This is a step-by-step tutorial on how to change your oil and oil fliter. Consult your owner's manual or service manual on how often this should be done. This tutorial illustrates this procedure on an '05 600RR but will conceptually apply to any bike. Please consult your service manual for the differences on your bike.
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Tools needed:
- standard hand tools (e.g. wrenches or sockets/ratchets) - sizes will vary depending on your bike
- oil filter wrench
- oil drain pan
Items to replace:
- oil filter
- oil drain bolt crush washer
- engine oil
Start by removing all fairings necessary to expose the oil filter (A) and the drain bolt on the oil sump (B). For my bike, that entailed the lower and middle right fairing. It also entails moving the coolant resevoir.
Remove the oil drain plug and drain the oil into your oil drain pan.
The drain plug utilizes a crush washer. The crush washer is designed to deform as the drain plug is torqued to specification.
This is not the same as a standard washer you'd get from your local hardware store. Crush washers are available from your local dealer and bike shops. Some auto parts stores may have them too.
When the oil is done draining, install the oil drain bolt with a new crush washer. Torque the oil drain bolt to specifications (see service or owner's manual).
Next we'll remove the oil filter. Use an oil filter wrench to loosen the oil filter enough so that you can remove the filter by hand.
This is [arguably] the messiest part of the job. When the oil filter is removed, some oil will pour out onto the headers. To prevent this, I made a drain for the oil out of cardboard and wrapped with aluminum foil (for re-usability). Place the drain below the oil filter on top of the headers.
Remove the filter and allow oil to drain into the oil drain pan.
Apply a thin layer of new oil onto the rubber gasket of the new oil filter.
Install the new oil filter. Torque the oil filter to specifications (see service or owner's manual). This is can be done with either an oil filter that has a installation nut on it (e.g. K&N) or using an end-cap styled oil filter wrench. If you don't have any of these, then hand tighten the oil filter. Hand tighten it by turning the oil filter 3/4 - 7/8 of a turn from when the oil filter first makes contact with the engine casing. Most oil filters have some kind of reference marks on them so you can determine how much you have turned the oil filter (circled in yellow below).
Most motorcycles require just under 4 quarts of oil (see service or owner's manual). Just add 3 quarts for now.
Start the engine and allow engine to get to operating temperature.
Check for any leaks around the oil filter and oil drain plug. Tighten if necessary.
Turn engine off once its warmed up.
Wait a few minutes and check the engine oil level. Some bikes use a window to check the oil level (below), others may use a dipstick. In either case, the oil level needs to be between the min and max mark. Always check oil with the bike in a vertical upright position, not on the sidestand. Add oil as needed.
Do NOT overfill. Too much oil is a bad thing and you should drain some.
Re-install fairings and ride 
Please remember to dispose of your used oil and oil filter properly.
 badfish'05 600RR Purple/Black |  |