A difficult/complicated job (RTL oil change)

[redrazor]

:sour: I did my first oil change yesterday; 2014 RTL w/8,000 miles; ... and it took forever! (3.5hrs)! Mirror and tupperware was about 1/2 hr; getting trike up on ramps and positioning drain pans; putting out most of the needed tools; putting new O-rings on new Gold Plug drain plugs; etc, etc, etc.
The original (#45) Torx oil drain plug was so tight that I had to go out and buy a 3/8 drive hd set of torx sockets and put my 1/2 in breaker bar on it to remove it. Thank God for the new 15mm hex heads on the new plugs. Altogether, it took 5.5 qts of new oil to fill it properly.
The Point Being: ..... There's no way I can remember any oil change I've ever done (and I've done hundreds of them; from Cummins 14 Liters to Divco milk trucks) was as complicated as this was.!! I can now understand why the dealers charge sooo much. I so glad I won't have to do it again for at least 2-3 more years.:sour:

 

[Gwolf]

Second one will take 1/2 as long.............

 

[Mazo EMS2]

Magic Mirror magnets are a great investment. The new drain plugs will help a lot too. Basic car ramps are plenty sufficient. Once you do it a couple times it gets much better. Hopefully more often than every 2-3 yrs...?

 

[ARtraveler]

They do get easier as you do more of them.

Now you know why I let someone else do mine. :yes:

 

[ThreeWheels]

I feel your pain my friend.
The second one will take a fraction of the time. You can't avoid lifting the spyder, but there's a way of sneaking the lower panel out of the way without removing all of the side panels down from the mirrors.
And even if you do take the panels off, with practice you can strip the body work in about 10 minutes.

 

[JayBros]

I use the same approach as ThreeWheels. If you watch Shawn Smoak's video here you can pick up some very good tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPeb1YqV4Gw&feature=youtu.behttp://

Remember, the operator's guide recommends oil changes at 9,300 mi or annually, whichever comes first.

 

[Gldwnger]

You would think after this many years at least one BRP engineer would remove his head from his posterior and install a snap-on vinyl cover or door.It really should not be this complicated.(RANT OVER)

 

[trikermutha]

I just lift mine with a jack a couple of inches to get to the drain plugs. They rest is on the top to get to the oil filter and tupperware removal.

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

:sour: I did my first oil change yesterday; 2014 RTL w/8,000 miles; ... and it took forever! (3.5hrs)! Mirror and tupperware was about 1/2 hr; getting trike up on ramps and positioning drain pans; putting out most of the needed tools; putting new O-rings on new Gold Plug drain plugs; etc, etc, etc.
The original (#45) Torx oil drain plug was so tight that I had to go out and buy a 3/8 drive hd set of torx sockets and put my 1/2 in breaker bar on it to remove it. Thank God for the new 15mm hex heads on the new plugs. Altogether, it took 5.5 qts of new oil to fill it properly.
The Point Being: ..... There's no way I can remember any oil change I've ever done (and I've done hundreds of them; from Cummins 14 Liters to Divco milk trucks) was as complicated as this was.!! I can now understand why the dealers charge sooo much. I so glad I won't have to do it again for at least 2-3 more years.:sour:

How to loosen DRAIN plugs ..... this has been posted dozens of times.... the plugs get quite hot, and the oil on the threads forms a VENEER .... it's like Glue .... if you put the proper socket in, and rap it with a hammer, it will break the veneer .... and the plug will come out very easy :clap: ... I always set my ratchet Before I use it , works every time .... good luck on your next change ...... Mike :thumbup:

 

[redrazor]

I did put a little Never Seez on the new drain plugs. Also; I left off the 2 under-panels that give access to the drain plugs. Drained out almost 6 qts. 5.5 is holding the line now.
The Gold Plug drain plugs will make it much easier next time. :yes: Big Bore Cummins diesels hold 11 gallons of oil Maybe at 74, I'm getting too old to crawl around on the garage floor like a lizard to get to everything. Lower back still painful today. Oh well; I just took a little 10 mile ride; and she shifts/runs even smoother and cooler than before. also: I'll probably only put on about 2-3,000 per year on this trike.

 

[cptjam]

You change oil by mileage or time. 9300 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first!

 

[Mikey]

At what mileage do you guy's change out your trany filter??

 

[trikermutha]

HCM filter change at 28K.

 

[Peacekeeper6]

If BRP would install Dzus fasteners on their body panels, I'm betting you could cut that oil change procedure time in half, LOL.

But seriously, Magic Mirrors and a power drill makes short work of those panels. I'm betting that the next oil change you do will be significantly shorter.

 

[BeRight]

IMHO all that follows:

BRP on road vehicles vary significantly from ease of maintenance/repair/MOD to down right hard and time consuming.

This also tracks with cost of vehicle - lower the price of new vehicle, the easier it is to maintain/repair and MOD.

My ratings: Ryker - easiest F3 moderate RT/L Hardest

Seems philosophy is the more you pay for vehicle the more should/can pay for maintenance/repair by Dealer and the harder they make it for owner.

