My first oil change...

[Botch]

Okay, I'm not nicknamed "Botch" without reason. The simplest things....

Got back from a fun ride this afternoon, and put the bike up on the centerstand in prep for my first oil change (I had the dealer do the first two "break-in changes; at >$200 apiece it was time to get my hands dirty).

I let the bike cool just a bit while I reviewed the procedure and gathered my tools and rags. Put the oil pan under the bike, removed the oil plug, and poured oil past the pan onto the driveway, quickly moved the pan, and caught most of it.

When the drain was reduced to a trickle I mounted my brand-new oil filter wrench cap, mounted it on the oil filter, and started pulling. NOTE! Make sure the handle is to the left (so you're pushing down) or down (so you're pushing back), not Up so you're pushing the bike forward! That filter was on pretty tight and I suddenly realized I almost pushed the bike off the centerstand, yikes!

Got the filter off, drained it, then spent the next 10 minutes trying to dislodge it from the wrench cap. Instead of a nice 6-sided end cap, these damn filters have, I think, 57 sides, so it jams up real good.

Wiped everything clean (a joy to work on sorta-new machinery that's not all caked up with gunk!) and screwed in the drain plug, then got out my cool brand new Craftsman torque wrench. Slipped in my oily fingers and hit the cement! Only dropped about 18" so hope it's okay.

Torqued down the plug and the new filter, then started refilling my bike with oil.

The FZ-6 has a pretty small oil hole compared to every other vehicle I've ever owned, so I'd recommend a funnel. So now I have matching oil patches on the cement on both sides of the bike.

Started the bike up, ran it a few minutes, and shut it down to let the oil drain. Meanwhile, I grabbed an empty 1-gal plastic jug to pour the old oil into, but couldn't find my funnel. Searched a bit, then found a tall, slender funnel that I think was left behind by the previous homeowners. Dropped it into the jug (fit perfectly) and started pouring oil into it.

Well, the jug and funnel started oscillating, then began to tip over! I grabbed it with one hand, leaving me holding the drain pan with just one hand, it folded and poured the rest of the oil on the cement. Again. Glad I wore my oldest jeans. Turns out this slender funnel didn't have any ribs on the outside, and the tapered body sealed off the interior of the jug, air couldn't escape from the jug, the funnel couldn't drain, became top-heavy, and over she went!

Some guy from Exxon is looking at my driveway right now and I think he's writing out a check...



Well, the job's finished and I have two bags of kitty litter covering my driveway. Got some ideas to do it better next time.

Ya see, I'm not nicknamed "Botch" without reason... :Sport:

 

[wodger]

:rof:

Good story Botch. Sorry, not got any advice, just want to say you convinced me to take mine to repair shop each time. I have a new drive and she would be pi$$ed if I put oil all over it!!

 

[sportrider]

sorry botch, I give you an A for effort though. you can always just mop oil over your entire garage floor though and it will match.:thumbup:

 

[sideshow_downs]

You get better everytime you do it. Now that you know where you had trouble you will be thinking about that next time and it will go smoother. Practice makes perfect :noworries:

 

[CanadianFZ6]

LOL.... Still, kitty litter is much cheaper than $200 oil changes... Next time you'll be a pro at it....

 

[VEGASRIDER]

:needpics::needpics::needpics::needpics::needpics::stupidpc::needpics::needpics::needpics::needpics:

 

[Rushiku]

LOL, I haven't tried my bike yet, but this definately reminds me of my first cage oil change (took 3 or 4 washings to get the oil out of my hair...)

 

[Tailgate]

Entertaining story! I find it handy to jam a couple of aluminum foil sheets underneath the drain plug so that oil will not flow on bike parts and will channel better into the drain pan. Yeah, cardboard or newspapers underneath because, inevitably (unless you are really good) some oil will spash/get dripped on the ground.

 

[abacall]

Too funny! I just did my first change on the Fizz and had huge oil stains too. Luckily it was not my driveway, but the abandoned house next door. :ban:
When I drained my oil, I had the overshoot problem also. Then when I went to empty out the pan into the jugs I have, I overflowed the jug and dropped the pan....
Live and learn. Next change needs to come sooner than later anyway. I just realized I put in Pentosynth, which is a fantastic oil, but has friction modifiers..... Doh!

