I have a motorcycle and its in depserate need of a oil change...it costs anywhere from $50-$100 to have it changed somewhere...I want to learn to do it myself anyway...does anyone know how to change it who can show me how? I have a Kawasaki Ninja 636 '04 model...PM me if you can help me out...

3/22/2007 11:28:16 PM

its easy, get an oil bucket, get some motorcycle specific oil rated for your bike (can get at any dealership or cycle gear), place oil bucket under the oil pan under the engine, remove oil pan nut using either a 12mm or 14mm socket/wrench, drain oil, put bolt back in, remove oil filter (also can get at cycle gear or your Kawasaki dealership, ideally replace after every 2 oil changes), drain oil, open new oil bottle, rub some new oil over the o-ring of the new oil filter, screw oil filter on bike (not to tightly), open oil cap, add the recommended amount of oil w/ new oil filter on the 636, screw oil cap back on. Simple, like a 15 min job.

About $5 a quart and about $8-12 for the filter. I'd assume 3.5-4.2 quarts required for the 636 with filter replacement.

3/22/2007 11:38:07 PM

damn, $50-100 for an oil change? They don't even charge that much for cars, and cars use more oil.

3/22/2007 11:52:02 PM

its the labor they charge you for...i know its a ripoff but i mean im just not sure exactly which bolts and such...and you have to remove the front cover too...just not sure what im doing thats all...just need a little help

3/22/2007 11:54:03 PM

you do not need to remove any fairings off the bike to do a simple oil change. If you look under your bike, you'll see a large oil pan coming off the block of the engine, can't miss it. There's only one bolt to screw off and its usually the lowest bolt and angled a bit.

Btw, motorcycle oil is more expensive than car engine since its specifically designed for bikes since its used also for transmission and clutch fluid. semi-synthetic is about $30 for 4 quarts, and fully synthetic is about $50 for 4 quarts, but really depends on the brand since some brands can cost even more then what I listed. I just listed the cheapest I would get. Cycle gear actually has a sale on normal 10w40 oil, $4 a quart instead of $5.

3/23/2007 12:25:20 AM

just change the oil filter every change. most bikes u dont need to take off fairings to change oil.

what kinda bike is it that might help


oh yah ^what he said

[Edited on March 23, 2007 at 12:49 AM. Reason : d]

3/23/2007 12:48:31 AM

Quote :

"have a Kawasaki Ninja 636 '04"

Fucking read you fucking useless tool.

3/23/2007 12:54:42 AM

NUGGA I AINT READING ALL THAT SHIT

3/23/2007 1:22:05 AM

Motorcycle oil is just a way to get you to spend more money at the dealer. Castrol GTX works just as well and is a lot cheaper.

3/23/2007 8:24:31 AM

ill be doin some work on my bike today, if you wanna stop by with the h=oil and the filter, ill guide you through it.

3/23/2007 9:36:08 AM

Quote :

"Motorcycle oil is just a way to get you to spend more money at the dealer. Castrol GTX works just as well and is a lot cheaper."

Agreed. Just get the right viscosity and look for some without "Energy Conserving"(or something like that) on the back. Even that's not a huge deal unless you like clutching wheelies.
10W40 GTX is what I put in 2 weeks ago.
Not sure about yours but I do have to take the lower fairing off to get to the filter.

3/23/2007 3:00:00 PM

I have been using the castrol actevo motorcycle oil and its straight ballin a lot cheaper than mobil 1 , first change with it, it went about 6k miles before it started looking rough, and since the second cahnge, 8k ago, its still looking good, before i was lucky to get 3-4k on the penzoil motorcycle crap

3/23/2007 3:14:24 PM

Quote :

"10W40 GTX"

Same thing I run.

3/23/2007 3:45:32 PM

cant go wrong with Rotella (or any of the other 15w-40 diesel oils) they are very high detergent and do an excellent job keeping deposits off the clutch

3/23/2007 5:07:52 PM

i use 10-60 motorex, fully synth. works awesome except my clutch died

3/23/2007 5:54:08 PM

ughh coastal 10-40 6.99 a gallon ftw

3/23/2007 5:54:56 PM