Save money on oil changes

[elizilla]

Bet you thought I was going to advise you about what oil to use, eh? Well, I do have a preference but I'm not about to start a religious war over it.

That being said, here are some places to save money without anyone accusing you of cutting corners...

Order the crush washers in bulk here. $15 for 50, plus $5 for shipping so 40 cents apiece. No huge savings, but handy because this way you just have them on the shelf.

Order the OEM filters in bulk. Get a 10 pack for $72.50 with free shipping here. They're not hard to find individually for under $10, but ten at a time brings them down to $7.20 apiece. Buy a box and split them with a friend - this filter is common to many different Hondas.

 

[Igo]

50/50 Rick?

 

[jmoore]

The parts stores here have a filter sale once a year , ordering a case brings the price in at just over $5.00. They also fit my valkyrie and the FJR so a case wo rks out well for me. jim

 

[Igo]

You owe me $51.85

 

[elizilla]

The parts stores here have a filter sale once a year , ordering a case brings the price in at just over $5.00. They also fit my valkyrie and the FJR so a case wo rks out well for me. jim

Jim, what store? And what time of year?

 

[Bear]

Has anyone used the K&N KN-204? They are not inexpensive ($14.00). They do, however, make oil changes easy. A 17mm box wrench easily spins one on and off. The cartridge also is pre-drilled for safety wiring. I drilled a diagonal hole into the drain plug and I wire the plug and the filter together. It prevents either one from loosening, losing oil, and siezing the engine. Ask me how I know?

 

[MAC]

Hi all, just to bring us back to the old forum for a sec.

David from CT found out that a lot of after market filters won't work on the NT. He changed his oil with his bike on the center stand. After runing the bike and checking for leaks he droped it off the center stand and rooled it out side. When he came back out to the bike there was a pool of oil under it. Then he found that the center stand cut through the oil filter.

He found out that the filter he used was about a 1/2" longer then the OEM.

The OEM filter is two (2) inches long, so if the filter that you buy is more then 2" you will have a problem.

Just for the heck of it put the bike on the side stad, then go to the right side and pull the center stand down and watch how close it is to the filter.

Jim, I used the Fram 6017-A for my Valk, but they are to long for the NT.

 

[elizilla]

Has anyone used the K&N KN-204? They are not inexpensive ($14.00). They do, however, make oil changes easy. A 17mm box wrench easily spins one on and off. The cartridge also is pre-drilled for safety wiring. I drilled a diagonal hole into the drain plug and I wire the plug and the filter together. It prevents either one from loosening, losing oil, and siezing the engine. Ask me how I know?

Sailariel, I haven't tried that filter, no idea if it works or runs into the length issue, but I did a little searching and found a site, powersportsuperstore.com, that was offering them for $10 and change, and offering free shipping if you bought eight of 'em. Retailmenot.com has a couple coupons for them but none worked - maybe they'll have a good coupon again in the future. I've never done business with that merchant, but their site crashed while I was trying coupon codes, and it hasn't come back yet, so take that as you will.

 

[Bear]

Thanks for that info. I have done two changes, and have used K&N. They are the same length as the OEM but a lot easier to remove and replace. I find Strap Wrenches to be a PITA. It gets warm down there. Just about all of the racers use them. I used them on my Ninja. The Honda dealer has no problem with me using them. He says they are better than the OEM. The OEM are one dollar cheaper at the dealer. We have a MC Race Shop in town and he always stocks them. I will try out your source and see if I can get them by the case. Found out today that Auto-Zone sells crush washers for a nickel each. I plan to take one of mine there and see if they have our size. Will put SKU# on the forum when I find out.

 

[tommyr]

Was looking at E-bay for the crush washers. Item number 350448616923 (quantity 16) for $1.98+.98 shipping comes out to 18.5 cents each. If that item number doesn't work
search 'crush washers honda' and it should come up. Part number cross reference listed is 94109-14000 (for Honda & Acura cars) which is identical to the number listed online for the NT700. Although probably can't beat a nickel each at autozone.......

 

[Igo]

Rick and I went in on exactly what Katherine suggested at the opening of this thread. We both need to change oil soon and I'd rather push bamboo under my nails than buy a $20 filter from the loco Honda stealership.

 

[CoolNT]

Rick and I went in on exactly what Katherine suggested at the opening of this thread. We both need to change oil soon and I'd rather push bamboo under my nails than buy a $20 filter from the loco Honda stealership.

$20 filter at the Honda store? You're exaggerating right? I bought one here at the Honda store for $9 and some change.

 

[Igo]

$56 for oil and filter. Not exaggerating. 600 mile service.

 

[Igo]

Rick and I bought bulk Filters and crush washers this week. They should arrive soon. I got the next two oil changes worth of oil for $2 a quart. My local dealer won't cost me a dime.

 

[CoolNT]

Make sure you factor the average cost of a quart of oil after feeding Igo

 

[CoolNT]

haha - LOL.

 

[Herb]

I'm a Walmart guy as well. I've used the Super Tech filters made by Champion for years at the price that John notes. I seldom change my crush washer(only when it's really crushed and worse for wear). Also on the rec from the weight of the old Shadow forum, I use Shell Rotella(used to use the Rotella dino but could only get it in 15/40 which was a problem starting in the winter) so now I use the 5/40 Rotella Syn, but I only change it when I notice the shifting getting clunky or at 8,000 miles whicheve comes first. I just did a recent change at 7,000. I personally think that oil is one of those areas where people hold fiercely onto advice from their fathers meant for a different age with more imperfect machining of engine parts(hence the advice to never switch to synthetic too soon) and less sophisticated oils hence the need to change more frequently. The biggest way to save money is to do it yourself and don't do more often than Honda recommends.

BTW, can people tell that I'm home on vacation trying to find excuses to avoid grading a stack of papers by responding to posts on this forum!?!? Trying to be helpful or just avoiding painful work?

 

[Chucksklrst]

Advanced Auto parts, Mobile One 4T full synthetic Oil. 3 quarts @ $10 x 3 quarts = 30 bucks + Walmart filter ST6607,4 bucks. Crush washer .50 Honda dealer total cost $34.50 Been doing this for years with the ST. Same filter for the ST and NT. You can also get Casteroil 4T full synthetic oil for 9 bucks a quart at Advanced Auto Parts. Save three bucks. Total $31.50 These oils are motorcycle oils.

 

[jmoore]

Elizilla, Sorry for the slow reply I just got back home. One store is Car Quest the other is Sturdyvents they both handle Wix filters Im at work so I dont have the part number but they were originally purshased for my Vakyrie. jim

 

[jmoore]

John, I too have no problem with Wal-mart fiters they just do not carry them here. jim