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600 mi service minor PIA

the Ferret

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Geez can Honda make things more difficult?

Did my 600 mile service this morning. On the 2021 when removing the belly pan there is a clip that holds some wiring in the front. It's a pain to unhook and hook.

The drain plug is buried.

The oil filter was installed by Godzilla.

If Honda had put a little cutout for the DCT filter in the belly pan you could do the whole oil change without removing the belly pan at all I believe. And if they put an oval slot in the belly pan you could check your coolant level without removing the belly pan.

Next gripe is the chain adjustment... where there are giant gaps in the adjustment marks on the side of the swingarm, and the bracket that holds it has the indexing mark at the top where there are no marks.

Then that stupid plate on the back of the swingarm for the chain adjustment.. geez how cheap is that?

Finally got it done, and put back together. Glad that's a once every great once in awhile thing!

And for anyone that think that it's easy, you should do a CB1100. THAT'S how it should be to change a motorcyc;le's oil. Honestly.
 
I’m sure the second and subsequent lower cover removals will be easier.
Regarding chain adjustments, get a Motion Pro chain alignment tool and forget about Honda’s inaccurate marks on the swing arm.
I learn great stuff on this forum.
I ordered a Motion Pro chain alignment tool. Thanks.
 
Subsequent oil filter changes should be at 16,000 mile intervals. I don't know how the '21 is built. Do you think you can change the oil only at 8000 miles without removing any cowl? I can on my '12 manual.
 
Subsequent oil filter changes should be at 16,000 mile intervals. I don't know how the '21 is built. Do you think you can change the oil only at 8000 miles without removing any cowl? I can on my '12 manual.
Yea you can drain the oil, and possibly change the front filter but the clutch filter requires the belly pan removal it seems.
 
I know it says Chain adjustment every 600 miles but is that really necessary?
I adjust the chain only when necessary. A new chain can go several thousand miles with no attention. As the chain ages, adjustment need can become more frequent.
 
On my CB 1100 I can go thousands of miles without chain adjustments. Not sure about this NC yet. From what I've read on this forum the stock chains can be kinda problematic with tight links and excessive wear, so I will pay greater attention to it than I would the CB.

BTW I'm trying something different on this chain. For chain lubrication I poured 80/90 weight oil (left over from my shaft drive FJR) onto a rag and ran the chain thru it several times, hitting both side plates, top and bottom of the rollers. Honda recommends (or at least used to) 80/90 for chain lube. Thought I'd give it a shot.
 
I poured 80/90 weight oil (left over from my shaft drive FJR) onto a rag and ran the chain thru it several times
Much easier if you take a 1/2" to 3/4"paint brush, dab the brush into a small container holding some gear oil, and then paint the oil on rather than holding on to a rag.
Safer too as you rotate the rear wheel with your right hand and hold the brush with your left.
No fingers anywhere near the rear sprocket.
 
On my CB 1100 I can go thousands of miles without chain adjustments. Not sure about this NC yet. From what I've read on this forum the stock chains can be kinda problematic with tight links and excessive wear, so I will pay greater attention to it than I would the CB.

BTW I'm trying something different on this chain. For chain lubrication I poured 80/90 weight oil (left over from my shaft drive FJR) onto a rag and ran the chain thru it several times, hitting both side plates, top and bottom of the rollers. Honda recommends (or at least used to) 80/90 for chain lube. Thought I'd give it a shot.

I use a 50/50 mix of ATF and 80/90w gear oil. Apply it on the top of the bottom chain run with an old toothbrush dipped once in the mixture. Once for emphasis. The wheel stays as clean as your FJR's.

A good chain also won't need adjustments for thousands of miles. The OEM not so much.
 
Yea I'm rotating the chain away from the sprocket (in other words backwards from normal rotation) and find the rag does a better job for me, both cleaning the chain and lubricating it at the same time. I do hold the rag with my left hand in the center of the bottom rail and rotate with my right hand, turning rear wheel clockwise. No way to pull it into the sprocket.

I actually know a kid that lost a finger rotating his wheel the other way, well he's no longer a kid now cause it happened 46 years ago. He was probably 12 at the time. Lawyer down in town now lol.
 
+1 on the Motion Pro adjustment tool -- done reading those stupid marks on the swing arm.
What position are you setting the Motion Pro adjustment tool to when setting the slack out of interest? I have one but haven't used it for ages ...lost the card that it came with that indicated what the different points on the adjustment equated to in terms of chain slack :)
 
What position are you setting the Motion Pro adjustment tool to when setting the slack out of interest? I have one but haven't used it for ages ...lost the card that it came with that indicated what the different points on the adjustment equated to in terms of chain slack :)
I believe the Motion Pro tool mentioned is for aligning the sprockets to one another, not for setting chain slack.

Although I have the Motion Pro chain alignment tool, I only used it to compare it to the swingarm marks on my two chain drive Hondas. I have full faith in the swingarm marks on those two bikes, thus no longer need to bother with the alignment tool. Using the marks, in my opinion, is much faster than getting out the alignment tool.

Adjusting the rear axle will align the front and rear sprockets. It will also align the front and rear wheels. The coincidence of those two alignments will really depend on how accurately the motorcycle frame was built. If some people doubt that Honda can stamp the swingarm marks accurately, they might also want to question whether the frame is even straight. The way to tell would be to do a wheel alignment and then a sprocket alignment, and compare those to each other and to the swingarm marks. Hopefully they all match up. If they don’t, then you would need to compromise for the best setup.
 
I don't think Honda's marks are inaccurate, just very hard to read. Stamped into metal, then painted the same black, then add road grime. The Motion Pro bar is very simple and obvious.

I bought the Motion Pro chain slack adjuster, but candidly I didn't get very good results (could be pilot error). A yard stick was sufficient.
 
I’m sure the second and subsequent lower cover removals will be easier.
Regarding chain adjustments, get a Motion Pro chain alignment tool and forget about Honda’s inaccurate marks on the swing arm.
Thanks for the info, I ordered the motion pro. It was a bit frustrating adjusting the tension at my 600 mile service. I'm now at 1400miles and have to adjust it again.
 
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