How to Change Oil on Your Dirt Bike

How to Change Oil on Your 2-Stroke Dirt Bike

In this article, we talk about changing your gearbox or transmission oil.

Don’t worry, it’s quite easy and it only needs a few minutes of your time.

Warm it up. Start your dirt bike and let it run for a few minutes.
Turn it off and let it cool down for another few minutes. Make sure it’s standing upright on a level surface.
Remove the cap.
Place your oil/drain pan under the engine. This will catch the oil from the drain.
Remove the drain plug and let the oil out. Tilt the bike to drain as much oil as you can.
Screw the drain plug back, but don’t overtighten.
Pour the new oil in through the top hole. You probably know what oil you need and how much of it. If not, you can always check your owner’s manual. Check with your dipstick if you’ve reached the correct level.
Screw the cap/dipstick back on.

How to Change Oil on Your 4-Stroke Dirt Bike

A 4-stroke bike has more parts and changing the oil might take longer, but when you’ve gotten the hang of it, you’ll be doing it in less than 30 minutes.

Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Warm it up. Start your dirt bike and let it run for a few minutes.
Turn it off and let it cool down for another few minutes. Make sure it’s standing upright on a level surface.
Unscrew the fill cap to help the oil drain out.
Place your oil drain pan under the engine. Make sure that the pan is big enough to catch the oil if it spews out as you remove the drain bolt.
Remove the drain bolt. You can use a wrench and finish off with your hand.
Let the oil out. Tilt the bike side-to-side to make you sure get as much of it out as possible, and remove any contaminants.
Screw the drain bolt and sealing washer back with a torque wrench. You can use a new washer every now and then to make sure there are no leaks.
Replacing the oil filter.
- First, unscrew the bolts. Remove the cap and the attached ring seal carefully. Don’t rush it. Then, remove the filter without damaging or puncturing anything. There is a spring there too. Make sure you remember how you removed them, from the bolts to the spring, and the direction they are placed because you’ll have to put them back exactly the same way.
- Once everything is removed, wipe any residual oil with a paper towel or cloth rag.
- For non-disposable filters, you can clean them with a contact cleaner and allow them to dry thoroughly before reinstalling. There could be metal pieces stuck in the filter, so make sure you clean those out as they might damage the engine. For disposable filters, you’ll need to install a new one every time you change your oil.
- Clean the cap too with a contact cleaner.
- Before putting everything back, inspect your O-rings. If they’re loose, worn out or damaged, you need to replace them
- Put them all back, starting with the spring and a clean or new filter. Then, add a bit of oil to the O-ring and reinstall the filter cap.
- Screw the bolts in using the correct torque wrench.
Pour the new, fresh oil in through the top hole. You can use a funnel. You probably already know what oil you need and how much of it. If not, you can always check your owner’s manual, as it’s different for each bike.
Check with your dipstick if you’ve reached the correct level.
Screw the cap/dipstick back on.

You’ll notice that you need to change your filter each time you change your oil or clean it thoroughly if it’s reusable. The filter removes metal pieces and other contaminants from the oil, so those will build up in the filter. When you change your oil and you don’t clean or replace your filter, then your new, fresh oil will be contaminated right away.

Some 4-strokes have a separate gearbox oil as well. If so, repeat the above steps without changing the oil filter.

Unsure if it’s time to change your oil or often you should be doing it? Read our article: When to Change Your Dirt Bike Oil