Oil change frequency

You could save yourself a little money and when you change it, if you are only doing 3,000 miles a year, change the oil but not the filter. Would only save you about $8-10 a change, depending on what you use.
I wouldn't necessarily go with synthetic in your case, the big benefit to synthetic is that it can last longer - mileage/use wise, not sure of storage. With the few miles you are putting on the oil, you could probly go with the dino stuff to save a little more $$, and have no ill effects.

 

Actually chainging the oil is far more important than which oil you use (assuming you have wet clutch compatable oil).

 

What I used to do was change everything every fall (oil & filter) then in the spring just change oil. I've always used the HondaLube (GN4 - non synthetic) and the OEM filters. Never ha any issues. My last bike was just like others, it would let me know when it was time to change the oil. The origial clutch would start to slip, after about 27k miles. And yes, I drove it like you should drive a sport bike - stupid, slipping the clutch to keep the front end on the ground. Don't know how the clutch lasted so long.

 

The most involved part in changing the oil & filter is getting the cowlings off & back on; the job itself takes a few minutes. Pretty straightforward.

One thing I've always heard about cars and trucks, I do it on the bike too: pour some oil into the new filter and let the element soak it up. Reduces the time before the oil actually starts circulating into the engine. Don't know of any actual studies on the matter, but it makes me feel better