JimGnitecki
Registered
I just did my first oil chnage on my Hayabusa today, as it finally hit about 600 miles.
I learned a few things that I thought I'd pass on:
1) When removing the RH fairing to get at the oil filter, count the fasteners. There are a total of TWELVE. 2 on top, 8 on the side, 1 cleverly hidden underneath right at the back, just in front of the rear wheel, and one even more cleverly hidden INSIDE the space between the RH front fork tube and the INSIDE of the fairing, near the "back", just in front of the radiator. This last one is also a unique 2-piece "pushpin" type (easy to drop the pin part).
2) Count them again when putting them on.
3) Count them a 3rd time when torquing them down (my dealer missed torquing the one underneath near the rear wheel when he assebled the bike after installing the centerstand).
4) The EASY way to remove the oil filter is using one of those tools that like like a giant pair of "curved pliers". These are sold at auto parts store, in two sizes.. They are more sophisticated than they look. They have offset "clamping teeth" that grab the flat indents in the filter, and they loosen that filter in that tight space really easily, AND you don't scratch up your exhaust header pipes. They are MUCH easier to use than the type of tool recommened by Suzuki.
5) If you can be patient after you loosen the filter, and just lt it drain for a few minutes into the oil bucket, you won't get any oil on the exhaust headers. If you get impatient (like I did), you WILL get oil on the exhaust pipes, and then have to clean it off using a degreaser.
6) The new oil filter must be tightened a full two turns (i.e. 360x2 = 720 degrees) after it first hits the seating surface. Suzuki makes a big deal of this, so I'm guessing it'll leak if you don't, and will be hard to remove if you overdo it.
7) You can use the same tool decribed above to tighten the new filter very easily, BUT protect the filter against abrasion by the tool's teeth by putting cloth or rubber between the jaws of the tool and the filter.
8) Don't use a TALL funnel at the oil filler hole. It'll fall out if you do, and get garage floor grit all over it, because the clutch assembly prevents a funnel from going very far into the motor casing, and when you add opil, it'll tip and fall out getting oil all over the casing (I cleverly anticipated this possibility for a change and prevented it!!
. Use a funnel only about 3 to 4 inches high and it'll stay inplace when you pour the oil into it.
9) My bike took 3.75 quarts to get near the "top" level line in the sight guage (Suzuki says 3.5 quarts). Overfilling is NOT a good idea.
10) If you want to use Mobil 1 like I did, be sure to use the correct VERSION of Mobil 1: the one marked clearly for MOTORCYCLES, and for 4-cylinder bikes, not the version for "twins". The differences are significant. Mobil 1 for cars CAN cause the clutch to slip because of the friction modifier in it. The two motorcycle versions omit that friction modifier for that reason. The twin version is designed for low revving "HD" type engines, while the "4-cylinder" version is designed for bikes like the Hayabusa. If you want to verify this, go to the Mobil 1 website. It's all there.
Just a few pointers, guys, for those that haven't done it yet . . . (oil change, that is)
Jim G
I learned a few things that I thought I'd pass on:
1) When removing the RH fairing to get at the oil filter, count the fasteners. There are a total of TWELVE. 2 on top, 8 on the side, 1 cleverly hidden underneath right at the back, just in front of the rear wheel, and one even more cleverly hidden INSIDE the space between the RH front fork tube and the INSIDE of the fairing, near the "back", just in front of the radiator. This last one is also a unique 2-piece "pushpin" type (easy to drop the pin part).
2) Count them again when putting them on.
3) Count them a 3rd time when torquing them down (my dealer missed torquing the one underneath near the rear wheel when he assebled the bike after installing the centerstand).
4) The EASY way to remove the oil filter is using one of those tools that like like a giant pair of "curved pliers". These are sold at auto parts store, in two sizes.. They are more sophisticated than they look. They have offset "clamping teeth" that grab the flat indents in the filter, and they loosen that filter in that tight space really easily, AND you don't scratch up your exhaust header pipes. They are MUCH easier to use than the type of tool recommened by Suzuki.
5) If you can be patient after you loosen the filter, and just lt it drain for a few minutes into the oil bucket, you won't get any oil on the exhaust headers. If you get impatient (like I did), you WILL get oil on the exhaust pipes, and then have to clean it off using a degreaser.
6) The new oil filter must be tightened a full two turns (i.e. 360x2 = 720 degrees) after it first hits the seating surface. Suzuki makes a big deal of this, so I'm guessing it'll leak if you don't, and will be hard to remove if you overdo it.
7) You can use the same tool decribed above to tighten the new filter very easily, BUT protect the filter against abrasion by the tool's teeth by putting cloth or rubber between the jaws of the tool and the filter.
8) Don't use a TALL funnel at the oil filler hole. It'll fall out if you do, and get garage floor grit all over it, because the clutch assembly prevents a funnel from going very far into the motor casing, and when you add opil, it'll tip and fall out getting oil all over the casing (I cleverly anticipated this possibility for a change and prevented it!!
9) My bike took 3.75 quarts to get near the "top" level line in the sight guage (Suzuki says 3.5 quarts). Overfilling is NOT a good idea.
10) If you want to use Mobil 1 like I did, be sure to use the correct VERSION of Mobil 1: the one marked clearly for MOTORCYCLES, and for 4-cylinder bikes, not the version for "twins". The differences are significant. Mobil 1 for cars CAN cause the clutch to slip because of the friction modifier in it. The two motorcycle versions omit that friction modifier for that reason. The twin version is designed for low revving "HD" type engines, while the "4-cylinder" version is designed for bikes like the Hayabusa. If you want to verify this, go to the Mobil 1 website. It's all there.
Just a few pointers, guys, for those that haven't done it yet . . . (oil change, that is)
Jim G
