Heart Attack, Gen 3 Oil Filter

[Redfish Hunter]

Just another thought here...

I hate Wal-Mart. I really hate Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is Satan's Anus. I hate the complete lack of customer service. I hate the fact that once inside the folks pushing buggies lose all sense of courtesy and forget on which side of the road they drove to get there. I hate that once inside Wal-Mart parents no longer feel responsible for supervising their children and that those children suddenly become juvenile delinquents. I hate that there are 2 checkout lanes open but there are 48 cash registers that are sitting unused and that there are 15 customers in each line. I hate the entire Wal-Mart experience.

I would be willing to pay good money to be able to get everything I need from somewhere besides Wal-Mart.

I love motorcycle dealerships. Yes, I even love Harley dealerships. I love seeing the rows of new bikes. I love seeing the rows of new ATVs. I love the fact that at my local dealership there is a salesman who is an FJR guy. I love chatting with someone who really knows about my motorcycle. I love the fact that when I walk past the shelves full of overpriced oil and polishes and cleaners and helmets I get to a parts counter that has a professional, knowledgable, expert. I love the fact that if they don't have what I need they can get it. I love the fact that the parts person knows my name. I love the fact that the service manager knows my name. I love the fact that the general manager knows my name.

Here is the point of all this: I am willing to pay, I am happy to pay, I am thrilled to pay for that experience. As long as they hold up their end of the bargain, I am willing to pay a little extra for that level of customer service.

Of course, we don't all have a dealership as good as the one I frequent.

 

[puppychow]

Check out Auto zone or O'REILLY, not as cheap as Walmart, but very close.

At the very least you won't have to pay a 300% premium at the dealer just to enjoy the fleeting feeling that you are kind of a big deal, that people know you by name, that you are very important and perhaps you have many leather bound books and your home also smells of rich mahogany.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Canada and the US would probably be better off without Walmart in reality, but now we're getting political... I will go in there for the odd thing, but for the most part stay away.........

Back on topic, the FJR hasn't really changed much in the mechanical department, so all your favourite oils, lubes and filters you've used in the past will continue to serve you well on your Gen III.

 

[rbentnail]

Check out Auto zone or O'REILLY, not as cheap as Walmart, but very close.
At the very least you won't have to pay a 300% premium at the dealer just to enjoy the fleeting feeling that you are kind of a big deal, that people know you by name, that you are very important and perhaps you have many leather bound books and your home also smells of rich mahogany.

And Advance Auto. Those 3 auto places provide much of what I need for my bike.

As for "the dealership experience" I know exactly of which RFH speaks only not at the dealership. It's nice when you go into a place of business be it a bank, drug store, even the dentist and the people who work there call you by name. Only problem is my nearest Yamaha dealer is 30 miles away. The wrong way from anything for me. And they are assholes there so I don't go. The next dealership is 45 miles the other way but they are one of the ones that broke shit on my bike when I had service done there. Nope, ain't going there either.

 

[Old Guy]

The FJR final drive hasn't changed since 2003. Why would the gear oil spec change? Oh yeah, it hasnt. Dude...stop making things difficult. The plugs are different. That's about it. No one has an explanation for the reduction in filter size.

The local dealer told me that the new size fits way more of their products than the old one did. So rather than have to stock a different size for the FJR and whatever else the old one fit, they now have reduced their stock of filters by one size.

 

[Fred W]

Everything is relative...

Yeah, we call Walmart "The Satan's Asshole" here too, but I have seen the videos, and realize that the Walmarts in certain parts of the country (not naming names here) are a whole lot "different and interesting" than the ones around here.

Yeah, they do attract the lowest denominator of clientèle, but around here pretty much everyone does some amount of business with them since they have put a lot of the locally owned smaller places out of business with their aggressive pricing tactics. But quite honestly, we have nobody to blame for that except ourselves.

