Nothing like a 2.5 hour oil change.

Guess this is one of the downfalls to buying a used bike but sheesh.

I just spent 2.5 hours doing and oil change on my new to me SW.

Someone stripped the head off the oil plug which made it an absolute bear to get off. Lucky for me the local Honda cycle dealership actually stocked the drain plug. Next was who ever put the last oil filter on must have been King Kong because it refused to come off so that had to be done the hard way.

Was going to do my belt and rollers toady but ran out of energy after the oil change issues.

Eugene

But on a plus, it's done properly now.

At a CMA meet an old biker over discussing having a workshop or garage (I currently don't) pointed out the beauty of when it ain't going right you can just close the door and walk away as fresh eyes make for new solutions

Be proud you managed to get it done

Scootypuff Snr wrote:

But on a plus, it's done properly now.

At a CMA meet an old biker over discussing having a workshop or garage (I currently don't) pointed out the beauty of when it ain't going right you can just close the door and walk away as fresh eyes make for new solutions

Be proud you managed to get it done

I agree. There is a sense of accomplishment in DIY projects, as long as one does not need to be in a hurry. I tend to do mine over the winter months when if things get frustrating... I can turn the lights off, go in the house and call it a day.

I definitely agree with the sense of accomplishment doing the work myself. I really enjoy doing the work myself plus I have the advantage of knowing it done correctly when I do the work myself. I will not take on a job unless I know I am capable of doing it.

The frustrating thing is I have most of the maintenance paper work for the SW from that last 3 years. After a little digging I found out it was a local motorcycle shop the did the last oil change meaning they were the one to put the oil filter on too tight. They even marked on the ticket they messed up the plug but did not replace it.
I now know that shop is off the list if I need any work done that I cannot do.

When I purchased my 2012 my intention at the time was that Honda would do the majority of service. The Silver Wing looked complicated and I am old and tired and figured let 'em do it!  But... Since the dealer is over 50 miles away, driving that for an oil change is ridiculous so I read Jeff's pictorial and did it myself. Since then the scoot has rarely seen a dealer and then usually for tires, I draw the line at those LOL. I have done the final drive fluid (easy), changed the air filter, the coolant and replaced the plugs. A friend on here helped me with the belt and rollers. So roll up your sleeves and save some bucks! Since I do my own oil changes the plug and filter are easy to get loose!!!

I learned the hard way that you cannot trust a shop to do the right thing. My first bike, a vlx 600 was overfilled by the dealer's mechanic. The same bike, went to another shop for a rear tire change: left the shop thinking all is good. Rear brakes were not adjusted, overheated to the point of smoking !! I had to adjust at the side of the road. From those two incidents I have become a bit mechanic shy. I do my own routine maintenance; and if I have to go to the shop, I research the issue so I know they can't just waffle off a problem and charge for unnecessary work.

Jay.

dragonknight76 wrote:

Guess this is one of the downfalls to buying a used bike but sheesh.

I just spent 2.5 hours doing and oil change on my new to me SW.

Someone stripped the head off the oil plug which made it an absolute bear to get off. Lucky for me the local Honda cycle dealership actually stocked the drain plug. Next was who ever put the last oil filter on must have been King Kong because it refused to come off so that had to be done the hard way.

Was going to do my belt and rollers toady but ran out of energy after the oil change issues.

Eugene

The oil plug on our S'Wings is aluminum, can you imagine my frustration when my first DIY on our 2017 Forester showed some ham fisted @#%@ beat up the STEEL plug so it looks like a 1917 plug. Yes I've had oil filters on vehicles done by " PRO's that required destruction to remove, as I told the service rep if I can't trust you to do an oil change how do I trust you to do anything else? Never went back there.