Learn the steps needed to maintain your own ride.
By Andie Gaskins from Fast Andie Racing
The first step is to go shopping and gather up all your needed supplies. If this is your first project, you may require more supplies the first time. You need to have something to catch the oil (oil pan), oil filter wrench to remove and reinstall the oil filter, wrench to remove oil drain plug, funnel, rags, the proper oil for your machine, oil filter, and possibly o-rings. You can find such items at your local motorcycle dealer, motorcycle repair shop, or local parts chain stores, such as Napa, AutoZone, etc. If you go to your local motorcycle dealer or repair shop, chances are pretty high that the person at the parts counter will be able to gather up the correct oil filter, oil, and o-rings. They usually have the knowledge readily available to access that information for you.
If you are shopping without guidance, you may want to purchase a service manual specific to your motorcycle (for many reasons-we will discuss again in a few steps!) The parts people can make mistakes because they get in a hurry, are really busy, etc., so it’s important to educate yourself and know if you have the correct parts. If you get home and something doesn’t feel right, it’s ok to ask someone. A part could have been removed at one time from the original packaging, and the wrong part returned. Again, trust your gut and ask if necessary.