 

[MarinaFazer]

Good for trying! Besides...what's a driveway without some battlescars???? I've done 2 changes...my first was about 50% less of a disaster than yours, but you learn quick. Congratulations!

Feels good don't it??

 

[04fizzer]

I find it easier to change the oil on the side stand. There's more room for the train pain if you do that. O rmaybe it's just me because I have a triangular pan, and I'm almost guaranteed to hit it. It's quite nice, especially for pouring.

Get a funnel with a larger opening, and pour slowly, and it'll work just fine. Or you can tape a small stick/straw to the outside of the funnel, that way air can get out when you pour it.

 

[abacall]

Funny thing is that I did many oil changes on my old bike, and do my car (and sometimes my friend's) all the time. The centerstand just screwed me up, and so did not checking the level of the jug. :spank:

 

[D-Mac]

Sounds like my first oil change! It started with the classic ripping the skin off the knuckles undoing the drain bolt and finished with tipping over a bucket of waste oil on myself.

The FZ6 is actually easier to work on than many bikes (e.g., a V-star 1100 requires that you remove the EXHAUST SYSTEM to change the oil filter)

Anyway, good work. It will be far easier next time and 3rd time onwards it's a joke.

 

[Tailgate]

The #1 biggest mistake everybody is making here is forgetting about having a cold one (or two, or three, etc.) after the operation.

 

[Botch]

Heh, I got a chuckle out of reading this thread again. Did my second oil change a couple weeks ago, and it went much better. Didn't put down any cardboard so I still got a couple drops on the driveway, but nothing like the first time. The Yamaha oil filter jammed tightly once again on the 57-side Yamaha oil filter wrench, I futzed with it after cooling for about ten minutes, looked at the cool hex nut on my new K&N oil filter, then chucked the Yamahas, filter and wrench together, into the trash. I HATE badly-designed tools!
Stuck a Q-tip in between the funnel and the oil jug while pouring the old oil, worked great but I'm going to build another jug/funnel/pan holder thingamabobbie like I had up in North Dakota, makes things much easier. Also used the funnel to put the new oil in, that worked great.
Like you guys said, practice makes perfect (or at least a lot better...)

 

[Ghost Weim]

I had to giggle at your original post. Sounds like me...

So, my husband thinks that we can change the oil on the FZ6 - I say nah! I would rather drive to the Yamaha shop and have lunch at Panera while they deal with it! :Flash:

 

[04fizzer]

I had to giggle at your original post. Sounds like me...

So, my husband thinks that we can change the oil on the FZ6 - I say nah! I would rather drive to the Yamaha shop and have lunch at Panera while they deal with it! :Flash:

Or you could save the money it would cost to have the shop do it, and go to Panera 2-3 times in one week instead.

 

[kq6up]

Do most of you guys use a side stand for the change? I used the center stand because both the user and the service manual was ambiguous on this point. I regretted:spank: using the center stand. Big mess, just like Botch.

Thanks,
Chris KQ6UP

:spank:

 

[ReblTeen84]

Sounds like my first change...wound up with a quart and a half of oil on the sidewalk when the little pipe thingy i had going from the drain plug to the oil container slipped (mine doesn't fit under the bike, centerstand or not). Took a bucket of litter to get that up and some spray stuff to get the stain up. Wound up taking me over an hour. The last time i changed it, went fine..i now use a turkey basting pan to drain the oil and then just dump it into the container, and I use an oil filter wrench from advance auto..fits her car AND the bike!. Took maybe half an hour the last time, I did that, replaced the battery and put in a K&N filter, cleaned the chain and washed it all in that morning/early afternoon.

 

[Ryan T]

The foil to catch and funnel the oil works great. The key to not getting oil all over the place is to take it nice and slow and let gravity do it's thing.

Don't tighten the filter too tight.

Don't take it to the dealer for an oil change, that's money you can use to make mods.

Yeah, don't forget the beer afterwards (only if you're not riding).

Good luck.