Went down to the garage to change the oil this morning, my wife in tow for assistance and moral support . . .

Thump #1 . . . the ratchet along with a 17mm socket were missing from the molded spaces in the socket set. Thoughtfully, when I picked up the allen wrenches at Sears last night, I also picked up a 17mm socket for the drain plug.

Hmm, perhaps it got tossed with the cleanup from last fall's oil change on the virago before it got sold? Any way, off to the auto parts store to buy a cheap ratchet.

After a side trip to Mickey D's to feed my assistant, we arrived back in the garage to begin the oil change.

Thump #2 . . . the ratchet and socket wouldn't fit in the space available next to the drain plug. So I retrieved the 17 mm open end wrench from the bike's tool kit.

Thump #3 . . . the drain bolt was 14 mm not 17 mm. Where did I get the number 17 in my head?

Luckily the companion end of the wrench was 14 mm - woo hoo! But man, that bolt was tight. Finally loosened with a couple of raps with the ratchet (so it did get used after all), I turned the drain plug for an eternity (drain bolt?), I was blessed with a stream of the nastiest oil I've ever seen come from an engine.

After the draining stopped the bike was leveled off the kickstand then returned to the kickstand . . . hmm, more oil started to drain. So the process was repeated in an attempt to coax the dregs out of the drain hole.

The new Sears T-handled allen wrenches worked slick on the oil filter plate. I replaced all the o-rings and popped in a new filter. My wife, sitting cross-legged on the floor, pointed out that I was about to put the filter in backwards. You know, I really like it when she is around!

Thump #4 . . . the oil filler plug wouldn't budge. I wrapped a folded paper towel around it an tried the 14 mm open end to try and loosen it. No dice.

So I had to run back upstairs (I live on the 2nd floor of an apartment and the parking spot in the garage is in the far end of the wing) to get a crescent wrench to get the plug loosened.

When I returned to the garage, the plug was placed on a clean paper towel on the floor next to the bike, my wife was sitting on the floor cross-legged with a big grin on her face. Did I mention I really like it when she is around?

Thump #5 . . . the oil plug washers I purchase from the dealer last week were the wrong size. Oops, one of the three I purchased would work. !@#$ parts monkey. Put the washer on and tighten it as much as I could with a 4" handle on the open end wrench, not a lot of leverage.

Carefully measured 2.5 quarts of Rotella T 5w-40 and buttoned everything up, and fired it up for a warm up.

Total time: 4 hours of quality time with my wife!

Well, I figured it would take a bit to fill up the new filter. <blush>

Read my next post about the ride! <grin>

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1207443947

How much you 'spose the filter would hold? A mouthful? A guy could just poke a filter in his back pocket & someone might think ha d 2 snuffcans instead of 1.
I just dump 2 quarts in & go. The .1 is just an exercise in anal behavior. When it gets low, after running it about 5 or 600 miles, then I top it off. But I check it alll the time, cuz ya never know when one is gonna start using oil.

saratovich wrote on 04/05/08 at 20:37:52:


my o4 said 2.1 and that's been the concensus.  the best indicator is halfway on the sightglass upright.  

there are lots of mistakes in both the clymers and owners manual.  i trust the people here more than the suzuki pukes....  

at least ya caught it.  the mistake not the clap.   did ya get someone with a straw to suck it out.  

I changed my oil a few weeks ago and it took 2 bottles of oil from the dealer.  It is an 06, and I changed the filter and drained it by rocking it back and forth.  2 bottles put it just below the top "OK" line in the window.  I believe the oil dealerships sell is just under a quart.

Some Motorcycle oil is sold in 1 liter (1.056 qt) containers.  I recently purchased Spectrum 4 synthetic/petroleum motorcycle oil at the local motorcycle repair shop.  Two of these will bring the oil level to the line in the sight glass after draining old oil and replacing filter.

I find once I start that plug in, it's pretty much sealed and not going to leak, at least not much.  So, just tighten it up so it won't vibrate out.  There's also a copper washer there.

How to get more leaverage with a 14 wrench?  Do you ever play with those interlocking wire puzzles?  Take a large box end wrench and slip it over the open end wrench.  In one direction (tightening or loosening) the two will lock together to double the length of the wrench.