Post by chuckwagon on Sept 30, 2004 15:07:38 GMT -5
kimikaze said:
Is changing my baby's oil easy enough for a gimp like me to do? Are there any tricks I should be aware of? 
*getting scared already*Changing the oil is very easy on the Ruckus. Warm up the engine to normal operating temperature, stop the engine and remove the drain bolt. It's on the left side of the bike, behind the centerstand spring. It's only has a small amount of oil, 0.6qts, so a small drain container is all that's required. When you remove the bolt, don't lose the sealing washer on there, Honda says to replace it at each oil change, but in practice, every third or fourth change is enough, just make sure there are no leaks. Take the dipstick out, for a good rapid drain of the old oil.
Replace the drain bolt after a thorough draining, and tighten it with a torque wrench to 18 lbf-ft. If you don't have a torque wrench, see if a neighbor has one you can use, there's always a guy around with good tools! 18 lbf-ft isn't very much, so don't gorillize the thing, remember it's a steel bolt going into an aluminum casting, so take it easy.
Put no more than 0.6 qts of a good 10W-40 oil, and check it with the dipstick. If you see oil at all, start the engine, let it warm for a minute or two, shut it down, let it sit for a bit, and check with the dipstick. Don't overfill the crankcase, just bring it up to the top of the crosshatch area on the stick. You're done!
A couple of things to remember on this engine, it has no oil filter, so change it as often as you feel comfortable with. It holds such a small amount of oil, that the cost is practically nil for the most important service you can do to any engine. Honda recommendations for this service, are far too long an interval, IMHO. Cheap insurance for sure. Second thing, is that there's a filtering screen on this engine, located more towards the front. The large cap, has an O-ring for sealing, and the strainer screen is held in place with a spring. This should be removed, and cleaned and inspected for any metal debris from time to time. Good time to do it, is now, with your oil change. Just look at the screen, and wash it out with solvent, and blow it dry with your airhose. When putting the assembly back into the engine casting, you need to compress the spring a bit manually to get the threads started, but then tighten it up to 14 lbf-ft. You didn't take that wrench back already did you? Please discard the used oil properly, the water you contaminate could be mine.
Chuckwagon
)
It's winter, just replace the front wheel with a ski ;D