Motorcycle Forum / General / Yamaha / August 2004

This was discussed a few weeks ago and no doubt has been the subject of
conversation for the last several years.  Simply put, the mechanical
engineer (s) who designed the location of the VStar's oil drainplug ought to
be taken out to the nearest field and shot.  They are, no doubt, the same
sort of boy genius who gave us the seat belt alarm, the idea that radio or
television ads must come at you five times the decibel level of regular
programming, or that a list of every single disease you never want to get
should be pounded into your head on these media no less than a dozen times
per day.   Since I changed the oil on this new machine once already, I
thought the second time should be something of a cinch.  Even a dope can
master a job, given sufficient repetition.  No such luck.  I took the bike
out for a spin around the block, just to get the oil warm, then parked it in
the garage and lay down on a towel along the low side by the kickstand,
facing toward the front of the machine.  Already uncomfortable (aging,
abused shoulders), I peered under the crankcase just in front of the
kickstand to view the drainplug, which was about an inch and a half away
from another nut that secured the forward kickstand mount to the frame tube.
Obviously it's U-joint time, but the plug was only five inches off the
floor, tops.  A 3/8" ratchet, short extension, U-joint, and 17mm socket got
me nowhere, as there is little room around or under the floorboard and
kickstand from that position to obtain sufficient leverage.  One must face
the rear of the bike in order to get even half-decent leverage, but the
trouble is, from there, you can't even see the nut you are trying to loosen.
I resorted to my air impact wrench again, which loosened the nut pronto, and
after the oil had drained, tightened the plug up manually with the ratchet,
promising myself to remember (fat chance) that next time, I will loosen the
nut manually BEFORE I take the bike around the block.  My guess is, heating
the engine up makes that nut harder to loosen.
    Afterward, I went around to the "high side" of the bike to change the
oil filter, remembering (bravo!) that I needed to slide the drain pan over
and under the area in question.  This part of the job is easy but somewhat
time consuming, as well, what with the two covers, the Allen head bolts of
differing sizes, the way the filter just sets in there and makes you wonder
how, exactly, it is being held in place just as it should be, etc.  All in
all, the oil change on this bike takes too long and is a pain in the a.s.
It didn't help that it was plenty humid yesterday, if only about 100 degrees
(downright "cool" for around here).  And to boot, I started developing gut
problems before I was finished that cried out for a quick trip to the
crapper followed by some Pepto Bismol, but that's another story having to do
with middle age and my wife's cooking.   In any case, I wonder if some form
of jacking the bike up might make the job easier, or if it's just a pain in
the butt and there's no way around it?