I'm about to change the oil for the first time on my F4i and wondering if I need both stands? Is it too uneven if I only have a rear stand?

Thanks!

 

Rear only is fine. I don't even use a stand just to change oil. I use a trash can lid as a drain pan to get under there. I'll use a stand only if there is another reason to have the wheel off the ground.

 

Only issue I see, and it is a minor one, is that when using a rear stand the bike will tilt ever so slightly foward, and you will notice that this minor change to the oil pan angle will prohibit you from draining every bit of oil out (since the plug is towards the rear).

As 74demon mentioned, there's no real need for one for an oil change. I find that a 2X4" piece of wood under the side stand will bring the bike up a little more erect (digidy) but still be sufficiently inclined so as to not fall over the wrong way.

 

You don't need any stands besides the sidestand already on the bike.

 

+1...no need stand...They have those low profile oil pan that's slides under belly...

 

I just changed my oil last weekend. I started doing it with the bike on my rear stand because it was already on there. After it started draining I lowered it to the kick stand and probably another 1/2 quart came out. I would say no stand at all to insure you get as much of the old oil out of there as possible.

Another good tip I learned from a buddy of mine is take some aluminum foil and wrap it around your headers up by the oil filter. This will prevent you from dripping oil onto the headers when you remove it and having the oil burn off and smoke when you start it up after the oil change.

 

but if you use just the kickstand, when you fill the oil up, the level in that oil fisheye will be tilted so you can't really tell how much oil to put in... no?

 

Just go by the manual to fill it up (I think its 3.5 quarts.) You should be using the fisheye to verify the oil level, not to fill it. I just sat on the right side of the bike, and pulled it to me until the bike was upright, and then looked into the sightglass.

 

Lol......overkill....so they eliminated the dip stick?

 

Do you need stands? No. Do they make life easier? Yes. I'd recommend having a nice set of stands regardless, because they come in handy often.