SPOOFK - Spin On Oil Filter Kit installation

Spin On Oil Filter Kit - installation

Starting out we have a picture of the cycle before the installation of the kit.

And here is a picture after the oil filter kit is complete.  Note that the bike looks more refined and faster than ever with the installation of the kit.

Actually, there are no drips or leaks to be seen so I must have gotten everything back where it belongs.

So here is the bike before the installation of the kit, uncovered.

Let's move it over to the middle of the driveway shall we?

There we shall get all our tools out.

Oops, reading the directions I need a 1 1/16" deep socket.  Off to Menards' we go.

 Here's the kit laid out on the driveway.

- blue LocTite for the threaded rod

- the threaded rod which holds the oil filter

- gasket spread to seal the filter chamber

- the filter chamber (on the paper towel)

- filter wrench cup

- O-ring for filter chamber

- two short oil filters

Here's the original filter under the bike.

The cover was pretty tight.

Cover removed with some effort.

Dropped the oil filter and any oil there into my drip pan.

Wiped out the area with old newspaper.

 See how nice and clean it looks now?

Cleaned the threads with Carb cleaner and a toothbrush as recommended.

Once cleaned out, I then put LocTite on the short end of the threaded rod.

The rod went in nicely.  Used the brand-new 1 1/4 deep socket to fasten it down with a torque wrench.

 Cleaned up the chamber again.

Put some gasket sealer on the O-ring and the chamber.

As the directions say, 'Carefully screw the chamber onto the threaded rod, but not all the way up.'

Once in position, finish tightening the chamber with your torque wrench.

You have to use the filter cup with supplied rod to tighten the chamber.  See the notches in the picture below show where the rod and engages the chamber to tighten it down.

 And so, we have the chamber threaded into position.

Now the short filter gets filled with oil before being threaded on by hand.

Once started by hand, you can finish tightening the filter with one turn of the filter cup (with the rod removed).

Start up the cycle to check for leaks, drips, or spills.

The bike started right up.

Ran it at idle to see how things looked.  Just fine.

The old filter sits on the drain pan for cleaning and storage/sale.

Thanks for checking it out!

Adding Power Outlet to Dash

I decided to add a power outlet to the dashboard to charge our GPS, or our Midland wireless Bluetooth intercoms, or our cell phones.  The previous owner already had wired in heated grips.  I had to devise a wire harness that allowed the outlet and the grips to stay connected.  I did not choose to add a FuzeBlock or other multiple device connection.

 

So with a plan in mind I purchased the following items:

- spools of 14 gauge wire in two different colors

- power outlet from Radio Shack [EnerCell brand]

- 14 gauge crimp terminals and plugs from Menards - multipack had both in it

- 1 1/8" foerster-style drill bit [Spade bits do NOT work]

- heat shrink tubing 

 The selection of the drill site is important.  You want to drill in a place that does not have wires or other supports behind it.  I put tape down first and measured three times until the tape did not cover anything else behind the dash.

Here is the cycle with the upper fairing removed and the drill site marked with masking tape.

With the drill bit in place, cut through your markings on the tape.  Be careful not to push too hard through the material.  Let the bit do the work and stop once through.

 The finished hole can be deburred with a hand file if you wish.  Depending on the power outlet you buy, you may or may not need to do anything else to the hole.

I had to make a reference cut in the side of the hole so the outlet would not turn within the hole.

Then I inserted the wires for the outlet into the hole to bring them down to the accessory connections.  The connection to the outlet comes later.

I made my connection harness out of the terminals and the 14 gauge wires.  I crimped the terminals and plugs.  I checked my connections with the heated grips and the charger for my GPS.  No fuse blew so I thought I was okay to seal things up.

Then I used my wife's hair dryer to heat shrink the tubing.

 You can see the socket in place on the dash here.

 A closeup of the installed EnerCell socket in my dash.

And here's the finished product with the upper fairing reinstalled.

C10 Fuel Gauge Modification

Hello there,

I decided to add a 220ohm resistor to my 2001 Kawasaki Concours C-10 so that the fuel sending unit would be more accurate.  There are many fuel gauge related messages on the two most popular Concours owner's bulletin boards - forum.cog-online.org and www.zggtr.org. 

A good person named Jim said he would send people a resistor if they couldn't find one to buy.  With his encouragement, I decided to try this project myself.  Go read those messages about what Kawasaki did what they did when they made the fuel gauge in the first place.

Background
Materials you will need:

• one package of 220ohm resistors [Bought at Radio Shack for $1.26 in July 2011]
• one yellow ZipTie approx. 3 inches in length
• or, electrical tape instead of the ZipTie

Tools to remove the gas tank bolts - 10mm socket wrench
"Chunk" of 2x4 wood to prop up gas tank


Procedure

• Remove the bolts to secure your gas tank

• Prop up the gas tank with wood chunk enough to reach the gas tank sending unit wires.

• Disconnect the tank wire plugs from each other.

• Hold the 'female' plug so you can see the back of the plug.

• Note the gaps in the metal terminals holding the wires into the plug.  You will be inserting one leg of the resistor into whatever gaps you can find in each terminal.

•  Bend the legs of the resistor into a "U" shape.

• Insert one leg into a gap of a terminal until it is held fast.  Repeat for other leg of resistor.

•  Inspect your work for fit and function.

•  This picture shows how far I placed the legs of the resistor into the plug.

•  Secure the resistor in place by enclosing the legs with a ZipTie.

• Close the ZipTie carefully so as not to pull the legs loose.

• Cut the extra ZipTie off for a neat look.

• Plug the fuel wire connectors together.  

• Carefully remove the block of wood and lower the tank.  Secure the tank bolts back in place.

Test your work by going on a ride.  You should now see the gas gauge move more slowly toward E as you empty the tank.

Congratulations, you are done!

Matt