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Message started by EJID on 09/18/09 at 22:27:59

Title: My first Oil Change
Post by EJID on 09/18/09 at 22:27:59

Alright, most of you on here probably would have done the first oil change within the first week of buying a used bike just because you don't know how long it had been. I've been riding mine for just about a month, and just over 500 miles now. (use it mostly for a short commute back and forth to work so far) I had looked at the oil level 2 or 3 times so far, and noticed that I had to lean the bike past vertical to see oil in the sight glass :-[ I kept meaning to do an oil change and even bought the supplies about 2 weeks ago, but I finally did it tonight :D

The tech section's guide to an oil change was great, since I knew exactly what to expect when I opened it up and what I was going to need to do. ;D

I pulled the drain plug and left the bike sitting in the garage for about an hour while I did other things. When I came back, I cracked open the oil filter and of course I spilled oil all over the exhaust and the floor :o After cleaning that up and opening the fill cap to make sure I didn't keep any vacuum I left the bike again for about another hour before I was able to get back to it.

Making sure I didn't forget anything, I put the plug back in, put the new filter in place (oiled the orings too) and started to fill'er up. Took the first quart without hesitation. When I started to fill the second quart, I thought it seemed like it was taking more than most on here said it should, but keeping the bike level it ended up taking a full 2qts to get it in the mid to upper level of the safe range on the sight glass :)

Now the surprise was when I went to pour the blacker than black used oil back into the quarts to dispose of them properly, I was amazed to see that I only filled back up 1 qt jug :o There really wasn't much sludge or leftover oil in the pan either. When I take it for a ride next to check for leaks I'm going to make sure I check that sight glass a little more often. It scares me to think that I was only running on 1/2 the oil that I was supposed to :-? I'm just glad I took care of it before something big went wrong (knock on wood)

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/18/09 at 23:12:33

The reason we l;ook into the little window isnt to see if its time to change the oil before we ride, but to see if we should ADD oil. It not only lubricates the parts, its part of the cooling.
If you have the bike vertical & the oil is below the ADD line,, add.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by Routy on 09/19/09 at 04:38:46

Quote:
When I take it for a ride next to check for leaks I'm going to make sure I check that sight glass a little more often.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And to make it easier, (don't pay no tension to the book) leave a couple short 2x4s laying around, park the stand on one of them, and if you don't see oil level in the site glass, add till you do !

IMO, there is no reason to ever hold these bike in the vertical position while trying to check the oil. This was very stupid instructions on the part of Suzie ! It can cause many riders to not have time to check the oil.

The former owner of my bike took it 1 step farther,........
he kept the oil level on the low line w/ the bike on the sidestand (no 2x4 !) At 4300 miles, it purrs like a new one. He's got me convinced that a 1/2 qt overfill don't hurt these bikes, and just may be safer and better,....and run cooler.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/19/09 at 06:43:24

He's got me convinced that a 1/2 qt overfill don't hurt these bikes, and just may be safer and better,....and run cooler.

If you can run it down a hill & not have the oil foamed, its not at an unsafe level, IMO.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by Serowbot on 09/19/09 at 11:12:04

I posted this in the tips section a while ago but, for those who didn't catch it...
Here's an oil change tip...

Next time you do a oil/filter change,... shape a piece of tinfoil over your exhaust pipe and under the filter case... saves a lot of clean up...
;)

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by PerrydaSavage on 09/19/09 at 12:13:35

Just did an oil & filter change a couple of hours ago ... Take Bike for a spin to warm up the oil, come home & park in driveway. Look at dark clouds rolling in and hope it doesn't rain. Go in house get beer. Pop a double piece of 2x4 under the sidestand and a scissors jack under the right front footpeg mount to keep Bike level ... remove oil fill plug, place drain pan under Bike and remove drain plug ... drink a beer and chat with a buddy while waiting for old oil to drain out. 15mins or so it's down to a drip every 5 seconds or so. Replace drain plug & tighten. take 2x4's out from under sidestand so Bike leans (normally) to the left. Remove filter cover bolts and slowly remove cover ... very little oil spills 'cause Bike is now leaning away from filter side. Remove filter & disgard. Careful not to loose spring and rubber O-rings! Clean filter cover, cavity and any spill on exhaust pipe with paper towel. Lube inner O-ring with a bit of the drained out oil on your fingertip. Place new filter in cavity. Lube oil filter cover O-Ring in same manner as inner. Place spring over "bump" on inside of cover and install cover. Tighten cover bolts (DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN!!). Throw 2 liters of oil down the fill hole. Replace fill hole plug. Start and idle for a few minutes to check for leaks. No leaks! Done!!! 8-)

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/19/09 at 12:17:57

Seems like it would drain better w/o the 2X4's.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by bill67 on 09/19/09 at 12:26:14

Your right Justin you only need 2x4 to check oil level.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by Rocco on 09/19/09 at 13:27:06

just so i'm clear...u check the oil while it's in the same position as if you were riding it straight right? vertical kinda threw me off there! lol

i'm gonna do my first oil change sometime this week, and i was gonna rejet the carb 2day with my friend but the weather is crap and i have work....BUT off next saturday(that never happens!) so it better be done then!

