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Re: Good news from Honda
I had the same concern about the 500 EXC prior to buying one. After thinking about it I decided to compare it to the oil capacity of other popular dual sport bikes.
Oil Capacity:
CRF450L - 1.8 liters
XR650L - 1.9 liters
DRZ400S - 2 liters
500 EXC - 1.5 liters
701 Enduro - 1.7 liters
TE610 - 2.1 liters
TR650 - 2 liters
All fairly close to each other. The new CRF has more oil capacity than my 701 Enduro. What's interesting to me is the recommended service intervals. The 701 Enduro is 6,200 miles. The oil change interval on the TR650 was 3000 miles. The Honda XR650L is 1000 miles. The DRZ is 3000 miles if my memory is correct. In other words - they all have similar amounts of oil but vastly different oil change recommendations.
Once I figured this out, I decided that since I don't race the 500 and generally use it as an adventure bike (i.e. moderate loads on the engine) that changing the oil every 1000 miles was not unreasonably long.
Then I thought to myself, "How many dual sport trips do I actually do that are longer than 1000 miles?" In all the years I've been dual sport riding, one has been more than 1000 miles.
So, for typical use, the oil range of the 500 is easily within my normal riding habits. If I were planning a trip much more than 1000 miles but less than 2000miles, I would probably just buy some oil in a town along the way and change it in the parking lot of an auto parts store, not worrying about the oil filter until the trip was over. I'm not sure where I would choose the 500 for a ride longer than 2000 miles.
The bottom line is that unless Honda is recommending an extreme oil change interval (something like every 5 hours or after every ride) then 1.8 liters is probably sufficient for typical dual sport riding.
I'm more worried about oil capacity than I am fuel capacity. ...it seems that bikes like the KTM 500 have a very small oil capacity limiting it's use for longer runs in the back country. While there's also fixes for that, it'd be nice to see a dedicated dual sport come with capacity in this manner to accommodate rider needs.
I had the same concern about the 500 EXC prior to buying one. After thinking about it I decided to compare it to the oil capacity of other popular dual sport bikes.
Oil Capacity:
CRF450L - 1.8 liters
XR650L - 1.9 liters
DRZ400S - 2 liters
500 EXC - 1.5 liters
701 Enduro - 1.7 liters
TE610 - 2.1 liters
TR650 - 2 liters
All fairly close to each other. The new CRF has more oil capacity than my 701 Enduro. What's interesting to me is the recommended service intervals. The 701 Enduro is 6,200 miles. The oil change interval on the TR650 was 3000 miles. The Honda XR650L is 1000 miles. The DRZ is 3000 miles if my memory is correct. In other words - they all have similar amounts of oil but vastly different oil change recommendations.
Once I figured this out, I decided that since I don't race the 500 and generally use it as an adventure bike (i.e. moderate loads on the engine) that changing the oil every 1000 miles was not unreasonably long.
Then I thought to myself, "How many dual sport trips do I actually do that are longer than 1000 miles?" In all the years I've been dual sport riding, one has been more than 1000 miles.
So, for typical use, the oil range of the 500 is easily within my normal riding habits. If I were planning a trip much more than 1000 miles but less than 2000miles, I would probably just buy some oil in a town along the way and change it in the parking lot of an auto parts store, not worrying about the oil filter until the trip was over. I'm not sure where I would choose the 500 for a ride longer than 2000 miles.
The bottom line is that unless Honda is recommending an extreme oil change interval (something like every 5 hours or after every ride) then 1.8 liters is probably sufficient for typical dual sport riding.
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