I've owned Spyder RS, F3-S and now own RT. I have done all maintenance/repairs/mods (except recalls of course) on my RS and F3.

The RT I find intimindating - even just to do MODS - the long long large mostly snap off panels - seems likely potential for me to damage (scratch/gouge/break connector), especially over time.

Difficult to reach things, such as oil filter. Difficult to get to things - multiple panel removal just to get to something under one panel.

I know I am not going to be able to stop myself from doing MODS over the winter (if I decide to keep it) that will require multiple panel removal - in the cold no less - not really looking forward to it as I have on my other two bikes.

Even taking to dealer - technicians haven't dealt with this before or infrequently - damage they do, might or might not end up in a pissing contest on whether damage was already there of not. I'll probably do a close up video, time stamped, walk around bike when at drop off.

Dealers in my area all sell multiple brands of on/off road vehicles - Spyder/Ryker are there lowest volume - some can't even do adequate service on F3's.

Am I overly concerned about the RT??????

 

[Peter Aawen]

.......

Am I overly concerned about the RT??????

Yep! :lecturef_smilie:

Not particularly aiming this at you, BR, more just putting this out there for those who are particularly worried about doing basic stuff on their Spyder/Rykers... Remember, it's JUST an engine & driveline in a motor vehicle, just like any other.... sure, there are some things you might not see on every other motor vehicle out there, but the only real differences between an RT & an F3 or an auto are that you've gotta take some Tupperware off before you do too much; there's a few fairly obvious 'safety items' you might not want to risk playing with; and because it's fuel injected instead of carburettored, there's a few things involved with that you probably can't/shouldn't try to do yourself!

But checking &/or changing the oil - no biggie, there's a whole lot worse vehicles out there for doing either; you just hafta take your time & follow the proper procedure. Same thing with taking wheels off &/or getting tires fitted - there's a whole lot worse out there for doing that too - some of which if you undo the wrong nut at the wrong time can literally kill you!! :shocked: However, I don't think that there's anything at all on a Spyder that's quite so instantly lethal, and most of us can easily recognise when there's a need to go to the professionals for those things that could be potentially lethal eventually, if you stuff them up or get them wrong enough (& really, a lot of the time we only go to the so called 'professionals' so that there's someone to blame if it all goes pear shaped - some of those 'professionals' won't ever be able to do as good a job as you could yourself! :sour but for almost everything else that you can/should be able to do yourself, if you can actually get down low enough to work on it &/or get back up from that low once down; if you know which end of a screw driver to put in the slot & which end to turn; if you know which end of the spanner goes over the nut & which end you push/pull on; then you are probably MORE than capable of managing all the basic maintenance tasks on your Spyder! hyea:

You've survived to this stage of your life without too much major trauma, haven't you? Why not trust yourself juuust a little and have a go? Most likely, the MOST DANGEROUS thing you can do with any Spyder/Ryker is actually ryde it on the road & in traffic; are you going to avoid doing that cos you might get it wrong?? If you are, then why'n the heck did you buy one in the first place?? :gaah:

So when it comes to doing basic maintenance or fitting up some bolt/stick on Farkles &/or mods, sure, ask any questions you feel you need to, after all, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask! But as for actually having a go at the basic &/or simple maintenance items, Just do it, you know you want to! hyea:

And don't ever worry too much about stuffing anything up - I'm pretty sure that there'll almost ALWAYS be someone who's stuffed up even more monumentally than you might think!! :lecturef_smilie: Do you really need to ask me why I'm so sure about this?? pps:

 

[BigGuy66]

I feel your pain my friend.
The second one will take a fraction of the time. You can't avoid lifting the spyder, but there's a way of sneaking the lower panel out of the way without removing all of the side panels down from the mirrors.
And even if you do take the panels off, with practice you can strip the body work in about 10 minutes.

Is your Spyder up on three ramps? It looks level to me. What is the rear tire sitting on? I need a way to get my 2019 RTL lifted to change oil. I heard that you can't/shouldn't drive just the front wheels up on ramps.

 

[Mikey]

I do, matter of fact when I do a oil change, I back up the ramps so they aren't in the way of the oil pan and getting to the drain plugs!

 

[Peacekeeper6]

There are so, SO many vids on YT that will alleviate your perceived intimidation of working on the RT. To those who made the time to document their work and help those like us, I sincerely thank you !!

I was like you once, but the more I viewed and worked on my RT, the more comfortable I got. The only way to feel comfortable working on your bike is to, as Nike once proclaimed, "JUST DO IT". And if you view your bike as a giant LEGO set, it really does make it easier.

 

[redrazor]

I'm surprised that my OP got so many responses.:clap: Seems that many RTL owners feel many of the frustrations as me when it comes to DYI repairs and maintenance.
I still love my RTL, and will surely be able to improve my required repair times as I do more of them. Thanks to all of you for your input. Hope it helps the Newbees as well.:cheers: