F800GS oil change

[Motoriley]

Cut a slot in it with a dremel and use a thick washer clamped in a wrench as a screwdriver blade. Flatten one of the sides of the washer to get more contact and make sure the fit is tight. I have the 10mm replacement sitting in my toolbox so I'm hoping I can get the 24 out....

[4TooMany]

Originally Posted by B-B

Yeah mine is like 24mm bolt, no hex cap type.

Just in case anyone's reading this (like I did) before their first oil change, on my 2012 the drain plug is a 10mm Allen. I have no idea when they changed exactly, but be aware to check before you go out and buy a 24mm socket (like I did).

[Flashdog]

Always use new oil to lube the fresh filter's o-ring.

[malloy]

OZZY-GS: Take a chisel to one of the flats on your 24mm bolt head and hit it hard in the off (counter clockwise) direction, getting it to dig into the flat. This should "unfreeze" it. You can use a bolt grabber (http://www.sears.com/craftsman-10-pc...1&blockType=G1) if the head is severely damaged.

CheckarD's advice "Tap it LIGHTLY with a hammer to help it break loose." is a minimum when removing the drain bolt. Some BMW techs say to set your allen key or 24 mm socket in place on a breaker bar and bang it hard on the off direction or lightly in the on direction then hard in the off direction. So OZZY, you are not alone .

[MikeMike]

Avoid all this in first place by doing your own oil changes and tighten the drain bolt nice and snug.
Get a Sharpie and put a nice thick line on the drain bolt at the 12 o'clock position and look at it from time to time.
The 10mm bolt is not a good idea IMHO, it looks like it was made simply to have people have difficulty removing it.
Amazing how Motorrad can source a 10mm drain plug but not decent front disk bolts.
Only use a 6 point socket on the conventional drain bolt. Forget the copper washer, I have reused mine a half a dozen times
and it doesn't leak a drop, the drain bolt never comes loose, and you can forget the idea of torquing the oil filter, too.

[Loutre]

Originally Posted by CheckerdD

Now pour in your 3 quart containers of MOTORCYCLE grade 10w-40 oil. Run the bike looking for leaks, and top up as necessary. Dispose of the old oil in an environmentally friendly way. Dave

So why can't I use 10w-40 CAR oil?

and when will a decent person put up some pics (just kidding :o)

[Motoriley]

Use any oil that meets the spec in your owners manual. I've used "car" oil in all my bikes for years. Wet clutch and dry and I've never had a problem except I've saved a crap load of money. But many will tell you that if there isn't a picture of a motorcycle on it and it doesn't cost twice as much you will die in a fiery engine explosion...

Originally Posted by Loutre

So why can't I use 10w-40 CAR oil?

and when will a decent person put up some pics (just kidding :o)

[sorebutt]

I use Rotella in all my motorcycles and atv. It is a diesel oil, which generally holds up better on schear forces, plus it is motorcycle certified.

[Motorfiets]

Originally Posted by Flashdog

Always use new oil to lube the fresh filter's o-ring.

and If I don't?

[LukasM]

Originally Posted by Motorfiets

and If I don't?

... then your engine will probably sell destruct and require a rebuild after only 25k.

[dirtysouthjacket]

2 Reasons, it makes it easier to remove the next time and prevents O-ring failure. The o ring will be dry and "could" freeze to the surrounding metal. It can cause the o-ring to stick to the filter or engine case and make it a lot harder to remove the filter the next time. I had a friend have this happen to his boat. Once he finally got the filter off (which was apparently a PITA), he didn't check for the old o-ring. It was stuck up on the engine where he couldn't see. He put a new filter on with a new o-ring, which then resulted in the new o-ring AND the old (or whatever was left of the old) o-ring being between the filter and engine. Ended up blowing out one of the o-rings, lost all the oil and seized the engine.

Regardless of the engine type, I've always checked to make sure the entire old o-ring comes out and that the new one goes on correctly and is lubricated with oil. Its probably just going the extra mile and won't always cause failures, but not a lot of extra work.

[4TooMany]

Originally Posted by dirtysouthjacket

...and that the new one goes on correctly and is lubricated with oil.

At risk of putting words in his mouth, I think he was asking what happens if he doesn't use NEW oil like Flashdog suggested. The OLD oil works fine for lubing the O-ring. If the oil coming out of your engine isn't good enough to lube the O-ring, it should have been changed LONG ago.

[dirtysouthjacket]

Agreed. Maybe subconsciously I just wanted to share my own 2nd hand horror story.

[johnparjr]

Oil change whats that? My dealer does oil changes for $39 so I don't bother to do it myself anymore

[Motorfiets]

Originally Posted by dirtysouthjacket

2 Reasons, it makes it easier to remove the next time and prevents O-ring failure. The o ring will be dry and "could" freeze to the surrounding metal. It can cause the o-ring to stick to the filter or engine case and make it a lot harder to remove the filter the next time. I had a friend have this happen to his boat. Once he finally got the filter off (which was apparently a PITA), he didn't check for the old o-ring. It was stuck up on the engine where he couldn't see. He put a new filter on with a new o-ring, which then resulted in the new o-ring AND the old (or whatever was left of the old) o-ring being between the filter and engine. Ended up blowing out one of the o-rings, lost all the oil and seized the engine.

Regardless of the engine type, I've always checked to make sure the entire old o-ring comes out and that the new one goes on correctly and is lubricated with oil. Its probably just going the extra mile and won't always cause failures, but not a lot of extra work.

Don't get me wrong I do it every time...... just never bothered with coating it in new oil.... working at a dealership I've had days where I'll do a dozen oil changes in one day and the process involves draining the oil. new filter and then grab the jug of new oil before filling the bike. So old oil is just fine to coat the new filter ring