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by bill67 on 09/19/09 at 13:40:59

Right just like you were riding it.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by Rocco on 09/19/09 at 13:43:16

ok good deal! still gettin used to no dipstick! lol

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by boofer on 09/19/09 at 18:56:53

OK guys, it's all good. Good instructions, but remember sometimes people are buying litres (liters) of oil and some buy quarts.(quarts) I figured the difference by multiplying the diameter of the oil bottle times the height plus the number of bottles in a standard case. This comes to 3874985.6865. Which is the same number of air molecules in 1 PSI of air in the front tire.(IRC 100/90-19) Taking that into consideration when changing oil with the plus or minus factor of 1.3 for warm versus cold oil any fool can see that a normal oil change, done properly should take around 3 1/2 gallons, not counting any spillage onto the exhaust pipe. And yes I do know Jethro Bodine. We grajjeated together. Boofer

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by Buster on 03/22/12 at 05:04:33

...and the odometer reads 1 mile. A week after I bought my new bike, the owners manual finally arrived in the mail. Learned that leaving bike set on "prime" isn't the right thing to do - I removed oil fill plug and could smell a faint odor of gas, so I decided to play it safe and drain the oil. Engine hasn't ever been started, by me, so hopefully the clutches or nothing else was hurt by a little bit of gas in the oil.

BTW, any suggestions on a good break-in oil now that I drained the oil? I also have a bottle of lucas break-in additive on hand, just in case I need any of it.

http://www.lucasoil.com/images/products/6F3EC48837D34E8FA8F44AE9D0BE3396.gif

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by spacepirates on 03/22/12 at 05:58:29

624C55544F624F44494E45200 wrote:

if you truly had gas in the oil, that means that the float valve and/or the float in the carb isn't working properly. it is fairly rare for this to happen on a savage, more likely fuel spills out the back of the carb instead of into the crank, but if you really think you smelled gas in the oil it would be a good idea to check float level and operation.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by Routy on 03/22/12 at 08:04:02

Why would you leave it on prime ? That defeats the purpose of the vac controlled petcock valve. But then, many here defeat it on purpose, so each his own.
Myself,....I would never defeat the vac operated saftey petcock, and I wouldn't run any so called "breakin oil" either.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 03/22/12 at 08:46:24

.I would never defeat the vac operated saftey petcock, and I wouldn't run any so called "breakin oil" either.

Meeee neether

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by Buster on 03/22/12 at 13:08:43

2E213B203C3A292B232D3A480 wrote:

Why would you leave it on prime ? That defeats the purpose of the vac controlled petcock valve. But then, many here defeat it on purpose, so each his own. Myself,....I would never defeat the vac operated saftey petcock,

Not sure why the salesman left it like that when he rolled the bike off the trailer. Maybe he didn't know a whole lot about the S40 - He also said the little key was for the helmet holder, and not the steering lock.

Quote:

and I wouldn't run any so called "breakin oil" either.

What about the Redline or Lucas additive? Something in them that are bad for clutches? After seeing the silvery cloudy swirl that was in my drained oil, after only 1 mile on the odometer, I just wondered if the engine needed a helping hand for the first few hundred miles.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by Oldfeller on 03/22/12 at 17:45:32

The only reference ever made about Redline ZDDP booster was made by me, when talking about breaking in a Stage 2 (high lift and duration) Web cam for the initial 500 miles. This reference doesn't apply to a stock Savage engine.

Savages make a lot of metal from the transmission etc when brand new -- all you really need to do is just use a good JASO motorcycle oil and change it frequently.

Magnetic drain plugs and other magnetic tricks are used here on the list to remove bits of ferrous trash from the oil flow to get "better long term filtration" (and I think you already see why we do it when the bikes are newish anyway).

Milky oil is contaminated oil -- gas or water or something other than normal oil and normal combustion residues are involved in "milky". Drain it and replace it.

Title: Re: My first Oil Change
Post by Wake51 on 03/22/12 at 22:48:36

I switched to a magnetic drain plug and never looked back. You can get one for about 9 bucks from goldplug.com Not only does it help pull out some of the metal floating in your oil, it also serves as an indicator of what your engine is doing in between changes.

As for slightly over filling, it is my understanding that many users here fill the bike on the side stand until it just barely peeks into the window. This is would be a slight overfill compared to what is recommended. I do not use this method for any reason other than I stick with what worked for me the first time, filling it with the clymer manual suggested amount. But just as many will tell you, a slight overfill is far better than ever running low and allows for an easy way to check it without having to hold it vertical. (You can see the oil peeking into the side window while on the stand.)