Some oil filter questions

[mrchristian]

Purchased a Suzuki DR200SE with 200 miles on it in January and have used it to commute to college and back. It's around 35 miles round trip, all stop and go traffic (San Fernando Valley) in 80-90 degree California weather so my little air cooled engine is working really hard. I have been told that its a good idea to change my oil every 1000 miles or so.

Did the first service after buying the bike and an oil and filter change at 1,000 miles or so with some $4 semi-synth Castrol from Cyclegear (had some help from a friend who works on cars) Now I've got 2,000 miles and going to do an oil change but i'm not sure if I should change my oil filter or not. The manual says to replace it every other time, but it also says I only need to change my oil every 3,000 miles so i'm not sure if I believe it.

If I replace my oil, should I remove the old filter, clean it off a bit and replace it, or just drain the old oil and put some new stuff in? I also read somewhere on the internet to degrease the old filter before putting it back in but haven't seen that stated by anyone else since.

This is my first time maintaining a vehicle, so sorry if some of these questions seem a little basic.

[MTexile]

Yes, always replace your filter when you change your oil. Remember, you filter is collecting all sorts of gunk. Leaving it on when you change the oil defeats the whole process. Also, when you put your new filter on, do it hand tight, then give it 45-90 degrees with a filter wrench. Lastly, be sure the engine is cool before you put the filter on.

[flynrider]

I wouldn't bother changing the filter every time. You're already changing out the oil 3 times more than the recommended interval. After 1000 miles that filter (and the oil in it) is still going to be pretty clean.

I ride my bikes in city traffic in the Arizona heat (think 110-115 in the summer) and I have always changed my oil and filter at 3K mile intervals. Never had an engine wear problem in 30 yrs. and the filters are pretty clean when I cut them open for inspection.

[Wrider]

Yeah the 1000 mile interval even when it's working that hard is a little more often than you need to. 3000 should be fine and 2000 is extra-careful.
As for changing the filter, I do it every time I change the oil just to make sure that most of the engine in there is new.

As a point of fact for those of you who do your oil changes, found out that using a Fram filter and and will void Yamaha's warranty on their engines... Just FYI.

[HYPERR]

As a point of fact for those of you who do your oil changes, found out that using a Fram filter and and will void Yamaha's warranty on their engines... Just FYI.

Isn't that against the law?

[BuzZz]

It is not against the law if the filter does not meet Yamaha's spec. I would suspect that the Fram does meet the spec, but I have not researched it.. Sounds like somebody trying to pull a fast one.

BTW... I don't care for Fram filters myself and will use another brand on any vehicle if I can find one. (and you can always find another brand...)

[Wrider]

They seem to work for my Camry fine (plus they've got that cool grip on the end that makes it easy to take em off) But tonight I changed my oil and put in some Castrol 10w30 high mileage (pushing 148K on it right now) with a purolator filter.

[mrchristian]

Thanks for the info...I have heard that FRAM stuff is garbage (both motorcycle and car applications) because they make the internals out of cardboard or something and it can come loose and mess up your engine. Never touched them. Hey, why bother with it when it costs the same as the OEM or a K&N anyway?

http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/FilterStudy.html

I'll probably go ahead and drain the oil this time, replace the filter/oil in 1000 miles and then switch to longer intervals after that. Hey, it uses 1L of oil and its $4. I'm getting around 90mpg anyway so its not like its a pricy bike to run

I've been reading up on this guy's site:
http://www.dansmc.com/MC_repaircourse.htm
Some of it is outdated, but sounds like good advice.

Oil changes are easy. I cleaned/reoiled the air filter for the learning experience and that sucked. I used no-toil degreaser and oil $15 worth of stuff on it and it was really messy and took a long time but I feel the difference even though the filter didn't look that bad to begin with. I probably have the most pampered little 1-cylinder dirt bike in SoCal.

[slimcolo]

1000 miles seems about right for the first oil change. I would then change it at 2000 more miles (3000 on odometer) After this I would go to the recommended intervals. Even though manual says to change filter every other time I still do every time.

And as to Fram quality it is garbage. A few years back I bought fram filters for my GS. The o-ring and gasket that fits between filter and filter cover was not thick enough (about 1mm less thick than the stock one, seems that SAE o rings of same diameter, used by Fram, are quite thinner than metric O rings used by BMW, K&N and Emigo) and would not seal spilling oil, a lot on exhaust, (over a quart in one block) luckily I still had the old OEM o ring from last filter and used it. This was a Fram ch 6062 filter used for BMWs w/oil cooler since 76, and Fram ch 6061 used for BMWs w/o oil cooler since 70 I bought these (new from supplier not NOS, in 97) If Fram cannot get the right o ring in package after 27 years do you trust their quality? (the 6061 or 6062 will fit all airheads after 70) Even the cheap arse Emigo filters have the correct o rings.

FYI the Fram crap filters cost about 1-1/2 times as much as K&N or 2/3 that of OEM.

For air filter cleaning (foam type) use Dawn regular scent non-ultra. (this is what UNI filters recommend) I prefer to then use K&N filter oil because it is red and you can really tell if you have whole filter covered. (one small can should do filter at least 10 times) A lot easier and less messy than old Harley foam filters that used motor oil!

[Big B]

fram oil filters are garbage, i've seen many have issues (working in car and bike shops for almost seven years now, trust me, they suck) k&n's are nice - they've got the little nut end on the bottom of the filter that makes it easy to get off, oem filters are about the best way to go.

on another note - do NOT use a filter wrench to tighten the sucker down - it'll make your life hell trying to get the damn thing off. hand tighten only - if your hands get oily and it's tough to tighten the filter down, wrap a shop rag around the filter and use that.