FATAL1TY - X

My r15 was up for the 10k kms oil and oil filter change. so here is a DIY thread for those who want to do their own oil and oil filter change of their R15's and requires a step by step guide on how to do it.

I wont reccommend this to someone who is new to wrenching and doesnt know much about tightening torques. i will not be responsible for the damages you do to your motorcycle by doing this the wrong way or by over torquing.

Warm up - Warm up the engine by riding it a few kms. i rode around 20 kms before doing the oil change. within 20 kms or so the oil will be close to its optimum temperature and will drain much faster and easier.

Tools required - First step is to keep the necessary tools at hand instead of looking for them later. avoid an open wrench at all cost. you can damage the bolt heads if you use an open type wrench. use a ring spanner/plug spanner/socket wrench to avoid damaging bolts. the tools i used are an 18/19mm ring spanner, a 18/19mm plug spanner + a screw driver as a handle, an 8 mm socket wrench and a nose plier.



Consumables and other things
these are the next set of stuffs you'll need to do an oil and filter change. 1 liter Oil, an Oil filter, a pan to catch the draining oil and a funnel to pour the new oil in. use a set of impervious gloves if you want to keep your hands clean and to avoid the burning sensation(caused by the used oil which is now pretty acidic) if used oil happens to get on your hand.



here is the odo at the time of the change.



here is the drain bolt, it is vastly different from other indian motorcycle's drain bolt. the bolt is aluminum and is brittle but light. the size is 19mm



i am using this 18/19mm ring spanner to remove the drain bolt.



Draining the Oil
place the motorcycle on a center stand or a paddock stand. i use a center stand. then place some old news paper pieces under the motorcycle just in case some oil happens to spill out of the oil pan. then place the oil pan under the motorcycle. now you are ready to drain the oil.



use the ring spanner and turn it counter clock wise, lighty tap on the spanner using your hand if the bolt is hard to remove(if you find it too difficult to remove, then stop right here. get the bike to a service station and tell them to remove it. the service center guys most probably might've over tightened it the last time). once it is loose, remove the bolt by turning it counter clockwise. use the ring spanner/socket wrench to remove the bolt other than using your hands. hot and acidic oil is no fun if it happens to be on your hand.



once you fully remove the bolt, a spring and strainer will fall out into the oil pan. let it be there for now and let the oil drain.



Remove the spring and strainer from the oil pan using the nose plier and place everything you remove on a clean rag than on the plain ground.



Replacing the Oil filter



removing the oil filter bolt requires an 8mm socket wrench.



as you've seen, there are 3 bolts to remove. remove them by turning counter clockwise. the bolt on the right side of the filter cover is a longer bolt than the other two.



some oil will come out after you remove all the 3 bolts. keep your hands away from the oil.



remove the oil filter cover and now here is the filter



take out the filter by using the nose plier if you dont want the oil on your hands.



place all the stuff you removed on the rag.



here is where the oil filter was sitting. you can see the oil passages.



Old filter on the left and new filter on the right. the cost of the oil filter has came down since my last purchase of the same. the old one cost me 430 rs and the new one costs just 160rs and they are both made in singapore.



next step is to soak the oil filter in oil before you insert it in.



Pour some oil into the wraper in which the new filter was packed or use a small clean bottle or dish. just 15-30 ml of oil will be necessary.



then soak it thoroughly. roll and turn it till the oil has been absorbed by the filter and has spread evenly.



place it somewhere to soak, and then clean the oil filter cover and O ring(make sure that you dont damage the Oring by stretching it while cleaning). and thoroughly clean the filter case border using a clean rag.



Then use the nose plier or your hand to put the filter into its case. the hole on the filter should face you.



put the Oring in its groove on the filter cover and place it over the filter and screw in all the three bolts. it wont be a perfect fit because of the rubber seals on both sides of the oil filter. dont be alarmed. it is supposed to be that way.



press the oil filter cover down and finger tighten all the three bolts.



Then, using the socket wrench, tighten all the three bolts uniformly. do not overtighten. it is an 8mm bolt and dont require a large amount of force to tighten. and the Oil filter replacing regime is done.




Fixing the drain bolt

Thoroughly clean the strainer, spring, drain bolt and its Oring and the drainbolt Oring sealing face under the crank case. Arrange the strainer, spring and drain bolt and its Oring properly, like in the below pic.



Now get the drainbolt properly into its place with the strainer and spring in its place. this is a tricky step for the first timers. push the drain bolt and turn it clockwise till the threads catch. you should be able to finger tighten it fully to make sure that you havent cross threaded.



