Oil Change and Some Other Stuff

What, a post about an oil change, the most basic service?

Yes, it's an oil change post.  If you are prone to bouts of boredom, I suggest you find a blog about knitting or scrap booking.  You're destined to find some excitement there.  For those of you bored enough to read an oil change post (probably accountants), keep reading.

This Saturday I decided to tackle changing the oil in my Guzzi.  While that doesn't seem like a job worth mentioning, it is.  I'll get to why that is later but first we're going to balance some throttle bodies.  Let's get to it.

The first step is to locate the adapter block-off bolt in the intake.  This is a 5mm hex and needs to be removed so the adapters can go in their place.  There are no adapters from the factory because they needed a reason to make you spend more money on your bike.

With the block-off bolt out and probably lost down the drain, install the adapter.  Make sure to repeat for the other side.

 

With the adapters in, hook up the rubber lines and hook up the synchronizer to the battery.  I'm using an electronic synchronizer from Carbmate.  It works well but it's all plastic so be careful you don't drop it.  It seems fragile.

Fire the bike up and let it idle.  It has to get to operating temp or, in my Guzzi's case, off the fast idle.  When you're off fast idle, slowly turn the synchro knob on the throttle bodies until the green light under the smiley face lights up.  After that, you're done.  Remove everything and put the block-off bolts back in, provided they didn't go down the drain.

Right, with the synchro done, it's time to move on to the oil change.  If you're wondering what the deal is, have a look at the picture below:

What don't you notice?  If you guessed an oil filter, you're right.  The filter is inside the oil pan.  Unless you have the special tool, which I don't, you have to remove the oil pan to change the filter.  While not exactly Earth-shattering news, it does add a bit of complexity to an otherwise mundane job.  Right, let's get on with it.

First, of course, you have to drain the oil.  Grab a ratchet and a 22mm socket and attack that drain plug!  If you ran the bike like you're supposed to (and you did because you balanced the throttle bodies first, right?), the oil will be hot, so be careful.  If there are children, pets or people with sensitive ears, suggest they leave the room before they witness your cussing fit having just burned your fingers with hot oil.

Before the pan can be removed, this oil line has to be removed.  It's 19mm and usually coated with oil from the leaking pan gasket, so it's easy to remove.  Once that's off, set to the pan bolts.  They're 5mm hex.  Once the pan is off, you should see this:

And this:

The black thing in the upper left corner is the pickup filter.  The manual says to change it every other oil change.  Since I have to drop the pan on every oil change, I'll clean the filter every oil change.

Wrestle the oil filter off and replace it with the new one.  With this done, plop the pan back on (after cleaning or replacing the gasket) and tighten the bolts.  Now it's time to put the oil in.

Fill the crankcase with three-and-some-odd quarts of oil.  You have to aim for the middle range on the dipstick.  Measure the amount of oil by resting the dipstick on the fill hole.  Do not screw it and measure it.  That's the way to underfill the engine and blow it up.  Since they are only three Moto Guzzi dealers on Earth, replacement parts will be hard to find.

And with the crankcase filled to the proper level, you are done.  See, that was much more interesting than scrap booking and knitting.  You got your hands dirty, you created mechanical harmony with your motorcycle and you didn't poke yourself with needles.  Win all around.