I do not mind paying more for something either, but not usually just for the "improved experience", more often it's for an item of better quality. When the local Mom and Pop store is selling the same Chinese junk as Walmart at a much higher price, well... sorry old folks I'm going to TSA.

There is also something top be said for convenience. At the new Super-Walmart you can pick up a 5 quart bottle of Mobile 1 and a Purolator filter, and grab a new pair of Wrangler jeans, and some charcoal and a couple racks of vacuum packed ribs, and a case of beer, without driving all over town.

I don't mind having to mingle with the lowlifes at Walmart all that much, if I am saving money while getting the same (not great) quality, and at higher personal convenience. Maybe that just means that I are one.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Check out Auto zone or O'REILLY, not as cheap as Walmart, but very close.
At the very least you won't have to pay a 300% premium at the dealer just to enjoy the fleeting feeling that you are kind of a big deal, that people know you by name, that you are very important and perhaps you have many leather bound books and your home also smells of rich mahogany.

The local AutoZone and O'Reilly are almost next door to one another and are about 600 yards from the local WalMart. Unfortunately I have to visit all of these fine establishments more often than I would like. I truly do not care for any of them. I miss the days when the local Napa owner not only knew us by name, he knew what vehicles we owned. Those days are long gone.

Are you saying that I am NOT a Big Deal?

Oh my goodness! And all this time I am so emotionally shallow that I needed all that positive reinforcement from people I thought were just being nice. I am so stupid, I thought that they were being nice to me because I was always nice to them. I guess I have a lot to learn.

And sadly, the books on the rowboat shaped bookcase beside me are not leather bound but most of them are hard covers. The room smells more like Southern Red Oak since that is what I used to build the walls. Of course right now the air smells agreeably of bacon and butter since I just completed an excellent breakfast.

You fellows have a nice day.

 

[puppychow]

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Cute. Unfortunately I have not seen but a few movies made after 1995 so I never saw that scene. I think Ron Burgundy is a bit better looking than me, he certainly has more hair. Please forgive me for not being knowledgeable about recent movies. I am normally busy with work or play or spending too much money at motorcycle dealerships or typing on this stupid forum.

 

[puppychow]

No worries, I figured you didn't get my good natured ribbing, so I thought I would clear it up..

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I was confused but I figured you deserved the benefit of the doubt. The "many leather bound books and smells like rich mahogany" went right over my head.

And FWIW "Kelly Bundy" is a good bit hotter than the hairy backed walrus that lives in the house I pay for as well. I am pretty sure she does not think I am "kind of a big deal" either.

 

[HotRodZilla]

"Hairy backed walrus???" One of these days, she is going to beat you to death with one of those leather bound books, and I'm not gonna feel bad for you...well, maybe just for a minute, but then I'm gonna laugh.

 

[Bill Lumberg]

At grave risk of ridicule, I must admit, I want to do my own basic maintenance, but have not done so yet on my '14. I need to buy a filter and oil, and different filter wrench, and let them just stare at me. That'll get me to do it myself next time. I've got an 8K service due right now. It took me 20K miles to get around to doing oil/diff changes myself on my last bike. On a new vehicle, it always takes me a while to get past the magical blessing of the shop and slowly take over routine maint myself.

 

[Twigg]

At grave risk of ridicule, I must admit, I want to do my own basic maintenance, but have not done so yet on my '14. I need to buy a filter and oil, and different filter wrench, and let them just stare at me. That'll get me to do it myself next time. I've got an 8K service due right now. It took me 20K miles to get around to doing oil/diff changes myself on my last bike. On a new vehicle, it always takes me a while to get past the magical blessing of the shop and slowly take over routine maint myself.

Bill ... A good shop will perform the routine maintenance correctly. That's about the best you can hope for really, at a high price.

Even the best will not change the oil any better than you can, or with quite as much devotion. Go for it.

One good reason to do it yourself is that it gives you time to examine your bike closely. You will notice things that need attention before they become a serious problem, and you will develop a better mechanical understanding of your machine. It will make you a better rider.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I am going to agree with Twigg on that last post. Most of it anyway.

