Just changed the oil and coolant, and I got the distinct impression Honda is trying to discourage us from doing our own maintenance.
19 ft-lbs torque on an oil filter? Really??? And of course that metal heat shield piece kept me from using my breaker bar in there to remove the old one. Yeah, I read all the threads about problems getting it off, so I bought a generic filter wrench from the dealer (he didn't stock the Honda wrench) since I needed it to torque the new filter anyway. Had to use the 'line it with sandpaper' trick to keep it from slipping off, which then made it tough to get it off the filter afterwards. I was barely able to get my torque wrench in there so I removed a few bolts holding the heat shield. Once you pull that bolt out that connects the shield to the radiator, the holes jumps out of alignment, so I had to stick an allen wrench in there from the other side to realign the holes to get that bolt back in. Sigh.
Changing the coolant wasn't too terrible, but of course the dealer hit me up for $3.89 for the copper washer.
"But it's just a copper washer!"
"Yeah, I know. Take it up with Honda."
And they won't even tell you how to do it in the owner's manual . What would we do without the Internet?
Now to do the same for my car. Should take me a fraction of the time it took with the bike. BMWs are almost fun to work on. Honda, not so much. Oh well.
Other parts of the bike are harder to work on; I'd say filter and oil are about par for the course, even on other bikes. Getting the oil filter off the first time after someone else had changed my oil, convinced me that I should be the only person changing my oil from then on.
Controversial pro-tip: I only hand snug the oil filter and drain bolt at this point; then clean the seepage areas and re-check for leaking later on. Makes it way easier to get those things off at the next oil change.
Controversial pro-tip: I only hand snug the oil filter and drain bolt at this point; then clean the seepage areas and re-check for leaking later on. Makes it way easier to get those things off at the next oil change.
Hopefully this reads different than you are intending but while "hand tight" is fine for an oil filter (I usually go hand tight then a quarter turn more with a wrench) "hand tight" on the drain bolt is not, you must use a wrench or a socket to tighten it or it will vibrate loose.
I might argue that the torque spec may be a tick high but you need to at least get it tightened down; I grab the socket wrench about halfway between the end of the handle and head so I don't get too much leverage on it. Works a charm. Torque wrench is preferred, though, unless you do it often enough.
OP I'm pretty sure you may want to relook at the torque spec and be sure it's 19ft/lbs on the oil filter. Pretty sure that's not correct.
Now to do the same for my car. Should take me a fraction of the time it took with the bike. BMWs are almost fun to work on. Honda, not so much. Oh well.
Know how you feel, except mine is opposite. Bike is easy to get to. I have a Nissan Elgrand, I have the front jacked up on stands, have to slide under and remove about 12 screws from the plastic underbelly tray just to be able to see the filter.
Actually, my oil filter is on top close to the radiator. I open a canister, pull out the old filter and drop a new one in, then put the lid back on the canister. And if you have one of those "Top Sider" devices that suck out the oil, you never have to get under the car. They work pretty well too. I tried one, then out of curiosity pulled out the drain bolt to see how much more would drain out. Using a plastic drinking cup, I measured about 1/2 inch. Slip on a pair of surgical gloves and you can change your oil without even having to wash up afterwards.
That's funny you "say that", because if you've worked on a lot of bmw motorcycles, and using a simple oil change as the example, and compare them to working on honda motorcycles, that would be the most opposite statement in the world.
In my opinion and most likely many other's, motorcycles in comparison to cars are heaven to work on. Sometimes one has to take multiple parts off just to get to a single bolt. Motorcycles on the other hand, are much more accessible.
Ahhh, then we are speaking of the same thing and your post is reading different than you meant. I was speaking of a standard socket wrench or as Wibbly uses, an open end wrench. You are right, no need to torque it, wrench "hand" tight is fine if you know what you're doing.
In my opinion and most likely many other's, motorcycles in comparison to cars are heaven to work on./QUOTE]
I feel like a complete idiot when it comes to working on my car, sure I can do oil changes and clean the MAF sensor and throttle body, etc. But when it comes to actual fixes I'm a complete idiot. However with my bike I've done just about everything myself.
I've done all work on all the bikes myself and girlfriends have had so 03 R6, 09 675, some dumb sv650, 06 600RR, my 06 F4i and 08 600RR, plus fully rebuilding with new frame my buddys '10 1000RR after a crash. I've never found working on them to be very difficult compared to situations I've encountered working on cars. Spark plugs are a bit of a pain but they are in my 78 chevy truck with headers too. I quite like bikes vs cars for mechanical work to be honest.
Oil filter? Come on man! at least in my 2014 is a very easy job, not a very rare, very honda, tool. Just make it roll to pull out and but the new one with hand-power. Works for me and there is no leak.
I use K&N oil filters because they have the welded nut for easy removal. As far as oil and coolant those are two of the easier jobs in my opinion. In my opinion the three hardest jobs in my opinion are, in order from easiest to hardest, are 1. Spark Plug Change (this job takes me forever. I've done it before and know exactly what I'm doing and it still is a pain in the ass). 2 CCT Removal - if you have a 2007 or up CBR600rr there are bolts instead of hex nuts it took me FOREVER to get that back bolt out! I had to cut an 8mm wrench just to get to the back bolt and turn it like a milometer at a time. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that it took me about 4 HOURS to to pull out the old CCT and replace it with a manual CCT. I hated that job. 3. And the hardest job is adjusting the valves. Another pain in the ass job. Takes forever and is easy to mess up. On the flip side you can pay the pros to do it and come away with a 600 dollar or more bill. Just can't win with that job. An Honorable Mention might be changing the fork oil which I just had the pros did and it cost me like 350 bucks.
Other than those 3 jobs I have found everything else, brake pad replacements, rotor replacements (have to remove the wheels but not too bad), chain replacement isn't too bad if you have the right tools, fairly easy. The problem with sport bikes in general is your just working with very tight spaces and tight tolerances. Just my 2 cents!
1. Spark Plug Change (this job takes me forever. I've done it before and know exactly what I'm doing and it still is a pain in the ass). 2 CCT Removal - if you have a 2007 or up CBR600rr there are bolts instead of hex nuts it took me FOREVER to get that back bolt out! I had to cut an 8mm wrench just to get to the back bolt and turn it like a milometer at a time. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that it took me about 4 HOURS to to pull out the old CCT and replace it with a manual CCT. I hated that job. 3. And the hardest job is adjusting the valves
1. CCT on the '03 is easy, as it is just side fairing. APE on mine now.
2. Oil (I use K&N too), this is a simple job.
3. Spark plugs are easy but getting the radiator lined back up was a PITA.
4. Never done the valves.
5. Fork oil change is fairly easy, just time consuming.
Oil filters = hand tight, have never had a leak. (on either my cars or my bikes, have done my own oil changes for 20 years now).
And yes, a rubber glove will help get it off.
edit:
If you think the 600 is bad, at least it doesn't have a F*(*(*()ing bracket hidden behind the oil filter (on the 1000) that you crush your finger against when the filter loosens and your effort goes into smashing yourself between the filter and said bracket.
3x before i remembered about the damn thing and didn't hurt myself...
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