For the recon you can add a magnet to the drain plug. Hate that that one doesn't have a filter. But the filter will catch most of the other stuff that's a major concern. I change mine twice a year but I don't ride nearly as much as some of you. If I rode that much them probably once a month, changing the filter every other or couple times.

Cessna, never heard of rust in an engine after only 1 week. The oil film won't dissipate that quickly. I've only seen that in engines that sat outside for years. Plus a lot of the parts are aluminum.

 

Thanks all of you for your input. I've been changing the oil very regularly. So regularly that the oil looks new
when I drain it. I basically only use the recon for hunting, but start it up and ride it for 20-25 minutes per week
in the off season. So far I have no real complaints about the atv.

 

I use mobil 1 mx4t and I change it when it turns dark brown and dirty. No time limit. When the oil is dark you can tell. If its black you waited tooooo long. I flush out the old oil with cheap new oil before I add the synthetic.

 

I change the oil twice a year, one in the spring and one late summer. Bike isnt used much in the winter anymore, and I only use it every secone weekend at best in the summer. I use OPTI 4 oil from the Honda dealer, great stuff, its expensive but the yearly cost is low with only doing 2 changes per year.

 

I changed my 2004 after about 23 hours. The 100 hours I don't believe. Its been so hot, that if you wait that long your crazy. And if you use 10W40 Honda Oil, dont run it for 100 hours in this hot crappy muggy weather.

 

Dont buy into the marketing hype. Youre throwing away good oil. We are so easily swayed by marketing and propaganda, in America. Go by what the factory trained mechanics at the dealership told you, and what is writen by the engineers at honda, in the owners manual.
I personally know a few old hondas, which havent had an oil change in 15 years.Thats right...15 years. And they dont have oil filters either. I dont wait that long...my point being, others do, and the motors and trannys on them are just fine. Would i buy them used? nope, but they still run and always start and dont blow the blues. Its a bit excessive for me, but it goes to show, the oil can very easily make 100 hours.
Unless you ride in very dusty or go deep into the swamp, once a year would be good enough. Thats probably way less than 100 hours of run time, in your case.
You can buy hourmeters, which log the run time of the motor, and then you could go by the real run time hours.
I would think that 90% of the quads out there, have the oil changed once a year, and its usually in the fall, just before its put away for the winter months.

 

I agree with buster but want to add that oil isn't affected by the heat index. just heat. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Vehicle maintenance is one of those areas where I don't care to test the limits of endurance. If you do maintenence to frequently, what have you lost.........a little time and a little money. What have you gained........increased reliability and longevity of your machine. And if you don't do it, it might mean a long walk back or a cold night spent in the mountains!

For those who just do some recreational play riding or ride in developed areas where help is nearby, the choice isn't critical. But for those of us who venture out into the vast unknown wilderness, our vehicle is our life!