Funnels for Airheads, XR650R and L and other Engineering Marvels

Do you find yourself admiring the forethought by the German engineers in selecting the location for the oil fill on our beloved Airheads ? Yeah, me too.

Finding a funnel that works is nearly impossible. Nothing really fits and if it does it's usually too small to be able to pour oil at something other than a trickle.

So the other day a coworker asked me to evaluate this little beauty. I tried it on my oil in backbone XR650R first, then a similarly set up XR650L and it worked great because it stays in place and easily fits between the handlebar and fuel tank.



But the winner was my R100/7. I've never been able to add oil as easy as with this funnel.



This funnel not only fits, but allows you to pour oil without holding your breath because it has a built in reservoir.
If you want to, you can trim it to fit the oil fill perfectly and pour even faster, or leave the way it is and also use it to fill the rear drive or the forks.
And as I just found out, it will fit next to the tool kit in an Airhead underseat tray for when you're going on a long trip and need to top off the oil on the road.





I liked it so much that I thought I'd take a chance and buy a bunch to share with my fellow Airheads.

They come in four colors: Blue, Orange, Red and Grey.



ADV Price is $6.50 each, plus $3.00 shipping for up to three funnels.

Do you find yourself admiring the forethought by the German engineers in selecting the location for the oil fill on our beloved Airheads ? Yeah, me too.

Finding a funnel that works is nearly impossible. If it fits the hole and under the tank it's sure to foul the cables.
Not with this one:



I've never been able to add oil as easy as with this funnel.

Here is the link to the Vendor thread where I'm selling these.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=796073

Admins, if this is out of line please nuke it and let me know. Thanks

Yes it is out of line, are you a lawyer by any chance?

He may be a bit Ferengi-ish, but that sure is a neat funnel. I'm ordering a couple of 'em.

Thanks for the announcement (odervise, how else would us Airheads find out about it???).

For 18 years of airhead ownership I've used this super long skinny black funnel

While it's been great to get to the poorly german engineered oil filler hole.

It's kind of a pain as I have to hold it. It's also about three feet too long to use on a bikes with oil in the back bone.

But to threadjack. What have people found to be the best way to fill transmissions? I currently use a ratio rite and a long curving funnel then finish the job with a tranny fluid injector syringe deal. Not ideal, but functional.

Okay then I guess it's okay for me to advertise my centerstand repair bushings on the regular forum?
I innocently did it when I first starting making them some time back and was severely admonished by the powers that be,
and rightfully so. Rules are rules.
This is just like the old lawyers trick of saying something in court that you know you are not allowed to, even though it gets stricken form the record, the jury still heard it.

But my impression is this is something new? So isn't there an exception for a new product? If not there should be, I think. It is OK to give the link to the venders ad if somebody asks?

You don't show the funnel being used on the swing arm for wet swing arms? And yes transmissions are a problem. I use the bottle the gear oil comes in sometimes. Other times I put a rubber hose on the funnel tip but this doesn't always work so good.

a standard funnel with a short section of hose works fine for me.

but it sure is a neat looking funnel, but mine works great. I see nothing wrong with announcing a new product for us to see. otherwise how would we know it exists?

OP is probably losing $$ by the time handling is figured in, offering these to ADV.

My local Walmart has a collapsible/flexible spout that screws onto quart oil bottles and will stretch and bend to pour right into the filler. Fifty cents (Advance Auto has them for like $2).

Only drawback is that the accordian section tends to hold a good amount of oil - paper towel and ziplock bags contain the mess.

I guess I dont understand the motivation behind the thread. Is it to help your fellow AdvRider? Make some money? After buying one and paying for shipping there cant be enough profit to do that. Why not do what most do: post in the tip and tricks part of this forum and let people know where to get these on there own? If you actually made these and want to sell in my opinion thats another story.

Its like the guy who first figured out that VW rings would work for some early R100 bikes. I can and do buy 4 sets from a local VW dealer for $18.00. BMW wants about $65 for a ring set, so thats $260 for 4. Instead of that guy selling them for $20 a piece (which would be real reasonable for those looking to pay full BMW price) he let everyone in the world know of the secret.

See the difference? Benefit from any on else's knowledge here? If so pass it on.

My 2 cents on a hot ass day in Texas taking a break while I watch paint dry...

Most any FLAPS will have a blue plastic funnel some 10" long and with about a 3" mouth. Perzactly perfect fit for Airhead oil fill. Less than $2. I know Wally World has them as well.

An oil bottle with the bottom cut out is almost as good.

This is so close to a non-issue, I think I need to take a nap.

+1 ATF funnel works like a charm and raises the fill area nicely away from the cables, etc.

Filling or topping up at home isn't so bad, but on the road it's a whole nuther matter. No fun dribbling half the bottle down the side of the engine onto the exhaust! Kind of irritating actually - didn't seem funny at the time.

I've used an ATF funnel like that and kept it in place with a little bunge cord through the hole up top. They can take a while to drain.

I've also used a bit of hose connected to a short funnel.

But the one I use the most (and take with me on trips) came from an auto parts store. It screws onto a regular size oil bottle or the larger gallons. A half twist opens it up and it's got a clear plastic hose about 1.5 feet long.

I have that one also... I guess I'm a gadget whore on top of being a gear whore for the last 10 years or so.

Seriously, you have to try the stuff out to see what works best for you.

OK, that's the king size. The one I speak of is about 1/3 that size, and blue plasitic. But that more common large size can be cut down on both ends for much easier packing.

Sometimes I wonder if a syringe isn't the best solution for the swingarm oil. In the shop I have plenty of funnels that work just fine. For the tranny I use a funnel with a hose on it. That or I have hand pumps with hoses mounted on gallon jugs. It really cuts down of the time waiting for the oil to pour through. On the road I use a top cut off another quart. It fits on top of the quart I am packing real well for minimum space. That deal looks almost exactly like what's in the picture here. You do have to hold it though.

+1

Again, I agree with SS. Because I am cheap, I cut the top off a used plastic oil container as it fits into the filler hole just fine. Easy to pour oil that way. Plus I can clean it up with a paper towel and put it into a plastic freezer bag and stuff it under the seat with the tool kit. I use freezer bags because they are thicker that regular ziplock bags.

At home, I have lots of regular funnels that will do the job.

So I leave for a couple of hours and this thing blows up.

To answer the 'why' question posed by CurlyMike: I'm selling these because I thought they fit a real need as well as to make a bit of money at the same time. The same reason I sell my fuel nozzle tool. BTW, neither product is available in stores

Wirewkr, I sent an e-mail to admin asking whether this would be ok to do and have yet to receive an answer, which is why I added this line to the end of my post: "Admins, if this is out of line please nuke it and let me know. Thanks"

To the guys that suggested all the cheaper/better/whatever solutions, I've got a box full of funnels, just like you, but none work as well as this one.
Plus it's small enough to take with you in the underseat tray, even with the tool kit and spare points, in case the B/B fails.




To those that want one, thank you and you'll be pm'd shortly.

Thank you all for your time and caring about this awesome website.

Kai Ju

When I'm travelling I find a nice brochure or similar, roll that into a funnel & use that. Disposable & doesn't cost a cent. Unkind to the environment though...

At home I have a long bendy funnel.

For the gearbox I measure the oil, & either use a squeezy Castrol bottle & tube (that the gearbox oil comes in) , or & lay the patient on his side.