Did my first oil change after switching to mobil1 15/50 synthetic. I was surprised to find the oil so frickin dark, almost black - gave me the impression that either it got really dirty or burnt.

I guess if i had a preference, it would be to have it burnt, but either way i'm not waiting 8k again to change my oil :???:

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Weird. Was it the first time you used M1? How many miles on your bike?

I just did a change with around 9k on it and compared it to the new oil. It was barely darker than the new stuff. I've got 52k on the bike, using M1 since 6k.

21k on bike. yes, first change to M1 15/50 Synthetic, and it was at about 13k.

When i did the change at 13k also, I let the sucker drain for 3 hours :shock: - maybe it still wasn't enough and I'm still sucking that bad dino oil out?

That's my partial guess. Let's see what you get next time you change it.

I usually try to change it around 6k, which means before 7, but this time with the Cody trip and all I was delayed. Didn't seem to make any difference. Still clean.

Plugs were beautifully even, as was compression. I'm getting pretty confident about my goal of 200k on this bike. Last one, a Suzuki, gave me 130, so why not?

What oil where you using before? Sounds like the extra detergents in Mobil 1 seem to be doing their job just fine. They cleaned up all the old gunk in your motor. I seriously doubt that the Mobil 1 oil was burnt. Resisting high temps is what it does best.

And I doubt you're seeing higher temps than I am used to in AZ...

It sounds like the oil is doing it's job fine. Check the color at 5000 miles then make a decision when to check it again.

was using castrol actevo 10-40 dino.

temps around my house during the spring and summer vary as high as 115 degrees.

i'll do my next change at 5k for the heck of it and check it out! if this is cleaning it, geesh it was dirty!