I just changed my oil.... and......

[3dogs]

Check the casting that partially surrounds the oil drain bolt. I broke a piece off when loosened the oil drain bolt and it fell into the drain pan. The casting is there supposedly to protect the drain bolt from road debris.

 

[maddad]

I'd be more concerned about what you said about the change in shifting and temperature. Although I change my oil, I've never looked close enough to look for what be coming out with the oil. I do change it often.

If it were me, I consider the oil change you just did as a flush and change it again now. You can't get all of the oil out of the motor during a change, so some of that old oil is still in your engine today.

You'll see a slight difference between non-synthetic and synthetic oil but not as much as you mention above.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Check the casting that partially surrounds the oil drain bolt. I broke a piece off when loosened the oil drain bolt and it fell into the drain pan. The casting is there supposedly to protect the drain bolt from road debris.

Had the same thing happen to me and the engine hasn't exploded, the forks didn't collapse, the sky is still blue and the grass is still green.

To the OP: it's outta the engine now so you're fine. If it was gonna hurt, it's too late now. Screw it and just ride...

 

[Allnight]

I'm not as much of a gear-head as some of the people that have chimed in here, but I agree with what FJRBluesman and BikerGeek99 said: you got the chunk out, so go ride.

If it were my bike, I would change the oil again, as soon as convenient, just for the flush idea that maddad suggested. The peace of mind would be worth the cost of the oil and filter and effort to do it.

Mike

 

[Yambone]

-Before the oil change, temperature was 4-5 bars. This morning it was 3-4. However, it's 35F outside this morning.

That seems way too high. My '04 has never seen a "5" though 4 is fairly common on a hot day in stop-and-go traffic. A 4 on a cold day like you mentioned would be extremely rare unless major extended traffic stoppage. I think the Gen II bikes like yours have improved air flow, so should be better (?). Did it hit 4 while you were moving at all? I would get it out on the highway and see if you could get it to cycle down to 2, which should be easy to do on a cold day. (Other Gen II-ers chime in if I'm wrong.)

Glad you got the oil swapped--I'd do like some suggest and change it again for grins and forum posting fodder. :clapping:

 

[mcatrophy]

-Before the oil change, temperature was 4-5 bars. This morning it was 3-4. However, it's 35F outside this morning.

That seems way too high. My '04 has never seen a "5" though 4 is fairly common on a hot day in stop-and-go traffic. A 4 on a cold day like you mentioned would be extremely rare unless major extended traffic stoppage. I think the Gen II bikes like yours have improved air flow, so should be better (?). Did it hit 4 while you were moving at all? I would get it out on the highway and see if you could get it to cycle down to 2, which should be easy to do on a cold day. (Other Gen II-ers chime in if I'm wrong.)

Glad you got the oil swapped--I'd do like some suggest and change it again for grins and forum posting fodder. :clapping:

As a "Gen II-er", I'm chiming in. We have twice as many bars on our temperature gauges. 4 bar is normal, still below half scale, equivalent to 2 bars on a Gen I.

 

[lharrell79]

Well, on the ride home from work today, everything went great. I know changing your oil shouldn't make that big of a difference, but this one seriously did. I know i'm not imagining things either. The bike really does act like a completely different animal now. The shifting is firmer, and the clutch actuation is much smoother. Before the clutch would catch abrubtly, now it just hooks up normal. The bike seems smoother now as well. That part could be my imagination though.

I noticed one other thing. When I got the bike, the exhaust is discolored. The midpipes are almost purple yellow, and the cans are a slight yellow. I have not noticed this kind of discoloration on other FJR's. Can any of you confirm whether or not your exhaust is discolored? I'm wondering if the oil in the bike was extremely old, causing the bike to run hot, and providing less than adequate lubrication. As of now, she run's great. I will be considering this oil change as a flush, and will be doing another change in about 500 miles.

