I’ve done dozens of oil changes on cars as part of an auto shop class I took decades ago in high school so I was familiar with the process, but I hadn’t ever done it on a motorcycle, much less my own.
The oil filter wrench attachment got stuck on the oil filter and I started to freak out but my wife (who has no emotional investment into this motorcycle) quickly googled it and suggested I tap around it with a hammer.
Came off immediately much to my relief! The rest of the oil change went by without incident. Drained all the oil, saw all the tiny metal bits that accumulate in a new engine, made a small oil stain in my garage, tightened everything up (I couldn’t get a torque wrench to fit on the new oil filter so I did my best to estimate tightness).
I was planning on going for a celebratory ride afterwards but it was a big emotional ordeal over whether or not I’d break something so to be safe, I’ll keep the bike cozy in the garage for now. I’ll take it out for a nice long ride tomorrow.
Thankful for my wife who was calm and level headed and didn’t freak out at the first sign of trouble like me. One day I’ll get the confidence to not expect things to blow up if I touch them. I’m just happy I’m good for another few thousand km.
Congrats. You have to start somewhere.
Since it’s your first motorcycle change…I’m gonna ask the stupid question. You used a motorcycle oil right? They have friction modifiers added to them because of the wet clutch. You can’t use the same oil as cars.
More specifically, motorcycle oil doesn’t have friction modifiers added to it, while regular car oil does.
And many heavy duty (diesel) engine oils will do the trick too.
Used shell rotella 15w-40 in my (old) bikes for years! It at least used to carry a JASO MA cert too.
Bobistheoilguy for research. That’s a link to a random thread on HDEOs for wet clutches. I’m sorry in advance if this leads anyone down a rabbit hole.
Has to be T4 or T6. T5 has friction modifiers.
But you are spot on. Rotella T6 for anything powersports (as long as the weight range matches your local climate).
Good point! I’ve been using the T6!
Used to as well.
Thank you! And oh yes I wouldn’t even attempt the repair if I wasn’t absolutely sure. Using the exact same oem oil and filter as stock. The crush washer came with its own little Honda tag. I thought it was cute.
News to me, I’ve been using just regular motor oil from Autozone for my changes. Wasn’t sure it mattered.
You might have the odd ball bike that uses a dry clutch system or has separate engine/transmission oil. Chances are you know if you have that kind of bike. Bathe a wet clutch in regular car oil and it’s usually gonna slip like crazy.
Got a 2012 vstrom. Haven’t noticed any issues with it. May have been an issue for older bikes, idk.