, you're gonna be in there far more regularly than you need to be to keep up with required oil changes, so why not just do do the oil change then (or remove the plastic trim then)?.

 

[Chet Van Aken]

I agree, don't know what I was thinking, service at the tire change is more than enough. I had a dealer change the first tire and never got a good look at the assembly but I'm coming up on the second tire and will probably take it off myself and bring the wheel to a shop for the new tire.