Hello everyone. New to the Forum and my first post. I just picked up my new CT125 Trail yesterday. I had ordered a Gold Plug ahead of time and would like to install it before I start running the engine much. I saw where someone said they laid their bike on the side to install the plug and didn't lose any oil that way. Is that ok to do? I don't want to fill the crankcase breather with oil or cause any problems. Or, should I just leave it upright and just add back the oil I lose, if I do. Thanks, EE.
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Magnetic Gold Plug installation
- Thread starter Double E
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m in sc
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2nd part.
SneakyDingo
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SneakyDingo
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We might joke about it, but I knew a guy from Microsoft that had a particularly temperamental Husky that he changed the oil in every ride to keep it running smoothly. Dad had a Norton that you never really changed the oil, you just kept topping it up as it marked its territory and it loooooved marking its territory. While neither of those was a Honda if you have the money it's not like it hurts the bike and it's not going to break the bank to do it if you're only doing longer rides too. I know there's more than a few people on the forum here who did their first oil change very early on in the scheduled maintenance book. Pretty sure there's a few people who dropped the oil right around that first tank of gas ended and were treating the service intervals listed as more of a guideline for the oil change recommendation.
Topping the oil off is the same for Harleys for several decades - the oil that goes to the primary chain then exits the primary case, oils the drive chain, and eventually ends up as an oil slick at a traffic light on the road.
Ari Henning has a good video on magnetic oil drain plugs. The short of it is that they aren't necessary, but are an inexpensive way to add extra protection to your engine, especially since our CT125 doesn't have an external oil filter. Other than having something fail, the new engine break in period is going to be the time when extra flitration or a magnet will likely catch the most, so may as well install it early if you've decided it's worth having.
Ari Henning has a good video on magnetic oil drain plugs. The short of it is that they aren't necessary, but are an inexpensive way to add extra protection to your engine, especially since our CT125 doesn't have an external oil filter. Other than having something fail, the new engine break in period is going to be the time when extra flitration or a magnet will likely catch the most, so may as well install it early if you've decided it's worth having.
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m in sc
Well-known member
its like 10 bucks an oil change. who cares? amazes me how many people are leery of changing the oil. its one bolt. 
i swapped mine at 100? miles since by then all the debris from break in, if any, should be present. since magnetic plugs just catch steel debris... if you're getting a lot, you have a bigger issue. Do i run one in the honda? no. roller motor should be ok. Only thing you should get is maybe a bit of clutch and gear wear in sparklies, which should be present very very quickly. do i run one in the galaxie? flat tappet cam in a cast iron block with pushrods? yes.
The biggest thing to watch out for in these bikes as far as engine debris is chain rollers wearing at high mileage, (bits of rubber) and clutch friction material, of which neither will be picked up by a magnet. However, its not a bad idea to run one because they are cheap. and for that 'just in case' situation after the 1st oil change.
last time i had the stator cover off, i changed the oil and with the drainplug out, i sprayed down the inside of the motor with brake clean which gets the clutch and break in residue off the bottom of the case. what we USED to do with older bikes we had rescued was: drain the oil put plug back in, put in 2 quarts of mineral spirits and rock bike around to get all the debris in suspension as much as possible, then drain that. let sit for about an hour, the put plug back in and refill w oil and change filter if applicable. have done that with both my C10 concourses, and they are just fine.
another thing is: change the oil when as hot as possible as you can, this keep the crap in suspension.
.02
i swapped mine at 100? miles since by then all the debris from break in, if any, should be present. since magnetic plugs just catch steel debris... if you're getting a lot, you have a bigger issue. Do i run one in the honda? no. roller motor should be ok. Only thing you should get is maybe a bit of clutch and gear wear in sparklies, which should be present very very quickly. do i run one in the galaxie? flat tappet cam in a cast iron block with pushrods? yes.
The biggest thing to watch out for in these bikes as far as engine debris is chain rollers wearing at high mileage, (bits of rubber) and clutch friction material, of which neither will be picked up by a magnet. However, its not a bad idea to run one because they are cheap. and for that 'just in case' situation after the 1st oil change.
last time i had the stator cover off, i changed the oil and with the drainplug out, i sprayed down the inside of the motor with brake clean which gets the clutch and break in residue off the bottom of the case. what we USED to do with older bikes we had rescued was: drain the oil put plug back in, put in 2 quarts of mineral spirits and rock bike around to get all the debris in suspension as much as possible, then drain that. let sit for about an hour, the put plug back in and refill w oil and change filter if applicable. have done that with both my C10 concourses, and they are just fine.
another thing is: change the oil when as hot as possible as you can, this keep the crap in suspension.
.02
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SneakyDingo
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Ok I have wondered about this process for YEARS and never realized where it came from. This is the exact process that Rohloff uses for their Speedhub 500 bicycle hubs.
m in sc
Well-known member
just basic general machine maintenance. but it works well.
Nice to see someone else who appreciates fine bicycle engineering! I built a SOMA Wolverine touring bike around the Rohloff and Gates carbon drive belt.
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SneakyDingo
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Ha, probably no surprise to find a Rohloff fan on a CT125 forum. Mine's just a boring chain drive but I did switch out the twist grip for the Cinq5 shifter kit. I need to do an oil change. I'm currently at ~32,000 mi of service on that hub. If I get 100,000 km / 62,137 mi out of it I'll be very happy.
I successfully did the "lay it on it's side" technique and can confirm no oil comes out, so you can easily swap the plug. As a matter of fact, I have a video of it I should put up.
No need to throw away the oil, just swap the plug. Make sure you pull the correct plug, there are two under there that look like oil plugs.
No need to throw away the oil, just swap the plug. Make sure you pull the correct plug, there are two under there that look like oil plugs.
I was afraid to lay it over on its side for fear of getting oil in the crankcase breather or some where else maybe it didn't belong. I put the bike on the center stand, took off the skid plate, (4 torx screws), loosen the plug, and with my left hand removed the plug and replaced with my right hand, the magnetic plug. I figured I would lose more oil that I did. I only had a very small amount, several drops, escape out. When I checked the dip stick I couldn't see any drop on it at all. Just another option for someone to try if they want to replace the plug before time for and oil change. And yes there are two plugs. The bigger one on the right hand side if you were sitting on the seat is the one you want to remove. EE
SneakyDingo
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Please do include the video. I'd love to see that. All these maintenance videos of bikes not quite rubber side down are always interesting to watch.
I had a similar problem. I didn’t have anymore oil plug washers from the Honda shop. I went to my local Auto Zone and bought a pack of two oil plug washers with the correct size hole. I think these had a Teflon or rubber center. I pulled my gold plug and did a quick swap of washers, (while the engine was cold) and replaced the washer. Worked perfectly. No more drips. Be careful not to over tighten the plug. I don’t have the info in front of me but I know the torque is low on the oil plug. I do like the Gold plug catches some minor metal stuff. Good luck. EE
I am going to swap in the correct Honda washer (or gasket as they call it) and go from there. Thanks.