Kevin Ballowe
Tuned and Synch'ed
The engine oil change is pretty straightforward. There is an easy to find drain plug on the back of the sump, and the cartridge filter is under a cap that's held in place with a single bolt - at the right-front of the sump.
The issue that I had was that the transmission drain plug was obscured by the exhaust crossover pipe. You can see the drain plug here, approx middle of the photo. Pic is right side of the bike, with the muffler removed.
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It's a 24mm cast aluminum cap-style nut with an o-ring seal which looks virtually identical to the drain plugs on many Honda/Yamaha/etc shaft drive pumpkins. Also, there's a round screen filter thingy about an inch long up in there. Fish it out and clean the screen before reassembly.
OK, so I removed the muffler and the clamp on the crossover pipe and then loosened the bolts on the head pipe at the jug. With a bit of coaxing, the crossover separated and the head pipe swung down just enough to get a 24mm socket in there.
I always like to come in just off of the road, with a hot engine - and then drop all of the drain plugs. In this case, the transmission will just have to wait until everything else cools off.
All in all, it's simply a minor inconvenience.
After all, it's nothing like changing the air filter on our GL1800 Gold WIng
The issue that I had was that the transmission drain plug was obscured by the exhaust crossover pipe. You can see the drain plug here, approx middle of the photo. Pic is right side of the bike, with the muffler removed.
.
.
.
.
.
.
It's a 24mm cast aluminum cap-style nut with an o-ring seal which looks virtually identical to the drain plugs on many Honda/Yamaha/etc shaft drive pumpkins. Also, there's a round screen filter thingy about an inch long up in there. Fish it out and clean the screen before reassembly.
OK, so I removed the muffler and the clamp on the crossover pipe and then loosened the bolts on the head pipe at the jug. With a bit of coaxing, the crossover separated and the head pipe swung down just enough to get a 24mm socket in there.
I always like to come in just off of the road, with a hot engine - and then drop all of the drain plugs. In this case, the transmission will just have to wait until everything else cools off.
All in all, it's simply a minor inconvenience.
After all, it's nothing like changing the air filter on our GL1800 Gold WIng