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i ride in VERY dusty places in California

how many rides should I get before I change the oil??

also, how about the air filter?? seems like It doesn't need that after every ride

Air filter as often as you can afford and oil every other long ride? Do the filter half as often as the oil. I think that this is right.

Filters are a pain because I find the oils to be quite messy. I use Oxi Clean to clean the filter, and everything else. It is much cheaper than the oil cleaner you will find at the Honda shop.

I agree you need to change the filter a lot. That can be a real pain too if you have only one filter. I have four, I clean them all at once so I don’t need to drag out the mess every time I ride. My personal preference is the Twin Air.

I agree. You should clean your air filter about every other ride in dusty conditions. My dealer told me a good way of remembering when to change the oil on the 230f is about once every 3 tanks of gas you use.

Of course I find that hard to do because I never run out of gas completely on my rides, so its hard to keep track of how many ''tanks'' worth of gas I have used.

Normal riding:Change oil after 15-20 hours for the first time and after you change oil for every 30-35 hours.

Racing riding:You change oil for every 20-25 hours.

5-7 hours normal riding for one tank
3-4 hours racing riding for one tank

I change mine about every third ride, as I'm usually running the bike for about 4-5 hours a ride and I like to be safe.

I clean the filter at the same time or sooner depending on the silt levels of the ride.

I use the Honda kit, which I think is the same as the No Toil kit and it works great. You can wash it in the sink with the cleaner.

After you get that nasty stock oil out of the filter with a good solvent, it's much easier/faster and less toxic.

I've got a Dr. D hour meter now, just for fun, but I'm thinking 10 hours on the oil and 15 for the filter depending.

For a couple dollars in oil, it beats the cost of repairs due to not changing it. I wash the bike at the same time, I find it pretty relaxing.

Gosh, I feel like a heathen; as I clean my filters out in the garage and all...

I feel even worse as I clean my filter outside at the nearest faucet.

I just prefer not to mess with any more chemicals than I need to and gas and some solvents can break down the foam.

You do your OIL by the hours ??????????these arent KTMs!! 600 miles is the recommended for oil obviously if riding in dusty conditions your air filter will need doing REGULARLY,send me your old oil its got lots o life still in it !Changing the oil is 600 miles whether in dry or wet regions cause no water or dust will be entering your engine oil ,these are low maintenance engines,do the oil at the correct milage and you can ride hassle free.

chillyengineer wrote:You do your OIL by the hours ??????????these arent KTMs!! 600 miles is the recommended for oil obviously if riding in dusty conditions your air filter will need doing REGULARLY,send me your old oil its got lots o life still in it !Changing the oil is 600 miles whether in dry or wet regions cause no water or dust will be entering your engine oil ,these are low maintenance engines,do the oil at the correct milage and you can ride hassle free.

I think some people read on this site the maintenance schedules that some of us do. Then they adopt them for their bikes not realizing that the engine design dictates the maintenance, not how much you love your bike.

Chilly is right on the money.

The CRF 230F is not an over square, slipper piston design. It does not require the oil change schedule of the 250/450 design.

Like I said, I was thinking about that time frame. At $5 or so, it's not hurting anything and I like to be safe. I'm sure that once a summer would be fine for me as I don't have a odometer but I'm thinking we're about 30 miles a ride. So 20 rides... sounds about right.

I'll try to refrain from posting advice/tech info in the future.

Riley wrote:Like I said, I was thinking about that time frame. At $5 or so, it's not hurting anything and I like to be safe. I'm sure that once a summer would be fine for me as I don't have a odometer but I'm thinking we're about 30 miles a ride. So 20 rides... sounds about right.

I'll try to refrain from posting advice/tech info in the future.

Don't get us wrong...there is nothing bad about changing your oil more frequently than called for. Your bike will just run better and last longer, that's all.

Keep posting anything and everything you want to.

Everybody on here has an opinion, and most of us will chime in when we feel like it.

AS, thanks. That's my thoughts.

Just a gloomy Sunday I think.

Nice! I hate changing the oil! I didn't know that you didn't have to change it as much as my 250X. Does it say this in the CRF230F's manual anywhere?