I'll third the drain pan. It's nice that the plug can't drop into the oil too. I did feel kinda funny sliding a Harley pan under my Indian though.

On my Dyna I would use Tinfoil to direct the filter oil away from the bike into the pan, saved a bunch of clean up and there is always tinfoil in the house.

Yup, I did an air filter change on my V-Strom last week. 30 minutes just to remove everything to get at the filter!



And stickman428 You bought a German bike, what did you expect?

I guess that's the norm on newer bikes, for the filter/airbox to be under the tank.
Carbed Indian, big filter cover on the side of the engine. About the easiest maintenance item, apart fro putting gas in it (once I realized it has 2 fuel tanks).

One thing about all the Dynas and the Road King I have owned and still own- they are relatively easy to change the oil.

My FXR is exceedingly easy. The stock seat setup has a flip-latch, no tools required, to access the fill spout. My one-piece aftermarket seat requires removal of one bolt to get the seat off. Two bolts to take a cover off the left side, and the oil bag is right there. An oil line off the bottom of it runs to a plug welded onto the frame, with a clip to hold it on. Squeeze the clip with pliers, wiggle the line off the plug, and drain it right into a pan or receptacle. So easy it's almost funny. I've had people unfamiliar with this setup watch and say "That's it?"

I use a rag jammed up under the oil filter to catch the spillage when removing the filter, to keep the oil off the frame and front motor mount, then use the tin foil runner mentioned above to run a quart of oil through the engine before putting the new filter on- it takes about a quart to run all the old oil out and have clean oil passing through. Then I button it up and start the filling process. About 3 1/2 quarts, topping it off after running it with about 3 to start.

From start to finish it takes about 45 minutes, tops.

Oh I know the pain..10 hours today on a BMW R1150RT. brake flush, valve adjustment, Fuel filter and Synch the throttles. my back is killing me.

quote:

Originally posted by AH.74:.

My FXR is exceedingly easy. The stock seat setup has a flip-latch, no tools required, to access the fill spout. My one-piece aftermarket seat requires removal of one bolt to get the seat off. Two bolts to take a cover off the left side, and the oil bag is right there. An oil line off the bottom of it runs to a plug welded onto the frame, with a clip to hold it on. Squeeze the clip with pliers, wiggle the line off the plug, and drain it right into a pan or receptacle. So easy it's almost funny. I've had people unfamiliar with this setup watch and say "That's it?"

I use a rag jammed up under the oil filter to catch the spillage when removing the filter, to keep the oil off the frame and front motor mount, then use the tin foil runner mentioned above to run a quart of oil through the engine before putting the new filter on- it takes about a quart to run all the old oil out and have clean oil passing through. Then I button it up and start the filling process. About 3 1/2 quarts, topping it off after running it with about 3 to start.

From start to finish it takes about 45 minutes, tops.

On the Scout, the issue is that the drain hose is nigh inaccessible. Such a tiny space to slip a screwdriver in to slip the hose off the frame plug.

Will keep the filter off flush in mind as well for next time.

quote:

Originally posted by AH.74:
One thing about all the Dynas and the Road King I have owned and still own- they are relatively easy to change the oil......

....Then I button it up and start the filling process. About 3 1/2 quarts, topping it off after running it with about 3 to start.

From start to finish it takes about 45 minutes, tops.

Yeah simple on a BMW too, but now let's discuss what's involved removing the rear wheel to change the tire on a Harley? On many BMW's (such as Stickman's) it's lift the bike up on its center stand, remove 4 lug bolts, pull off wheel. About 4-5 minutes. I HATE changing tires on my Harley. The fact a rear tire on my Road King can last 10-12,000 miles helps though.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

On the Scout, the issue is that the drain hose is nigh inaccessible. Such a tiny space to slip a screwdriver in to slip the hose off the frame plug.

Will keep the filter off flush in mind as well for next time.

Back when I owned a `90 H-D FLHTC (bagger) the oil tank was behind a side cover with it's drain plug located where oil would get all over the frame and wiring if not redirected when drained. At the time an aftermarket company made a kit from aircraft style fittings & shielded hose that ran along the frame & terminated with a removable plug. Once the kit was installed the relocated drain point made oil changes ridiculously easy with zero mess.

That's kinda ancient history but if you look closely at your situation you should be able emulate that kit using aircraft style hose & fittings from suppliers like Jegs, etc. If you can route a hose along the frame safely it's possible to relocate the drain point to where it's not such a pain to deal with. Similar to oil filter relocation on cars with equally ill-advised placement.

quote:

On the Scout, the issue is that the drain hose is nigh inaccessible. Such a tiny space to slip a screwdriver in to slip the hose off the frame plug.