Lucas

 

[UHOH]

Can any of you confirm whether or not your exhaust is discolored? ...

my '04 cans are not yellowed @ 52,000. I'd guess discoloring was prolonged heavy throttle application; an Iron Butt guy would know.

At some point you're just going to want to accept and enjoy riding the bike rather than worrying about prior use.

good you've got fresh oil in it. Strong motor.

 

[lharrell79]

Can any of you confirm whether or not your exhaust is discolored? ...

my '04 cans are not yellowed @ 52,000. I'd guess discoloring was prolonged heavy throttle application; an Iron Butt guy would know.

At some point you're just going to want to accept and enjoy riding the bike rather than worrying about prior use.

good you've got fresh oil in it. Strong motor.

Trust me, I have no regrets about this bike. $6000.00 for an 07 with 16000 miles. Just trying to figure out how the previous owner treated her. He was an older man who lived out in the sticks. I'm beginning to think he didn't take the greatest care of her. That's where I come in. I'm going to treat her right.

Lucas

 

[S76]

As previoulsly noted change the oil again in a thousand miles. I use that oil in everything I own and it will get dirty fast the first time you use it. It seems to have more detergents than most. You may need to do 2 short oil changes to get things cleaned up.

Don't worry about the metal. As mentioned, probably just a piece of loose casting slag that may have passed between two gears.

Get some chrome polish and the cans and pipe will clean right up.

 

[Karl]

Can any of you confirm whether or not your exhaust is discolored? ...

my '04 cans are not yellowed @ 52,000. I'd guess discoloring was prolonged heavy throttle application; an Iron Butt guy would know.

At some point you're just going to want to accept and enjoy riding the bike rather than worrying about prior use.

good you've got fresh oil in it. Strong motor.

Sounds like the oil could have been either regular car oil with friction modifiers (dodgy clutch operation) or it was just beat to hell. I assume he gave you no service records at all? If not, call the shop he used that you mentioned and get the invoices for the work performed.

Also, while you're at it might as well flush everything. I mean the rear drive, the coolant, and all the hydraulics. That way you know what, when, and where from now on.

 

[rydmohr]

Just a newbee here but I am replacing my clutch. 16000 mi apxt. One of the friction plates exploded and was in 20 pieces when I removed it. Because not all the pieces were recovered I pulled the oil pan where I found the missing piece and a lot of friction material. If I were you I would put the engine under heavy load, full throttle in 4th gear from 3500 rpm and see if there is some slippage. Engine spinning faster than accelerating. If so have your clutch inspected. my 2 cents.

 

[lharrell79]

Just a newbee here but I am replacing my clutch. 16000 mi apxt. One of the friction plates exploded and was in 20 pieces when I removed it. Because not all the pieces were recovered I pulled the oil pan where I found the missing piece and a lot of friction material. If I were you I would put the engine under heavy load, full throttle in 4th gear from 3500 rpm and see if there is some slippage. Engine spinning faster than accelerating. If so have your clutch inspected. my 2 cents.

Eeeeeeeek :dribble: :dribble: That's terrible. There's definitely no slipping. I've ran the piss out of her a couple of times now, and she pulls hard and fast. However, I will try again tomorrow, just for giggles.

Lucas

 

[lharrell79]

Can any of you confirm whether or not your exhaust is discolored? ...

my '04 cans are not yellowed @ 52,000. I'd guess discoloring was prolonged heavy throttle application; an Iron Butt guy would know.

At some point you're just going to want to accept and enjoy riding the bike rather than worrying about prior use.

good you've got fresh oil in it. Strong motor.

Sounds like the oil could have been either regular car oil with friction modifiers (dodgy clutch operation) or it was just beat to hell. I assume he gave you no service records at all? If not, call the shop he used that you mentioned and get the invoices for the work performed.

Also, while you're at it might as well flush everything. I mean the rear drive, the coolant, and all the hydraulics. That way you know what, when, and where from now on.

I'm almost positive the bike wasn't rode hard. The owner was the original owner, and was probably 68-70 years old. He was very easy going, and told me that he just rode the bike on the weekends, usually 300 mile rides.

