Mileage: 22,631
It was time to change the oil.
I had a 4L jug of Motorex Power Synthetic 4T Oil sitting ready in the garage alongside a K&N 158 filter.
After hearing about how hard it is to change fluids on the beast, I watched a few videos on YouTube and dove in. One of the first things they say is that you have to take off the left side fairings and gas tank to get to the oil tank drain. That part adds a bunch of time to the procedure which is why someone created the hose system that replaces the drain plug with a hose so that everything can be reached under the bike – no need to remove fairings and gas tanks! My bike has the Adventure Oil Tank Drain Hose Kit from CJ Designs.
So here we go…
Step 1: Remove the skid plate.
I have have the Black Dog Skid Plate but it would be the same for most any plate. Just remove the 4 bolts holding it on. There are two up front.
Two bolts on front of skid plate
And there are two on the back.
The rear skid plate bolts
Step 2: Remove the Drain Plug
With the skid plate out, pull the drain plug.
Pulling the Drain Plug
Make sure you have a good copper washer to replace the old one.
The drain plug and copper washer
Step 3: Remove the Oil Filter
While that was draining, I went for the Oil Filter. I used a K&N 158 for the replacement.
You’ll find the cover under the motor on the left side. The red arrow points to the oil filter cover and the green arrow points to my oil tank drain hose add on.
oil filter on left side motor
Remove the two small bolts and pull the filter out with your fingers. I ‘carefully’ leaned the bike over towards the left to get more of the oil to drain out of here. I ran out of oil pan width (to cover the crankcase drain, the oil filter drain, so I put the new filer in and put the cover back on.
Step 4: Drain the Reservoir
I removed the plug from the CJ Designs drain hose. If I didn’t have this I would have to remove the crash bars, remove the left side fairings and then remove the left side gas tank to get to the drain plug on the tank. It really is a major time saver!
One thing I noticed is in trying to get the plug off the end of the hose was that the fittings were not metric. To hold the hose fitting I needed an 11/16 wrench. I guess in a pinch I could use a crescent.
SAE 11/16 needed for this
With the end plug out you can drain the reserve tank. It took a while and I kept carefully leaning the bike to get more oil to come out so grab a beer and be patient.
draining the oil reserve
While that was draining I started working on the air filter.
Step 5: The Pre Filter
Check your air filter and pre air filter. You’ll need to remove your glove box for this to get to your air filter. Remove the bolts holding the top of the air box first. Remove the air box cover so you can then get to the pre filter bolts easier.
Pro Tip: As soon as you remove the air box cover throw a clean rag over the two intake holes. You really don’t want to drop any crap or a screw down into your carbs.
My pre filter was filthy! That’s ok, it was doing it’s job!
dirty pre filter
I cleaned up my filter (i just used some gas) and then left it to dry in the sun for a few. I checked on the main air filter and it looked great so I left it for now. I used K&N Air Filter spray to re oil the pre filter.
With the clean filter I re installed the pre filter into the air box.
a clean pre filter is a happy pre filter
Next I installed the old but clean main air filter and cover and buckled up the top side.
STEP 6: The Right Side Screen
After getting everything I could out of the tank hose, I buttoned it back up and went over the right side of the bike.
Under the motor, behind the brake lever you’ll see the Oil Screen cover.
This is pretty simple.
- Remove the two bolts and cover,
- pull out the screen,
- clean the screen,
- slide the screen back in (it’s marked “TOP”),
- put the cover back on.
That’s it.
STEP 7: Replace the drain plug and fill it up
Don’t forget to replace your copper washer too. Make sure all your plugs and fittings are tight. Don’t put the skid plate back on just yet.
With the bike on the center stand slowly fill the tank with 2.5 liters of new oil. I let that sit for a few and then started the bike. I let it run for a few minutes, shut it off and then checked the oil.
I’ve heard that it’s really important to have the correct amount of oil in the bike. We’re looking for middle of the dip stick. I had to add .5 liters more to get there. Once I was happy with the level I took it around the block and then checked for leaks. With no leaks I put the skid plate back on and went out for a ride with a smile on my face!
Because this was the first time and because I had heard all the horror stories I was overly cautious in everything I did. Start to finish was probably a couple of hours. Now that I know what is involved this will probably take me 15 to 30 minutes start to finish.
Oh, one side note. The hose that saved me so much time also has a negative part. There’s a screen that should be checked right where the hose goes into the tank. I don’t think you need to check it every time you change oil so I plan on pulling the left side stuff off once in a while and clean that screen too – I just don’t think it needs to be every single time. Do you?
He's an avid hockey fan, rides a mountain bike, sometimes rides a road bike, has a few motorcycles (he had a really fast one, had a big cool orange one, rode a really slow one, and is currently building a perfect "BDR Weapon"). If that isn't enough, he makes cheese and sourdough bread, loves strong beer and good red wine, and poorly plays the Mandolin.
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