revtothelimit - motorbike forum

Great read - A nice day was had by the looks of it!

Having to bolt the vinegar down is wild

Not ridden the bike since the September Clacton trip, it's sat forlornly in the garage for a month. I finally serviced it Saturday, didn't feel too bad seeing as it's not been ridden. All went well, until I rode the bike today. Filter can't be tight enough. I'd checked for leaks Saturday and yesterday knowing I was riding it today and all good, but checking today after a 30 mile ride and got some oil round the filter



Did what I did last year which was as tight as possible by hand (1 turn) and then just under half a turn with the socket on the nut on the end of the racing Hiflo filter. It felt pretty tight with the socket and I didn't want to go overboard but it's obviously not tight enough. I've given it a nip and see what happens Sat when I go out. Suzuki say 2 full turns after the gasket contacts the housing but at just over 1.5 turns now it's getting tough to turn without giving it some welly so just worried I don't go too far and pay come next service. Guess I monitor and nip a bit more if needs be. I put a fair amount of oil on the gasket/mating face plus this little leak (not enough to drip) so hopefully the gasket will take a nip or 2 if needs be.

In happier news, riding the bike again was magic, what a thing bikes are, didn't want to go home and start work again. Still hopefully I'll get out Saturday/Sunday if it stays dry.

Must admit to looking at 300cc Scooters and F800 BMWs as possible winter bikes for those salty but mild days.

If the filter is too tight the seal will deform and allow a leak. There's a secret sweet spot for oil filters.

Skub wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 8:00 pm If the filter is too tight the seal will deform and allow a leak. There's a secret sweet spot for oil filters.

Fuck sake, I'm gonna be back and forth now aren't I! Do I go looser or tighter? Well I guess I went tighter earlier so wait and see

Supermofo wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 8:09 pm

Skub wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 8:00 pm If the filter is too tight the seal will deform and allow a leak. There's a secret sweet spot for oil filters.

Fuck sake, I'm gonna be back and forth now aren't I! Do I go looser or tighter? Well I guess I went tighter earlier so wait and see

If it's only a tiny weep, I'd leave it be.

I'd imagine you wiped mating surfaces, a bit of oil on the o ring, a good hand tight should do it. With a heat cycle it should be good.

So worse case back half a turn to hand tight? Do the gaskets take well to much movement?

If you've tightened it and gonna check on next ride, I'd do just that, leave as is.

Oh and yes I put a bit of oil on both O ring and mating surface

Supermofo wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 9:05 pm So worse case back half a turn to hand tight? Do the gaskets take well to much movement?

I wouldn't undo it.

Yorick wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 9:25 pm

Supermofo wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 9:05 pm So worse case back half a turn to hand tight? Do the gaskets take well to much movement?

I wouldn't undo it.

Me neither, the thread inside the filter has probably stretched and will come undone easily if you loosen it, if you think you've over tightened it, buy another filter, they aren't expensive and massively cheaper than an oil filter coming off whilst riding.

Go full on race bike.

Put a suitable size jubilee clip around the filter, then lock wire the clip to a nearby bolt/drilled flange.

Yorick wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 9:25 pm

Supermofo wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 9:05 pm So worse case back half a turn to hand tight? Do the gaskets take well to much movement?

I wouldn't undo it.

My inclination is not to undo it now it's on unless I change it

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 9:51 pm

Yorick wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 9:25 pm

Supermofo wrote: Wed Nov 05, 2025 9:05 pm So worse case back half a turn to hand tight? Do the gaskets take well to much movement?

I wouldn't undo it.

Me neither, the thread inside the filter has probably stretched and will come undone easily if you loosen it, if you think you've over tightened it, buy another filter, they aren't expensive and massively cheaper than an oil filter coming off whilst riding.

I don't think I have, it's certainly not the 2 full turns Suzuki say. It's in the book as 20NM so if anything it's not as tight as Suzuki say I'd have thought, I think I'd just rather not over tighten, so will see how we get on Saturday and go from there. I marked the filter when it touched the mating surface so I could see exactly how many turns it went and also to check it wasn't moving.

Worse case can you change a filter without doing a full oil change? Although to be fair the oil and filter was pretty cheap worse case. Either way I suspect this will be fine while it sits in the garage over winter

You can usually change the oil filter without draining the oil, they're usually above the oil level in the sump.

On my Honda I do the oil filter up to Hondas recommend torque, I trust Honda to know what they're talking about, I always use genuine filters as well, I was using Honda oil when M and P where selling it at half price.

FWIW, I oil the seal and spin it up and once its tight give half a turn more maximum. Never had one leak yet.

Taipan wrote: Thu Nov 06, 2025 1:10 pm FWIW, I oil the seal and spin it up and once its tight give half a turn more maximum. Never had one leak yet.

Me neither till yesterday!

No leak overnight but really need a run out to check

A wee spray of oil will keep it good for the Winter anyway.

Forgot to update this last Sunday. Ran the bike up till the fan come on whilst I was fannying about in the garage and no leaks. Then went out and did 80 odd miles and still no leaks, so hopefully just needed that last nip up. There's a white dot I put on the filter to count rotation so I'll know if it moves, but hopefully job jobbed.

Looking at the weather it drops to 1C Tuesday morning so reckon it'll be start of the salt season, got a fair amount on this weekend but hopefully l can pop out for some Esso Super to brim with for winter.

Been looking at some potential 2nd bikes for winter/not great weather front. At the moment I'm not missing riding enough to get serious but it's in the back of my mind. 1st thought was a 300cc Maxi scoot as that would be something very different, comfy to take the Mrs on, decent weather protection for winter, quick enough for A/B roads and MWay and handy for work/nights at a mates for chucking stuff under the seat. Or BMW F800s or something like a CBR6, local place has OK looking ones of both for 1500-1700 quid. Or and only just thought of this yesterday whilst dossing on Friday afternoon at work, I had a quick look at new Triumph 400s and say a pre reg'd one can be had for 1500 notes down and £49 a month for 2.5yrs when I could roll it for another one. That's tempting as it'll be new and under warranty rather than 20 years old and a string of owners, and I know I won't be keeping it so riding in the salt isn't a problem. Get someone to ACF50 it and at best give it a rinse now and again. Food for thought.

I always seem to go for a Homda as a Winter bike. From the 70s on the list includes several CB125s,a CB350,CD200 Benly,Innova 125 and an SH300i.

When I stopped work in 2020,I sold the SH300i as it was sitting unused,but it was a great runabout.