Member Contributer Calculon Posted July 3, 2020 Member Contributer Share Posted July 3, 2020 Today was the first time I've ever done an oil change myself on the Interceptor. Previously it was done at the shop as I didn't want to mess with it. What a pain in the butt dealing with those fairings and removing the oil filter. Plus I found some cracks at one of the screws when putting the fairing back on, don't know if it was already there or if I did it. It's on the underside of the front fairing where the bolt attaches the side to front fairing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer TriumphTraitor Posted July 3, 2020 Member Contributer Share Posted July 3, 2020 Honda certainly had some questionable design choices with the fairing and filter placement that certainly takes the fun out of doing your own oil change. I find the plastic at the ages of these bikes now is getting somewhat brittle too - so small tabs, brackets and thinner sections of the fairings are prone to cracking and breaking sadly. Congrats on getting the job done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Grum Posted July 3, 2020 Member Contributer Share Posted July 3, 2020 4 hours ago, Calculon said: Today was the first time I've ever done an oil change myself on the Interceptor. Previously it was done at the shop as I didn't want to mess with it. What a pain in the butt dealing with those fairings and removing the oil filter. Plus I found some cracks at one of the screws when putting the fairing back on, don't know if it was already there or if I did it. It's on the underside of the front fairing where the bolt attaches the side to front fairing. Congratulations on your first oil change. It gets easier every time you do it. I've done every oil change on my 3 previous 6gens and the same for my 8gen. It will save you a fortune doing it yourself, and you get to choose what oil goes in. A few Tips for you. - I made up a rough drawing on a piece of cardboard of the R/H side cowl and punched holes through it as to the screw locations, so once removing a screw I pop it into the correct location on my cardboard layout. - Only the R/H Side Cowl needs to come off. (From my ageing memory!) - A Golf Tee is ideal for popping and removing the Trim Clips. - Once all the screws and clips are removed swing the rear of the fairing outward slightly and gently pull rearward. Getting the upper section to come away can be a little tricky, just don't force anything. - Your new oil filter only needs to be very firmly hand tightened. Always check that the removed old oil filter has its O Ring attached and NOT left on the oil filter boss. A light smear of oil should be applied to your new filter O Ring prior to installing. - Have never needed to replace a drain plug washer. If the washer looks fine and hasn't been ridiculously over tightened then there is no need to replace it. The cracks you mentioned could well have been caused by simply screwing the screws in without paying attention to the screw shoulders, if the screws are not nicely centered into the fairing the screw shoulder will catch on the cowl plastic causing the cracking. Serioulsy, once you get the hang of it, it's a simple task. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Calculon Posted July 3, 2020 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 3, 2020 Thanks for the tips. I don’t know if I was clear, this isn’t the first time I’ve changed oil on a bike just my first time on the VFR. My Versys is pretty easy and my old Nighthawk was a snap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Calculon Posted July 6, 2020 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 6, 2020 On 7/2/2020 at 11:55 PM, Grum said: A few Tips for you. - I made up a rough drawing on a piece of cardboard of the R/H side cowl and punched holes through it as to the screw locations, so once removing a screw I pop it into the correct location on my cardboard layout. This is something I should've done. It's a great tip and I'll employ something similar next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 Congrats on your first VFR oil change! I've done my own VFR oil changes for years, but until the last several I usually managed to get a minor injury during the process - usually a burn on the back of one of my hands on a header, trying to get the oil filter off. 😞 Thankfully, this job has become pretty routine now, and I can get it done without hurting myself, or the bike! After having to mess around with fairings and cowls for many maintenance items for so many years, I've said more than once my next bike will be a naked, and I'll never buy another bike with a fairing again. That's probably a lie, but it would be easier. What I do now, however, when looking at possible bikes to buy, is to check out where the oil filter is. How easy is it to get to, where will the oil drip, etc. Considering I do 1-2 oil changes annually, the easier the better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighwayStar2009 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I also have a cardboard drawing for screw orientation. Before filter removal I place aluminum foil over the exhaust piping and divert the oil draining to go into the catch pan underneath. Also bought a lot of extra push pins from the local Honda dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Calculon Posted July 20, 2020 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 20, 2020 On 7/19/2020 at 12:11 PM, HighwayStar2009 said: I also have a cardboard drawing for screw orientation. Before filter removal I place aluminum foil over the exhaust piping and divert the oil draining to go into the catch pan underneath. Also bought a lot of extra push pins from the local Honda dealer. I just saw a video on YouTube, Ari from Revzilla, showing the foil trick. Never thought of that before. I just wiped mine down afterwards but I think next time I will give that a go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimC Posted July 20, 2020 Share Posted July 20, 2020 3 hours ago, Calculon said: I just saw a video on YouTube, Ari from Revzilla, showing the foil trick. Never thought of that before. I just wiped mine down afterwards but I think next time I will give that a go. I should do the foil thing, too, but I never think of it while I'm changing my oil. I'm just about due for a change again, so maybe I'll try it this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer boOZZIE Posted July 21, 2020 Member Contributer Share Posted July 21, 2020 Ez oil drain valve or similar are a time saver aswell. Putting the fairings back on, I put all screws back in only a little and pull the fairing onto the shouldered screws so as not crack the fairing when screwing them home. You think these fairings are a head f@#k you should have a go on a cbr 🤯 . Bloody hidden tabs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eNiMaLx Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 You should also replace the allen bolts on the side fairings with regular 6M hex bolts with washers. I don't know if it's just from the previous owner's mechanic, but the lower ones were really hard to remove and the heads all ended up stripping once it was my turn to crack them loose and I ended up having to drill holes into them and using a screw extractor. Allen bolts suck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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