Oil Change Debris

The magnet is there specifically to collect any metal particles, and the manual instructs you to clean the plug at every oil change, which means a little bit is considered normal. But if you get relatively big shavings and/or lots of them, at every oil change, then maybe something is not right. Difficult to judge without knowing what you consider "a decent amount of metal shavings". I personally don't recall seeing anything out of the ordinary on the 899 (in terms of metal shavings on the plug), compared to other bikes. If you suspect something is not right, ride for 500-1000 miles, drain the oil and check the plug (if you do it very carefully in a clean place with a clean drain pan, you can even re-use the oil).

I always clean the drain plug off, but trying to determine if other owners with similar milage or higher are still getting debris on their plug. Due to the oil drain plug last oil change I rode 600 miles and dropped the oil and it's about the same as last time in comparing the two

Thanks for the input.

Maybe post of a photo or a detailed description of the amount/size of the metal shavings you find. I have sold the 899 but in the time I had it I don't recall seeing anything more than the usual metal "dust" around the plug. This forum is not very active, there's only a handful of people contributing to it, hopefully someone else will chime in and give you another opinion.

120CCPM said:

Maybe post of a photo or a detailed description of the amount/size of the metal shavings you find. I have sold the 899 but in the time I had it I don't recall seeing anything more than the usual metal "dust" around the plug. This forum is not very active, there's only a handful of people contributing to it, hopefully someone else will chime in and give you another opinion.

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Yup, typically dust/metallic sludge around the drain plug is all I see.Definitely agree that a photo will help.

I tried to post the only photo I took of the plug; however the photo is corrupt and will not post. I sent a sample of the oil to Black Stone Lab to be analyzed and the report stated all the engine oil showed normal wear amounts.

Thanks for the replies

That's good, as I assume the analysis would reveal if you had an unusually high amount of metals/solids in the oil. It seems you did all you could, my only suggestion would be to maybe do an additional oil change in 1000-2000 miles, and check for metal shavings on the drain plug and on the filter. If everything looks normal, go back to regular maintenance intervals (every 7500 miles).

Agreed. Depending on how much riding you do (I.e. less than 7500 a year) you may want to consider annual oil changes instead. It’s probably over kill but oil does absorb moisture over time. I change mine annually and watch for good sales that pop up.