Change Your Oil

[jonathan180iq]

Here's what you'll need:

17mm socket
10mm socket
Oil pan
10W-40 Oil ( I suggest synthetic, but that's up to you.)
New oil filter
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This is a very simple process.

Crank your bike and let it run for a few minutes.

First, put your bike on some jack stands, if you have them. This isn't an absolute must, but you're pretty much guaranteed to drain all of the oil with the bike flat, as opposed to leaning over on the kick stand.



Next, you'll unscrew the oil filler cap.



Now, slide your oil pan under the bike and unscrew the oil-drain bolt with your 17mm socket. You might want a 2-3" socket extension.

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Once all of the oil drains out of the bike, go ahead and slide over to the oil filter cover and unscrew the 3 bolts using your 10mm socket. You'll want to turn out all three screws at the same time. Don't do one and then go on to another. There is a spring back there keeping pressure on cover and you need to turn one bolt a little, turn the other one, and so forth until they are all off. Oil will come dripping off of the filter and run down the side of your engine. So, you might want to have some shop towels around for clean-up. When you put the new filter back on, make sure it goes in the same way the old one came out.



Once the new filter is installed, bolt the cover back on and re-install the oil drain bolt. You then need to fill the bike with 1.5 quarts of your favorite oil. If you are not changing the filter, I believe you only need to use 1.4 quarts. It is EXTREMELY important that you refill the bike with oil. Do not forget it. I know it sounds silly, but it happens. People forget.

Once the oil settles in, reinstall the oil filler cap and crank 'er up. After a few minutes, take the bike for a ride and make sure everything works out.

*To properly check oil level in your bike, the bike needs to be standing up straight; not leaned over on the side stand. Checking oil level while the bike is on the side stand will result in overfilling the bike.

**Please be aware that some motor oils include friction modifiers which can cause clutch slippage in certain situations. The GZ250 seems very prone to this. To see if your oil of choice contains friction modifiers, check the API starburst on the back. If it says "Energy Conserving" or "Resource Conserving", the please look for a different brand or weight of oil. You want an oil that does not contain friction modifiers.

Enjoy,
Jonathan