Did my first oil change yesterday based on some things that I had read about breaking in the bike. I'm only at 100 miles, but hey, school, work, and family don't wait...
My neighbor saved my butt with a oil filter wrench. I had bought a rubber strap wrench only to realize that there was no way I could turn it once I got it on due to the fact that there is no room to work with one of those things.
Not sure how many other people have tried this on their own, but I wanted to pass on the stuff that you'll need if you do it on your own rather than pay the dealer $250 to do it plus "check" your nuts and bolts.
And obviously:
The directions in the owner's manual were pretty clear, so I won't bore any newbs or pros with that info. I just would've liked to have a list of things that I needed before I started.
The things I noticed while doing this were:
A rear wheel stand will be very helpful since it was hard to get the drain pan underneath the drain with the kick stand in the way.
2.96 quarts seems rather subjective since there is no "0.96" mark on the back of the bottle.
It's almost impossible to check the oil level once you refill with 2.96 quarts since the oil is so light in color. There is about an inch worth of "XXXXX" on the dip stick, so I assume somewhere in there is good even though it's hard to see. I let it idle for about 5 minutes after refilling, then turned it off and checked it - seemed ok. Then, I drove it around the block and turned it off and checked it - "seemed" ok then too.
The screwdriver method of removal of the oil filter seemed a bit overkill. The oil filter wrench worked very easily (if you have one). I reset the new one to 12lbs with no problem. I also set the drain nut with new washer to 31lbs.
Now I'm just hoping that the auto parts store down the road takes used oil...
My neighbor saved my butt with a oil filter wrench. I had bought a rubber strap wrench only to realize that there was no way I could turn it once I got it on due to the fact that there is no room to work with one of those things.
Not sure how many other people have tried this on their own, but I wanted to pass on the stuff that you'll need if you do it on your own rather than pay the dealer $250 to do it plus "check" your nuts and bolts.
- 3/8 torque wrench ($50 @ Advanced Auto)
[*]3/8 extention bar
[*]17mm socket (for drain nut)
[*]Oil filter wrench attachment (fits over the oil filter like a beanie cap)
[*]Torx or hex screw drivers in various sizes... a medium one and a big one to get the left fairing screws off
[*]Drain pan
[*]Shop towels
And obviously:
- "2.96" quarts Yami Lube 10w-40
- 1 Yami oil filter
- 1 Yami crush washer
The directions in the owner's manual were pretty clear, so I won't bore any newbs or pros with that info. I just would've liked to have a list of things that I needed before I started.
The things I noticed while doing this were:
A rear wheel stand will be very helpful since it was hard to get the drain pan underneath the drain with the kick stand in the way.
2.96 quarts seems rather subjective since there is no "0.96" mark on the back of the bottle.
It's almost impossible to check the oil level once you refill with 2.96 quarts since the oil is so light in color. There is about an inch worth of "XXXXX" on the dip stick, so I assume somewhere in there is good even though it's hard to see. I let it idle for about 5 minutes after refilling, then turned it off and checked it - seemed ok. Then, I drove it around the block and turned it off and checked it - "seemed" ok then too.
The screwdriver method of removal of the oil filter seemed a bit overkill. The oil filter wrench worked very easily (if you have one). I reset the new one to 12lbs with no problem. I also set the drain nut with new washer to 31lbs.
Now I'm just hoping that the auto parts store down the road takes used oil...