 

[worldbound4now]

-Before the oil change, temperature was 4-5 bars. This morning it was 3-4. However, it's 35F outside this morning.

That seems way too high. My '04 has never seen a "5" though 4 is fairly common on a hot day in stop-and-go traffic. A 4 on a cold day like you mentioned would be extremely rare unless major extended traffic stoppage. I think the Gen II bikes like yours have improved air flow, so should be better (?). Did it hit 4 while you were moving at all? I would get it out on the highway and see if you could get it to cycle down to 2, which should be easy to do on a cold day. (Other Gen II-ers chime in if I'm wrong.)

Glad you got the oil swapped--I'd do like some suggest and change it again for grins and forum posting fodder. :clapping:

The Gen II bikes also have a more "ticks" on the temp. gauge than those of us with Gen I's. Apples and oranges my friend.

 

[OkieBikerDude]

I have installed a final drive drain plug (with magnet) in my crankcase drain in place of the original just to help catch any iron parts that may come loose. The drain plugs are the same size and thread and this will help you monitor any change in internal parts wear (I change my own oil). I think they list for about $5 and you could make the change with your next oil change.

OBD

 

[FJR1300Mark]

I agree with others on making your next oil change pretty quick. And I'd look at drained oil to look for bits or parts in all the drained oil. You mentioned the clutch was behaving differently after the oil change. Anyway the piece you got out of the oil could be a part of the clutch, cage, etc? If you don't find more parts in the next oil change, and the bike is running well. I 'd keep riding it. If the previous owned didn't do most of the service you should also read through the bin of facts on recall items for your bike. You should bring all the service up to date. They are great rides.

 

[Yambone]

-Before the oil change, temperature was 4-5 bars. This morning it was 3-4. However, it's 35F outside this morning.

That seems way too high. My '04 has never seen a "5" though 4 is fairly common on a hot day in stop-and-go traffic. A 4 on a cold day like you mentioned would be extremely rare unless major extended traffic stoppage. I think the Gen II bikes like yours have improved air flow, so should be better (?). Did it hit 4 while you were moving at all? I would get it out on the highway and see if you could get it to cycle down to 2, which should be easy to do on a cold day. (Other Gen II-ers chime in if I'm wrong.)

As a "Gen II-er", I'm chiming in. We have twice as many bars on our temperature gauges. 4 bar is normal, still below half scale, equivalent to 2 bars on a Gen I.

DOH!! Thanks for the correction. And glad Lucas doesn't appear to have an overheating engine problem on his hands.

Now I wish I had more bars to play with...

 

[Karl]

Can any of you confirm whether or not your exhaust is discolored? ...

my '04 cans are not yellowed @ 52,000. I'd guess discoloring was prolonged heavy throttle application; an Iron Butt guy would know.

At some point you're just going to want to accept and enjoy riding the bike rather than worrying about prior use.

good you've got fresh oil in it. Strong motor.

Sounds like the oil could have been either regular car oil with friction modifiers (dodgy clutch operation) or it was just beat to hell. I assume he gave you no service records at all? If not, call the shop he used that you mentioned and get the invoices for the work performed.

Also, while you're at it might as well flush everything. I mean the rear drive, the coolant, and all the hydraulics. That way you know what, when, and where from now on.

I'm almost positive the bike wasn't rode hard. The owner was the original owner, and was probably 68-70 years old. He was very easy going, and told me that he just rode the bike on the weekends, usually 300 mile rides.

Actually I meant that the oil may have been beat to hell. He may have just had the initial 600 mile service done and then just rode it and topped off. Who knows? Another reason to try and get the service records from the shop.

 

[Geezer]

I don't want to turn this into an oil thread, but you can't tell how old the oil is or how much abuse it's had by only the color.

Regarding that bit of metal, Did you respond to the comment that it could be from that protective ring that surrounds the drain bolt on the bottom of the oil pan?