Now my plug spanner with the screwdriver as handle is used to tighten the bolt. the shorter the leverage the lower the torque applied. so its less likely for you to cause damage by overtorquing. if i use the longer ring spnner i might apply more force than required and could cause damage. one thing to note here is that R15's drain bolt uses an Oring for sealing unlike other indian motorcycles which use a gasket and tension for sealing. so you dont have to tighten the r15 drain bolt like you tighten your pulsar's drain bolt. take care not to cause damage by over torquing/tightening it.



Filling new oil and rest of the steps

I am using Mobil 1 Racing 4t for filling. it is a personal choice. i dont like to start a war by comparing Full synthetics vs Semi synthetics vs Mineral.



Clean the funnel thoroughly.



Pour the oil steadily without spilling it.



Here is the 4300 kms old Motul 300V FL 15w50. i'd say it was still good while and before draining. still had that green colour, even though that doesnt determine an oils performance. just hit 135 while on the warm up run. it wasnt a surprise because if i hit any highway my r15 will see that speed.



Now save the used oil in its can for recycling. there are people and recycle shops who'll pay anywhere from 15-50 rs according to the drained oil's quality. so you can still get some money back by selling the used oil instead of pouring it in your yard and pollute the dear old mother earth.


Wipe away the oil from the places where it has been spilled. especially from the fairing and the exhaust. Now ride the motorcycle for a few kms and inspect for leaks. Make sure to replace parts which can be easily damaged like Orings. if you suspect damage of such parts,replace them instead of reusing them to avoid leaks. there wont be any, assuming that you did the job properly.

if i missed something please feel free to add below.

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2002 Herculese Top Gear 6 speed
1990 Yamaha RX110
2010 Yamaha YZF-R15

2007 Suzuki Alto Lxi

sunilg

DIY topic approved.

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(Been There Done That) x 3.25

Join xBhp On

lijok

Its better not to use a ring spanner (double hexagonal, 12 points) as it has higher chances of slipping. A box spanner (along with a long screwdriver for required leverage) or a socket wrench (again, few of them come in double hexagonal profile - avoid them) are the best tools.

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FATAL1TY - X

No, There is no problem in using a 12 piont ring spanner on an R15 drain bolt. as i said earlier r15 drain bolt is not designed to take so much amount of tightening torque. so a 12 point ring/socket wrench will work as an added insurance even though nothing is guarenteed.
below i'll show a drain bolt which was damaged by using the wrong methods of fastening.

1) a drain bolt which used an open wrech for tightening.

as you can see, the bolt itself is intact(in the image), but the edges broke away. the bolt edges self destructed to avoid over torquing.



2) the same drain bolt which was then tightened using a 12 point ring spanner, but at a higher torque value, or in simple words "which was overtightened".

in this image, the groove and the drain bolt are seperate. but they are actually supposed to be together. what happened was even though the wrench was a 12 point ring spanner, the bolt edges were able to handle the high amount of torque but the bolt itself wasnt. so the groove where the Oring is placed broke itself off from the bolt main body. the self destruction of the bolt saved the day, otherwise the overtightening might've caused damaged to the threads on the crankcase which is even worse.

as i was saying, there is no problem in using a 12 point ring spanner in my experience. it is not mandatory to use a 6 point ring/socket wrench to remove or tighten the R15 drain bolt as it simply doesnt require the high amount of torque for tightening. on other motorcycles the use of 6 point wrench is recommended as they use a different type and method of drainbolt fastening. the only thing to remember while you are tightening an R15 drain bolt is, NEVER OVERTIGHTEN.

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2002 Herculese Top Gear 6 speed
1990 Yamaha RX110
2010 Yamaha YZF-R15

2007 Suzuki Alto Lxi

yamaha_yzf_r15

nice thread,,
what is the cost of that oil filter ,,
they charged me 169 rs today for that oil filter

the oil filter of other bikes cost us ,, 50 or 40 rs ,

whats the difference between r15 oil filter and other bikes oil filter ?

FATAL1TY - X

R15 oil filter used to cost 400+ a few months ago. Price has been dropped now. That is the reason why you got it for 169/- Rs. One of the reason why R15's oil filter cost more is because it is imported while other Indian motorcycle uses domestically made filters. It also has a paper based filter medium which maybe a contributing factor for the higher cost(some other Indian motorcycle engines also use paper based oil filters).

__________________
2002 Herculese Top Gear 6 speed
1990 Yamaha RX110
2010 Yamaha YZF-R15

2007 Suzuki Alto Lxi