97 Oil Change

my boyfriend's doing some spring maintenance to his bike and he's gonna do the first oil change since he got it late last summer. we've tried to find a downloadable manual for the 97 but we only get links to a 90-96. i read they made a separate manual for a 97. does anyone have a link for a 97 manual? does anyone have anything on doing an oil change on the 97 (what to take off..etc.)? thanks.

uuumm this may make me a jerk.. but if your BF cant change the oil with out a book then ...
umm, maybe you need an up grade.. :P

its the same thing as the 90-96..acctually from 84 through 2008..
good luck.. with the bike and the BF. :thumbsup:

No difference on the 4gen (94-97).

I have a '97 and I remove the lower side red panels and the black "belly" from the bottom. I've tried doing the oil change with it all attached and it's just easier to take it off. Anyway, with the bike on the center stand, remove the lower red panels from each side. To remove them, turn the giant phillips head screws out about 3/4 turn and then pull them straight out with your fingers. Then remove the four bolts that hold the black belly pan on. Stick a container under the plug and remove the plug, let it drain. Once that stops dripping, I remove the filter and let that run dry as well. The new filter should come with a new crush washer. Make sure you put that on before installing the new filter. Put the plug back in. I put about three quarts of oil in it let the engine run briefly and then add the rest of the oil checking the dipstick on the right side of the engine case periodically to make sure you don't over fill the engine. Wipe up your mess and go riding. That should be easy enough for you to follow so you can do it for him. :rolleyes:

Now this is a little strange... As far as I know, the model years of Gen 3 are 1990 to 1993, Gen 4 goes from 1994 to 1997, and Gen 5 was introduced in 1998. So why does the Honda service manual say "90-96 VFR750F"? Is there a secret "1997 VFR750F" manual somewhere? :)

[image: View Post]CitizenOfDreams, on Mar 11 2008, 11:05 PM, said:

Now this is a little strange... As far as I know, the model years of Gen 3 are 1990 to 1993, Gen 4 goes from 1994 to 1997, and Gen 5 was introduced in 1998. So why does the Honda service manual say "90-96 VFR750F"? Is there a secret "1997 VFR750F" manual somewhere? :)


whom ever posted the manual is as good with computers and typing as eg66068's BF is with bikes.

if you don't like heavy-metal music like the "Rod Knocks" or " Bearing Wipes" be sure to crank the motor over with the RUN switch set to OFF until the red oil light blinks off!!

Loads of destructive wear can happen while oil system (especially the filter) is re-filling!

AS a matter of fact, filling the filter by hand about 1/2 way with new oil is best practice,
although your Dealer will never do this for a customer's bike.

[image: View Post]gll429, on Mar 11 2008, 11:27 PM, said:

[image: View Post]CitizenOfDreams, on Mar 11 2008, 11:05 PM, said:

So why does the Honda service manual say "90-96 VFR750F"? Is there a secret "1997 VFR750F" manual somewhere? :)
whom ever posted the manual is as good with computers and typing as eg66068's BF is with bikes.

No, the actual paper manual says "90-96" on its cover. I guess Honda was going to make a new bike in 1997, but something did not work out.

hhhmm mine says 90-97....
:unsure:

[image: View Post]squirrelman, on Mar 11 2008, 11:38 PM, said:

be sure to crank the motor over with the RUN switch set to OFF
On most bikes, including Gen 4 VFR, the starter won't turn with the kill switch in "off" position, so you would have to manually energize the starter relay with a piece of wire. I have not heard of people actually doing that, nor have I heard of engines damaged by 3 seconds of low oil pressure after an oil change.

Mine is from 9/11 1997.
Your boyfriend will be fien with the 90-96 manual as it covers both 3rd and 4th gen VFR750

remember that neat trick where you put the bike on the side stand when you're draining the oil so you don't get oil all over your pipes and whatnot.

my old '86 bikes will crank with run switch off........and i jump the starter solenoid on my '97 to build oil pressure after oil change. Think i'm obsessive or sumptin???

[image: View Post]squirrelman, on Mar 12 2008, 12:31 AM, said:

have you ever seen the effects of dry bearing wear?
I have, but not resulting from an oil change.

[image: View Post]squirrelman, on Mar 12 2008, 12:31 AM, said:

my old '86 bikes will crank with run switch off........and i jump the starter solenoid on my '97 to build oil pressure after oil change. Think i'm obsessive or sumptin???

yes!
every freeaking motor that i have worked on,,with the exception of blown oil pumps.. they all have enough oil in the head to make a mess of everything they touch and i need tons of shop rags.(after being drained for a day).. even the old iron head sportsters that hardly get lubbed you still need 10 shop rags to sop up all the oil.

[image: View Post]YoshiHNS, on Mar 11 2008, 11:29 PM, said:

remember that neat trick where you put the bike on the side stand when you're draining the oil so you don't get oil all over your pipes and whatnot.
And wrap the vulnerable pipes with aluminum foil.

[image: View Post]gll429, on Mar 11 2008, 11:55 PM, said:

hhhmm mine says 90-97....
:unsure:
Could be a later edition. Mine says "90-96", "©1994".

[image: View Post]vfrurknee, on Mar 12 2008, 01:11 AM, said:

And wrap the vulnerable pipes with aluminum foil.
A little oil will just keep them from rusting. :)