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Oil spinner cleaning or whatever it’s called

Cpd419

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So you guys that have done this, when is it really needed? In your experiences. I changed the oil the first time at 500 miles approximately. The second time I went with full synthetic at 2000 miles. I plan on changing it every 2000. I just feel like with so little oil and is hard as I run it on the road It won’t hurt anything. I just wonder when it really needs to be done. I don’t mind doing maintenance, but I don’t want to do unnecessary maintenance.
 

dmonkey

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Honda recommend cleaning the centrifugal filter and the strainer screen at 8,000 miles, so depending on your total mileage, you might not need to worry about it too much for a while still. Mine had quite a bit of crud accumulated before 8k miles. Others on Facebook have reported hardly seeing enough worth cleaning when they got to it. I'd just recommend trying to plan that maintenance out, as in have the gaskets on hand, have a comfortable work environment for it, and don't be in a rush or need the bike later that day so you can take your time with it in case putting the right crankcase cover back on gives you any trouble. It may need to be pulled off and put on again if the shift clutch mechanism falls out of place while fitting it.

@SneakyDingo has done an excellent job documenting all the maintenance he's done, including the centrifugal oil filter, here:

Another reason I can think of that you shouldn't skip doing that maintenance, even if your oil is changed very frequently, is that you're not only cleaning the filters you are inspecting them for signs of other issues. When the cam chain tensioner wheel starts to disintegrate, that is where you are likely to find chunks of it.

I follow a shop in Thailand that posts a lot of the service work they do on Honda CT125 bikes over there, and a common issue after 20k miles or so seems to be that cam chain tensioner wheel is a consumable item and needs to be replaced on the other side of the crankcase, OR you can replace it with an aftermarket one that will last longer but be noisier.

Here are two examples of that from this month:


I'll also link a photo here directly as I understand and know Facebook to be an annoying and awful website that many avoid, with good reason!
1735689322185.jpeg
 

Cpd419

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Oh one more question, does it have the little screen like the monkey? I didn’t see a picture.
 

dmonkey

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Yep. There's a strainer screen that sits directly above the drain plug. Just a little tray one you pull out, clean, and put back in.
 

dmonkey

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I first cleaned the centrifugal filter and screen on mine at ~1,600 miles.
Those are someone else's photos I found on a Facebook post to illustrate the locations, so not sure how many miles between cleanings is being shown on that screen. In terms of removing large particles from being suspended in the oil and then retaining that debris, the centrifugal filter seems to have a large capacity. The screen, as you can see, looks like it could be a more limiting factor.
 

Cpd419

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Joined
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Messages
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I first cleaned the centrifugal filter and screen on mine at ~1,600 miles.
Those are someone else's photos I found on a Facebook post to illustrate the locations, so not sure how many miles between cleanings is being shown on that screen. In terms of removing large particles from being suspended in the oil and then retaining that debris, the centrifugal filter seems to have a large capacity. The screen, as you can see, looks like it could be a more limiting factor.
What did it look like at 1600?
 

dmonkey

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What did it look like at 1600?
IIRC more of the screen was covered than I expected at that mileage, a similar area of deposit to the one pictured above but composed of more metal swarf and gasket material, and the centrifugal filter had a thin lip of the gray material that builds up there. Those were nearly all "high elevation" miles over 5,280 ft.
 
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