Got a few jobs done around the garden, jet wash green paths etc and then the jetwash bypass valve bust water coming out everywhere. Job stopped! Youngest says, " for Fathers Day why don't we go for a ride around and I'll buy us a fish and chip tea!" "Yes, why not!" After that it only seemed right for me to fuel both bikes up and buy some sweets for pudding. A stop for sweetie consumption on the way home A very pleasant evening ride around through the lanes of maybe 30 to 40 miles. Weather was good for the ride despite having to stop jetwashing earlier for 20 minutes or so, for a passing through very heavy rain session
Had a nice rideout to the Grosser Feldberg in Frankfurt a few days ago. A good friend who was keen to ride together since I ordered my bike joined. Her Harley is more than 30 years old and in the meantime has 125000km on the clock.
Technically, this isn't what I've been doing with my Triumph since it was my handsome husband who had the "fun," but close enough. HH so kindly was doing periodic maintenance which included an oil change. And like @Eldon's and @FellZebra's recent experiences with things that don't cooperate, things did not go as smoothly as he expected. He struggled mightily trying to remove the oil filter, and then when it wouldn't budge, he struggled some more. Who installed the non-budging filter previously? The dealership. And from reading various posts it seems this is not an uncommon problem...way over-torqued filters from dealerships...do they all do it?? What should have been a 30-minute max job turned into much longer with lots of interesting words, numerous tools, googling, and looking to TTF (and maybe another forum) for help. Those last two were my contributions in addition to me asking him if he was sure he was turning it the right direction. Yes, he's been riding since 1966 and has done nearly every kind of maintenance (roadside and in the shop) including a current motor rebuiild on his 1971 Norton, but I still had to ask the question! Fortunately, he's a kind and patient person so I didn't have to duck when I asked and he unequivocally assured me "yes, honey." And to add just a little more insult, it was a hot day in Georgia (and it's nice and humid in GA unlike the dry heat @Sandi T has in AZ) and he was laying on his back since the motorcycle rack is currently occupied by the above-mentioned Norton. After trying various wrenches, a clamp, and a strap (and him suffering my suggestion that our 17 yo son should try since he's strong, which HH roundly rebuffed), he finally prevailed by using sandpaper (my contribution gleaned from another forum) under channel locks. The filter got a bit deformed in the process but not anywhere close to what would have been had he resorted to the big screwdriver technique (also suggested by me but already considered and declined by HH as he wanted to avoid being in a worse fix if the screwdriver tore through the can). After completing the job, his next step was ordering a filter wrench the right size for my filter. He has every other tool in the shop, so how'd we miss having that one, I wondered, thinking that he'd have needed it for his 1976 Triumph...then I learned his Triumph doesn't even have a filter. I take it all as a win-win...oil changed and a new tool on order! But I wonder if we should have ordered it in pink instead
That tightness for filters is ridiculous! I basically wipe an oiled wet finger around the new filter seal then put it on hand tight, with a rag for extra grip, to finish it off. I have the tools you are purchasing, in black I may add, and they are yet to fail. I also have a few other options, to suit various access restrictions, including a strap wrench which I made from an old socket and a discarded piece of seatbelt some 20 years ago when I was skint
@Martine glad it got sorted in the end. But yeah I've had challenges getting filters off in the past and wondered whoever in the dealership / previous ownership feels the need to tighten them up so much! And just like @Eldon I've also got a range of oil filter tools to use depending on tightness / accessibility including the good old home made one with a bar and some webbing!
I find the clamp type filter removal tool awkward to use due to lack of room, I have one I used to need for my car which had better access. The tool HH bought (not pink) is so easy to use, did mine yesterday as it happens but mine is the super version as it is blue. It was cheap as chips a few years back but they seem to be £10 and upwards now but still a handy tool.
If the filter's tight I always use the old fashioned never fails method, long screwdriver hammered through the filter and twist it off
Over the years Triumph kept changing the size of the oil filter so I now have a collection of removal tools
I'm hoping I never need to add another to my collection, especially pink even though it is my wife's favorite colour
I had an issue with an overtightened oil filter once. The dealer had serviced my Honda VFR and when I came home I saw my rear tyre covered in oil. I appeared that the oil filter was tightened so hard it had buckled and later cracked and leaked all over the bike on the way home. The dealer immediately came to pick up the bike and fix it, but this could have ended a lot worse.
I had an issue with an overtightened oil filter once. The dealer had serviced my Honda VFR and when I came home I saw my rear tyre covered in oil. I appeared that the oil filter was tightened so hard it had buckled and later cracked and leaked all over the bike on the way home. The dealer immediately came to pick up the bike and fix it, but this could have ended a lot worse.
Overtightening things can have many repercussions; Stripped threads Stretched bolts Damaged fittings Etc. The classic is tightening an oil leak even further when the gasket/seal/o ring is damaged. No matter how tight you do it, the joint will not be oil tight if the circumferential pressure isn't somewhere near uniform. A bolt (thread) works by applying a clamping force between two or more components. If the bolts stretched into its "plastic zone" which comes after its " elastic limit" has been breached, then the assembly is just waiting to inevitably fail.
Wow, @LexvanH , that's got to win the prize for most over-tightened oil filter of all time. Glad it wasn't a lot worse! That should have earned you free oil changes for life at that dealership, but you'd never want to go back there even for free after that experience!
@David Cooper That looks like a never fail method! When I was involving myself in HH's task with my helpful inputs, on another not-to-be-named Triumph site I came across someone's description of that method and their sinking feeling when the can started to rip and then their elation when the filter broke loose just before full failure. So, it does seem to be a never-fail method!
I love it! @ajc400, you're the one person who's copped to being the overtightener...you can't possibly be the one guy working at all of these dealerships everywhere! You must be the trainer for them all!
It was annual service time for my 765 STRS so today I duly completed this, I did the 12,000 service last year including the valve check, and these were all within the tolerances, back to todays service, the dealers only do an oil and filter change, check for any stored faults on the ECU, a chain lube and a check over, well that is not for me, I remove the belly pan to give a thorough clean around the headers etc, check the balance of the throttle bodies, check cooling fan operation, ABS pump, Throttle body sensor position, Etc Etc, new OEM oil filter and sump plug washer, fully synthetic engine oil, checked strength of engine coolant, checked front and rear brake fluid for signs of contamination, removed front and rear brake pads for calliper clean, thorough chain clean and lube, checked all instrument functions and lights, indicators etc etc. tyre pressures have remained the same since fitting (I do check prior to every ride), and re set the service interval. Changed the exhaust (again) and put the Yoshimura back on, I have 3 exhausts plus the original, although I have never used it from new. I bought both a rear K Tech shock and front fork kit, I fitted the rear shock but to be honest it was not a night and day improvement, it would make a difference for racing, but for the odd track day and spirited road riding was it worth 2.5K probably not, so over they went to a good friend for his Supersport road race machine, he rates them over stock for racing. What has impressed me are the new Bridgestone S23 tyres, these are fantastic, I always run Metzler Racetech RRs, but these give a plusher ride over our UK roads, and the grip they offer is brilliant. Anyway all done and ready for the S100 Road Racing in just over 2 weeks time. Ride safe all from an ageing Rocker.
