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Mods - should this be moved to the tutorials/how-to section?]
I'd agree that doing it yourself is pretty easy, and much better value for money! I'd like to add a couple of things, though, that I think the video missed!
I've made a full checklist/guide below, but if you're more or less happy with the video
@Tigerjohn posted, here's a TL;DR..
A) Fill the new filter with clean oil before fitting it to the bike.
B) Drain and fill with the bike held upright.
C) Re-check the oil level and filter tightness after heating up the new oil, and again after you next ride.
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DISCLAIMER: I'm certainly not an expert, and this information is provided for you to use at your own risk, etc. etc..]
Things you'll need:
1) A friend or two (assuming you don't have a centre/paddock stand)
2) Some sort of oil drain-pan to catch the oil in (an old, large-ish washing-up bowl works fine)
3) Something to transport the oil to the rubbish tip in (You can buy oil drainer cans for like £5-£10, but you can also get a 5 litre bottle of water from a supermarket for like a quid..)
4) A funnel to get the oil from one to the other (can puncture the washing-up bowl and drain through the hole, but funnels are only like a couple of quid in Halfords)
5) Oil and oil filter (Me, I used this
oil and
filter, purely 'cause they're cheap, but for everything you could possibly want to know about the oil/filter preferences of the forum, see
this thread..)
6) As
@Tigerjohn says, it's definitely good practice to replace the crush washer on the sump-plug, but I personally didn't bother, for my XSR's first oil change; the original one was perfectly oil-tight! I imagine you could probs. get a crush washer from Yamaha if you wanted to, though.
7) Oil filter wrench (sometimes called a strap-wrench).
8) Sturdy screwdriver and/or plumbers' slip-joint pliers (for when the strap-wrench inevitably fails to work..)
9) 17mm ring spanner, or 17mm socket with ratchet bar. (A torque-wrench is nice, but not vital)
Okay, here are the steps:
1) Go for a short, 10 min ride, to warm the oil up enough to flow freely
2) Wait a bit for the oil filter and the underside of the sump to be cool enough to be able to touch them (this happens sooner than you'd think!)
3) Have your friends hold the bike upright (but
not by sitting on it!), and position the drain-pan (or washing-up bowl) underneath the oil filter and sump plug
4) Undo the sump plug first, allowing the oil to start to drain (in the video, the dude removes the filter first, and then the sump plug; I prefer to do the sump-plug first, so's oil doesn't drip onto your hand from the filter when you're fiddling with the plug)
5) Use the strap-wrench to undo the oil filter. When this doesn't work, use the back-up plumbers' slip-joint pliers and/or hammer a screwdriver through the filter and use that as a lever to twist the filter off. (It's like a regular bolt; twist it counter-clockwise to undo it. Not trying to be patronising or anything here, but given that it was put on in the factory, 6k miles ago, it's probably quite stiff and you may think you're turning it the wrong way!)
6) Clean up the sump-plug, replace the crush washer, if you have one, lightly coat the washer and the plug's threads in a drip or two of new, clean oil and refit it. If you picked up a torque-wrench, use it (43Nm torque) - otherwise just do it up pretty dashed tight!
7) Smear some new, clean oil around the seal of the new oil filter. Then (and this part isn't in the guide, but I personally think it's pretty important) fill the oil filter with new oil. (Otherwise, when you start the engine, for a few moments it'll be turning over 'dry' whilst the oil accumulates in the new filter - and starting an engine is the time when it experiences maximum wear..)
8) Making sure the drain-pan is still in place, screw the new oil filter on (trying to lose as little of the oil you just filled it with as possible!) and tighten it up fairly tightly with just your bare hands.
9) With your friends holding the bike upright (again, not by sitting on it), pour new oil in until the oil level is about in the middle of the sight-glass.
10) Start the engine, let it tick over until the oil is nicely up to temperature (using the oil temperature readout on the clocks unit) and then switch it off. Give it a few moments to drain back into the sump, then check the oil level is still around the middle of the sight-glass. Add a touch more if necessary.
11) Dispose of the used oil and filter responsibly (and legally!) at the local tip or wherever.
12) After your next ride, make sure the oil level is still in about the middle of the sight-glass (again, with the bike held upright), and as soon as its cool enough to touch, tighten-up the oil filter (and, if you used a new crush washer, the sump plug).
Hope this helps!
