Tips

• Remember, hot oil flows much better, so go for a ten minute ride before you pull the drain plug. The oil will come out hot and fast when it goes so be careful! This will help “wash” the inside of your engine with oil and let it flow out nicely.
  
• Clean the oil drain plug area and the drain plug itself thoroughly. That will make it easy to spot a leak after you refill with fresh oil. It will also keep you from introducing dirt from the oil-pan to the inside of the engine. If you do see a leak after re-filling, you may have not tightened the drain plug enough, or you may have over-tightened it. What’s more, leaving oil on that area will attract loads of dirt and make a real mess of the area.
  
• Oil disposal is always a pain. Put it in an old (but clean) bleach or laundry detergent bottle, cause they’re sturdy and have a good screw on top. Most town dumps will take oil if you’re a resident and sometimes only on a certain day. Don’t dump it on the ground or down the drain.
  
• If you ride a sport bike, odds are that your oil filter will be surrounded by your exhaust headers. Since burning oil stinks, try this to keep the oil off of the hot exhaust pipes: get some aluminum foil and wrap it over the top of the headers just below the filter connection!
  
• Be sure not to over-tighten your oil drain plug. The oil pan is usually aluminum and no match for the steel threads of the drain plug. A stripped oil pan can be a big pain. The drain plug should be tightened to the tightness specified in your owner’s manual and no more.
  
• You don’t want dirt and grime from your tools and your shop getting in there, so clean your tools before (and after), and keep a clean work area! Small particles of sand in your oil can destroy your engine!