Oil Change Demon

Just about to do an oil change on my 961 CR.

First snag: Found that I can’t get an allen wrench up between the X-Pipe and the sump plug.
The SBN X-Pipe blocks the head of the plug from all angles.

Backup plan “B”:
Remove SBN silencers, and X-Pipe to access sump plug.

Next snag – I can’t get the X-Pipe free of the header pipes. Wiggle to the right, wiggle to the left, wiggle up wiggle down, over, and over, and nothing.
Tried whacking it with a rubber mallet, and extension, no movement.
Appears the techs at my dealer's shop applied liberal amounts of sealant on the exhaust joints. Now they are virtually welded tight.

Backup plan “C”:
Any suggestion from 961 owners who have encountered, and defeated this maintenance demon?

Yea. Take it to Gold Coast and complain. Let them do it. At 48 bucks for the oil and 35 for the filter, its worth the extra 50 bucks to laugh while they try to unweld your friggin X pipe. After they serviced mine twice, I would swear they wrenched on the dip stick. I had to use a pliers with a leather glove under it so I don't mar it, to open it. Once I checked the oil when I was there, asked then why the hell its so damned tight, he marred my cap because he only used a paper towel under the pliars. They can be real idiots some times. Thumb tight, bone heads. Sorry you ran into those problems, Ed. Spray some lube oil and try again.

I hear you,

The reason I wanted to do my own oil change is because of my last experience at GC.
The mechanic put the oil filter cover on backwards and upside down.
I was in a rush to get out and back home, so didn't notice the screwed-up cover until I was home in the driveway, screaming obscenities inside helmet.
Neighbors must have though I was stoned.
I would just like to avoid another such event.

Maybe I'll call GC tomorrow, and find out what technique they use on oil changes.

To be continued.

The Norton X-pipe allows access to the sump drain plug on my bike . But if memory serves , the SBN exhaust has no mount under the frame , so just unbolt the head pipes at the head and take off x-pipe and head pipes together.

I use a long socket type Allen wrench that fits between the pipes.

I reduced the length of the shorter leg of an Allen key that I could fit over the exhaust pipes and into the drain plug then with the longer arm coming out between the exhaust and sump of engine I found a short length of tube slid it over the Allen key long leg and easily removed the sump plug without removing the exhaust when I found the exhaust which is the standard system on my SF was obstructing the vertical insertion of an Allen key into the sump plug.
There is just enough room to carefully reinsert the plug after oil drain .
I managed to drain and change oil thereby without removing any exhaust part.
On the Mk 2 with new crankcase breather kit there is a non return valve in a pump to oil cooler hose.
One is told to remove both oil hoses from pumps to drain oil cooler but unless one disconnects the non return valve in the pipe to cooler it in theory will not drain.
I left it attached in the oil pipe by its special clips and its pipe connected to the oil pump and measured all oil drained from the engine oil system and believe the mayo ritzy if not all oil had drained from the system without disturbing this non return valve.
The short leg of the required Allen key can easily be cut with an angle grinder or similar.

Yes,

with the standard X-Pipe the sump plug can be removed.
However, with the SBN X-Pipe, the crossover is further forward on the X-Pipe and completely blocks the sump plug from below.
The only other option is to cut down the short end of an allen wrench and try to insert it in the tight space between the top of the X-Pipe and the engine sump.
Easy to do perhaps with dainty lady hands, but not with my man hands. :lol:

What is the exact hex key wrench size for the engine oil drain plug? I am having my doubts about what fits and I don't want to strip it on the first oil change! 5.5mm goes in easy, but feels loose. 6mm doesn't quite go in. This ain't rocket science! Maybe I am partial to old school methods, but why in the world did Norton decide to use hex key in the first place?! :x

The drain plug should be 6mm allen

TonyA said:

The drain plug should be 6mm allen

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Thanks once again, Tony. I guess I need to remove the exhaust pipes to get a proper fit.

Okay. Well, I removed the back half of my exhaust system without too much struggle. I then proceeded to insert my 6mm hex key wrench and discovered more play than I had hoped for. Unfortunately, I could not get that thing to turn ... even after an ample application of Liquid Wrench! So now I am a bit nervous about applying too much leverage for fear of stripping the socket. Does this seem abnormal?! There has been only one oil change performed previous to this and it was done by the guys at MCC.

They tightened it too tight.

contours said:

So now I am a bit nervous about applying too much leverage for fear of stripping the socket. Does this seem abnormal?!

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I understand your feeling.
Had the same experience, ended up putting exhaust back on and taking the bike to the dealer.
They have a fabricated special tool with a welded allen key bit on the end that fits perfectly.

Funny, but view the Norton oil change video from youtube made by Norton Canada below:
https://youtu.be/I2pkEmt_Bqw
It shows an engine hex head sump drain bolt.
WTF!
Don't know when Norton changed to allen head bolt, but it's yet another bad idea from the factory.

Matt at CNW - here is another opportunity for you - make a replacement sump plug with w/12 or 14mm hex head.
End of problem.

Well I guess it must be tight. Is there a chance that the drain plug has been rounded out previously ? The drain plug is a 6mm allen. You can opt to remove the sump plate that the drain plug is in if all goes to hell. That way you can get it drained and if necessary get that plug removed while it is off the bike. Have you thought about using an impact driver with a 6mm hex bit to loosen it ? The 6mm allen should fit with very little play.

TonyA said:

Well I guess it must be tight. Is there a chance that the drain plug has been rounded out previously ? The drain plug is a 6mm allen. You can opt to remove the sump plate that the drain plug is in if all goes to hell. That way you can get it drained and if necessary get that plug removed while it is off the bike. Have you thought about using an impact driver with a 6mm hex bit to loosen it ? The 6mm allen should fit with very little play.

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I was wondering about that, Tony. At least that way I could get a good look at the condition of the socket once the plate is off.

Hi Peter,when Dave cootes did my oil change it was tight,but he shortened the end of the Allen key,hacksawed the end off,& made it come undone that way.

BLIGHTYBRIT/SF said:

Hi Peter,when Dave cootes did my oil change it was tight,but he shortened the end of the Allen key,hacksawed the end off,& made it come undone that way.

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I did that myself once I realized I couldn't fit the hex key in straight up. But the fit still wasn't snug enough so I removed the exhaust pipes to get a better look and try it with a sturdier wrench. It still won't budge. The next thing I'm going to do is buy a small torch (yes, Richard, your wish has come true!) to heat up the area. I might also try a 1/4 inch hex key which is slightly larger than 6mm. The last thing I need is a stripped out socket! :x

That's what I would do . The bolts are easy to get to and the gasket is thick and can be reused many times . I've had mine off for oil in air box fix. There are torque specs for the bolts. Don't over tighten !

I would place an order for a new drain plug as well.

TonyA said:

I would place an order for a new drain plug as well.

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I would really like to find a more normal plug that takes a socket or open end wrench. If I ever get the thing off I'll take measurements and try to track something down. Using a hex key wrench is just plain silly!