Will keep the filter off flush in mind as well for next time.

If it's like a softail frame, you shouldn't have to remove the clamp and hose, from the bottom of the frame there is a drain bolt use either a socket or allen to remove the bolt and it drains right out...

Here's the oil tank setup on the Scout.
Red box is the drain hose, green arrow points to the tine space available to access the frame plug.


View of the clamp & frame plug


View from beneath, no drain plug here.


Like I mentioned, I may look into a relocate [DIY] kit of some sort to make this easier in the future.

I see a very quick and easy Bubba/Redneck/Hillbilly fix. No kit required.

You could even use the existing line if it's safe/secure enough to tuck away without vibration or touching anything under operation.

Find a bolt the same size as the plug. Cut it to length and file it to smooth it out. Then use that instead of the frame plug, with the same hose clamp. Done.

If you want to shorten the line, pull off the existing line and tuck it away in a tool chest drawer. Take a shorter piece of the same size line and have it just long enough to pull out and pull the plug out, and have a 2" flexible hose you can direct the flow into, the other end of which is in your drain pan.

I spent Saturday changing the tires on my old Road King. I've decided if I do it again, I'm investing in a machine.

quote:

Originally posted by AH.74:
I see a very quick and easy Bubba/Redneck/Hillbilly fix. No kit required.

You could even use the existing line if it's safe/secure enough to tuck away without vibration or touching anything under operation.

Find a bolt the same size as the plug. Cut it to length and file it to smooth it out. Then use that instead of the frame plug, with the same hose clamp. Done.

If you want to shorten the line, pull off the existing line and tuck it away in a tool chest drawer. Take a shorter piece of the same size line and have it just long enough to pull out and pull the plug out, and have a 2" flexible hose you can direct the flow into, the other end of which is in your drain pan.

Yep, something like that is what I'm thinking, but lengthening the drain hose a bit & maybe tying it off to the frame on the side, maybe around where the rear of the shock mounts are.

I got home and took a few shots. Have a look.

Here is the top of the oil tank, under the seat.



Here is the left side with the cover off. You can see the bottom of the oil tank to the left, with the drain line running behind the electrics and up to the plug.



And here is a closer shot of the line as it sits inserted onto the plug. Literally, the hardest part of the whole job is getting the pliers onto the little clamp and wiggling it down the line to pull the line off the plug.



It almost could not be made any easier. Your setup with the plug behind the pipes like that is just bad design- IMO. Great bike though.

quote:

Originally posted by Gear.Up:
Yup, I did an air filter change on my V-Strom last week. 30 minutes just to remove everything to get at the filter! (pic)

Holy smokes! You have to remove the tank to change the air filter?

quote:

Originally posted by AH.74:
I got home and took a few shots. Have a look.

Here is the top of the oil tank, under the seat.

Here is the left side with the cover off. You can see the bottom of the oil tank to the left, with the drain line running behind the electrics and up to the plug.


And here is a closer shot of the line as it sits inserted onto the plug. Literally, the hardest part of the whole job is getting the pliers onto the little clamp and wiggling it down the line to pull the line off the plug.


It almost could not be made any easier. Your setup with the plug behind the pipes like that is just bad design- IMO. Great bike though.

Well, that's quite different. Luckily, I suppose, I don't have to remove the seat to access the oil tank.
The drain hose being where it is, definitely has a bit of conflict with the svc manual recommending having the oil at operating temp. Good luck getting to pretty much any of the needed parts while the engine/exhaust is warm.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:

quote:

Originally posted by Gear.Up:
Yup, I did an air filter change on my V-Strom last week. 30 minutes just to remove everything to get at the filter! (pic)

Holy smokes! You have to remove the tank to change the air filter?

I think that's becoming more common.

My dad's Vulcan S, has it under the tank. I know the new Indian Scouts have it there as well.

Replacing the air filter on a first gen Yamaha R1 is pretty easy. Yes it’s under the gas tank but you can lift it like the hood of a car to get most of the screws. The back ones are kinda hard to reach but it’s not too bad.



Now changing the spark plugs is a different story. They are hidden under a plastic cover in front of those four carburetors. I had to use four wrench extensions and three of those universal joint things to get a socket in there and pray I wasn’t cross threading them. It was horrible.