Modern Vespa

MP3 - every 3000 miles
Kawasaki ninja 1000sx - every 8000miles
honda rebel 1100 - every 8000 miles
Triumph ROCKET gt3 - every 10000 Miles

How can it be that the same oil will last X3 times milage more in one motorcycle over another ? Are they throwing the 3000Miles just to make us finance the motor oil industry ?

I find it hard to believe there is real engineering mechanical difference that requires this rapid oil change . The Kawasaki Ninja gets to 9000RPM if I may remind you . The Mp3 is at 4K-5K.

Anyone can solve the riddle ?

5000km on my GTS 300HPE and i change the filter as well, could it go more yes i think so.

5000KM eq. 3000 miles . I am taking about manufacturer recommendations

Which mp3 model / year?

2021 mp3 500 .

Piaggio lists 10K km (6K mi) intervals, BUT doing so is a bad decision.

The MP3 holds very little oil (about 1,5L) and the engine by design revs on the high side.

Compared to my Honda ST1300, it holds 4Liter and only does half the revs of the MP3.

New oil is cheap, new engines are not.

so 10000km for oil and filter by the book for the GTS. so strange for MP3.

so the latest Docs i found was 10000km.

Checking The Spark Advance - PIAGGIO MP3 500 i.e. SPORT Service Station Manual [Page 38] _ ManualsLib.pdf
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Which would you rather change, the oil or the engine???

I play golf with a honda mechanic. He says the manufacturers of all brands use a long oil change interval as a selling point because they know the vehicle will be out of warranty when the engine dies from oil dilution problems. he drives a 2001 accord with 320 thousand miles. oil changed every 3k miles. thanks for bringing up a very important issue. it probably looks good for public relations as well. 'our vehicles use less oil" .

I sold my Ford Focus after driving it over 250,000 miles, changing oil every 10,000 miles. Ran fine, I just wanted a larger vehicle.

Surely the manual states an oil level check and (if necessary, natch) a top-up at the 5000km/3000mile mark? This is what you should be doing at much more regular intervals - it is NOT a dealer requirement.


Oil changes are for 10,000km/6,000 miles.

This will depend on the brand or quality of the oil, you can find the same oil (example w10-40) at different prices, also different types. I asked couple of mechanics and a store person, they stated the cheaper oils interval is low while the more expensive the oil is the larger interval is, so the cheap one will require a change at 3,000 kilos while the expensive will require a change at 5,000 or more kilos. So it is what you want and how often you like to do the service.

I believe in the mantra "change it hot and change it often".

I've had one car which I got near to 1.5 million miles (2.3 million kms), although granted that engine held 12Liters (about 13 US qts) of oil and had a drysump system.

Lack of oil changes is the deathnail of all the modern engines. Granted, car manufacturers are in the business of selling new cars so they stand to benefit by promoting unrealistic long intervals.

How about time elapsed between changes but not miles? I think its been a year since my last major oil-change, but well less than either milage limit. My bike is for recreation, not routine travel, so while its ridden hard, it doesn't accumulate miles as fast as a daily rider.

Of course the safe answer is to just go and change it.

I have a 2016 Piaggio Mp3 500ie Sport (USA version). Searching Youtube I found this procedure which seems simple enough I believe I will have a go at it myself. I just need.
* Replacement oil filter (KN-184 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016VEX10E/)
* 17mm Socket to install the KN-184 Filter
* Sufficient motor-oil quarts and clean funnel (I think I need 1.7 quarts?) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HFLOPE8/
* 15/16 (23mm) socket for the oil plug (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R433VCT)
* Special tool to grip and extract the old filter then install the new
* Container to catch the oil
* Sufficiently level surface with lots of cardboard.

I am not sure the one year oil replacement is a must. I was in the army in a unit that was storing vehicles for long term and I know they replaced oil in the vehicles once every 5 or 6 years . So these are military grade units that need to perform under combat. They were using same engine oil . If there was some chemical change in the oil in one year they wouldn't keep it more than a year.

Oh FFS - if you use the recommended specification of oil, it'll last just as long in your crankcase as it would in the can. Go by the mileage, and if you ride very little, consider oil changes every 3,000 miles instead of 6,000 miles - which used to be every 3 months for me.