I am unsure about how the maintenance will make me a better rider. If that is actually improving my skills then I must have been a really horrible rider when I started this journey.

I can fully relate to how Bill is feeling with his new bike. On the other hand, the feeling of happiness and contentment I feel as I step back and see that drain pan full of dirty oil is hard to describe. As I watch my son carry the newly empty oil and filter containers to the trash, my world is good. I just feel good all over knowing that the big Yamaha is ready to go for another run somewhere, anywhere.

Of course, getting rid of the old oil is kind of a downer. I make myself happy by pouring it slowly in the shape of rude messages in my neighbor's lawn at night. I wish HotRodZilla lived closer sometimes.

 

[Twigg]

It's about developing an understanding of how a bike works, and why. Riders are much closer to the machine than a car driver can ever really hope to be. We hear noises, recognize them, and over time come to understand what they mean. In time, we also recognize when things change. Even a basic grasp of how components work helps develop a better awareness of how they work together, what the limits are, etc.

I'm not saying that changing your own oil will turn you into a MotoGP rider.

A small example .... Some years ago I got stuck when my throttle cable snapped. It was buried so deep in the bike that fixing it at the side of an Interstate was not going to happen. The emergency lane of an Interstate is one of the most dangerous places you can get stranded.

However, I had a trick, in part because I knew that bike and its limits. I could start the bike and use the clutch ... as I let out the clutch it would roll .... I could then use the choke lever to increase the revs, and the speed just enough to engage the cruise control ... from there I had a rudimentary throttle, easily enough to get somewhere safer.

None of that would have happened had I not known how those things work.

I'm sure there are better examples, but that one sprung to mind.

I am unsure about how the maintenance will make me a better rider. If that is actually improving my skills then I must have been a really horrible rider when I started this journey.

 

[Redfish Hunter]

I hope you know that I really did know what you meant. I was just being my normal sarcastic self.

Of course, those who have ridden with me can tell you that I suck. Before I started doing my own maintenance I could barely even start the bike. Of course, that bike had a kickstarter.

 

[Twigg]

I hope you know that I really did know what you meant. I was just being my normal sarcastic self.
Of course, those who have ridden with me can tell you that I suck. Before I started doing my own maintenance I could barely even start the bike. Of course, that bike had a kickstarter.

Of course I know that

I also know that folk read this stuff who don't ,,,, heh, even Bustanut gets poked at. So I do try to mix actual information in with the pokey-out tongue, and I doubt very much you are a "sucky" rider ... except on ice, maybe!

 

[Zorlac]

Hmmm, you need a daughter in college driving your 98 Corolla with 183K on it that you're trying to keep on the road until she graduates & gets a job.

That'll get you just as familiar.

It's about developing an understanding of how a bike works, and why. Riders are much closer to the machine than a car driver can ever really hope to be.

 

[Fred W]

It's about developing an understanding of how a bike works, and why. Riders are much closer to the machine than a car driver can ever really hope to be. We hear noises, recognize them, and over time come to understand what they mean. In time, we also recognize when things change. Even a basic grasp of how components work helps develop a better awareness of how they work together, what the limits are, etc.

Totally untrue.

I'm here to tell ya', there are many 4 wheeled gear-head enthusiasts that are every bit as "in-tune" with their machines, how they work, how they sound, and how they feel. Granted, the percentage of drivers that are obsessed enthusiasts is much smaller than the percentage of riders, but they are definitely out there. Just as there are plenty of riders around who are not particularly "in tune" with their machines.

Having been a gear-head since I was old enough to pick up a wrench, I started my obsession with 2 wheelers (mini bikes, then motorcycles), but there was a long period of my time (~20 years of raising children) where there were no motorcycles at all in my life. I tinkered and obsessed over my cars during those years every bit as much as I do over the bikes now.