My brother in law brought his bike over today to winterize his new bike. He had the 1,000 mile service done at the dealership. The oil filter had to be the original one, that thing was so tight . The filter collapsed, and steel handle on my strap wrench got bent all to hell. Ended using two sided tape and a strip of neoprim rubber under the strap to break it loose. I find it hard to believe that it was changed. Then we removed the zirk fitting for to see if any grease was added to the steering head.....bone dry. I guess it pays to do it yourdelf

 

I use the K&N wrench on filter, makes life so easy. If he paid for the 1k service, I would definitely have a talk with the dealer about the lack of grease on the steering.

 

There is the possibility the wrench that worked on the bike
over tightened the oil filter......
Doesn't surprise me the steering head was dry...same happened to
me on my 1k mile service.

 

Some of those monkey brained shop techs don't know their own strength.
As far as the steering head goes I recommend you don't fill it with grease - just a waste of time and good grease. 99.99999% of it will never ever see your bearings and when the weather warms you'll have a nice drooling mess to forever be wiping off your bike.

 

I think all original filters are hard to take off, I ended up using a large channel lock to get it off....went with the KN171 filter with the 17mm nut on the end.

 

+1 on the KN totally worth the extra 3 bucks, and SHINY too

 

my steering neck was also not done, there were quite a few I've read on here that said there's was bone dry after the service. and it will take about 3/4 of a tube. at least mine did when i did it. and the k/n filter is the way to go.

 

The steering head bearings are factory packed. First greasing with a gun requires about a tube to fill head cavity. My opinion is they are good for a long time as is. However my 04 did not have a call out require greasing at 1000. Call out is 2500. However you need to check behind them on everything they do. I would put a scratch on the filter before taking it in and check all oil levels and how clean it looked when I got it back unless you can see them do it.

 

You guys don't think the experienced techs are the ones to work on your bike when you fork over the $250 to get it serviced do you? An 'experienced' tech won't over-tighten the filter.

The dealership thanks you for participating in their training program.

So next time do it yourself!

 

I mangled my last oil filter taking it off.
I do all my own work and have built a bike from frame up. First time it ever happened to me in 25 years of riding and wrenching.
Sometimes it just happens, especially with the twin cam cutaway wrench, it slips easy.

I never pay for that specified service. Those checklists are BS.
It would be too irritating to me to know I paid for something that did not happen.

Do your own work. It is not like a car. With a bike, it is your safety at stake. The only person you can trust with your safety is YOU.