I just did my first do-it-yourself oil change for my new 2006 Burgman 400.
It has 130 miles on it. I had read somewhere on a motorcycle engine break-in site that the majority of your wear-in will occur in about the first 75 or 100 miles. So changing the engine oil should be done soon after that.
Worst case - I've wasted $15 in parts and 35 minutes of my time.
Best case - I've saved my engine from needless wear by getting the break-in metal shavings out sooner rather than later.
I followed the instructions in the ever-so-helpful PDF (or is it a Word doc?) from Jason Somebody often mentioned on this forum, as well as comparing the instructions with what my service manual says.
Some things I found helpful:
1. The oil drain plug requires a 17mm wrench to remove
2. The oil filter cover bolts are 8mm heads
3. Warm the engine up, then wait a bit until your engine has cooled a bit -- you don't want to burn your fingers on the exhaust when you remove the dipstick cap, or burn your fingers on the hot oil when you remove the drain plug.
The oil looked sort of new (clear) but upon closer inspection it was completely littered with little metal particles and flakes, exactly what I was hoping to see after the first hundred or so miles -- hopefully a majority of the little harmful metal flakes from initial wear and tear on the engine during the break-in period. I wonder how much damage they would have done if left in there until the first service at 600.
Refilling the oil took exactly 1900 ml, just as outlined in the PDF, for the dipstick to measure as full (below). The oil goes in VERY slowly... Take your time, it's like pouring thick maple syrup.
Otherwise it's exactly as outlined in the PDF. One thing to note: When you remove the oil filter cover, you will invariably get some escaping engine oil dripping onto the exhaust pipe, when you refill with new oil and start it up and let it run for a few minutes (as outlined in the service manual) it will burn off -- you will see smoke -- don't be alarmed. It will burn away and evaporate and leave no traces.
DO check the oil level after you've warmed up the engine, with the scooter off the center and side-stands, hold it upright with the emergency brake on and check with the dipstick unscrewed, cleaned off, and re-inserted but not screwed back on.
What I need help with is this:
There didn't seem to be an o-ring or other type of washer on the oil drain plug. There does *seem* to be some sort of built-in metal washer-type thing connected to the thread-side of the drain plug head, but it was not removable.
Did I miss something? IS there an engine oil drain plug washer to replace? Do you replace the drain plug every time if the engine oil drain plug washer is 'built in' to the drain plug? The service manual doesn't mention one, but if you check the parts fiche for the B400 it shows that there is one.
I'm going to keep my eye on it for the next couple of days to ensure that I snugged everything up appropriately. I do not have torque wrench but noted how tight each bolt felt when I removed it, and approximated it when I tightened everything up. Having changed my car's oil before, I'm familiar with the dangers of over-tightening the drain plug.
Thanks in advance for any assistance with my question about the presence (or absence?) of an engine oil drain plug washer/gasket.
It has 130 miles on it. I had read somewhere on a motorcycle engine break-in site that the majority of your wear-in will occur in about the first 75 or 100 miles. So changing the engine oil should be done soon after that.
Worst case - I've wasted $15 in parts and 35 minutes of my time.
Best case - I've saved my engine from needless wear by getting the break-in metal shavings out sooner rather than later.
I followed the instructions in the ever-so-helpful PDF (or is it a Word doc?) from Jason Somebody often mentioned on this forum, as well as comparing the instructions with what my service manual says.
Some things I found helpful:
1. The oil drain plug requires a 17mm wrench to remove
2. The oil filter cover bolts are 8mm heads
3. Warm the engine up, then wait a bit until your engine has cooled a bit -- you don't want to burn your fingers on the exhaust when you remove the dipstick cap, or burn your fingers on the hot oil when you remove the drain plug.
The oil looked sort of new (clear) but upon closer inspection it was completely littered with little metal particles and flakes, exactly what I was hoping to see after the first hundred or so miles -- hopefully a majority of the little harmful metal flakes from initial wear and tear on the engine during the break-in period. I wonder how much damage they would have done if left in there until the first service at 600.
Refilling the oil took exactly 1900 ml, just as outlined in the PDF, for the dipstick to measure as full (below). The oil goes in VERY slowly... Take your time, it's like pouring thick maple syrup.
Otherwise it's exactly as outlined in the PDF. One thing to note: When you remove the oil filter cover, you will invariably get some escaping engine oil dripping onto the exhaust pipe, when you refill with new oil and start it up and let it run for a few minutes (as outlined in the service manual) it will burn off -- you will see smoke -- don't be alarmed. It will burn away and evaporate and leave no traces.
DO check the oil level after you've warmed up the engine, with the scooter off the center and side-stands, hold it upright with the emergency brake on and check with the dipstick unscrewed, cleaned off, and re-inserted but not screwed back on.
What I need help with is this:
There didn't seem to be an o-ring or other type of washer on the oil drain plug. There does *seem* to be some sort of built-in metal washer-type thing connected to the thread-side of the drain plug head, but it was not removable.
Did I miss something? IS there an engine oil drain plug washer to replace? Do you replace the drain plug every time if the engine oil drain plug washer is 'built in' to the drain plug? The service manual doesn't mention one, but if you check the parts fiche for the B400 it shows that there is one.
I'm going to keep my eye on it for the next couple of days to ensure that I snugged everything up appropriately. I do not have torque wrench but noted how tight each bolt felt when I removed it, and approximated it when I tightened everything up. Having changed my car's oil before, I'm familiar with the dangers of over-tightening the drain plug.
Thanks in advance for any assistance with my question about the presence (or absence?) of an engine oil drain plug washer/gasket.
