Another Cracked Oil Pan

[estell]

Has anyone cracked an oil pan after cutting off the fin and installing the Mazda drain plug? I don't recall reading of any. It seems to be a simple and effective mod. No cage needed. I have the mod on my 2015 oil pan.

[foxtrot722]

25 minutes ago, estell said:

Has anyone cracked an oil pan after cutting off the fin and installing the Mazda drain plug? I don't recall reading of any. It seems to be a simple and effective mod. No cage needed. I have the mod on my 2015 oil pan.

Take a look here, Cracked Flat Pan

[estell]

3 hours ago, foxtrot722 said:

Take a look here, Cracked Flat Pan

OK, there is one but it is a bit of a special case. The full story there is that he was off road. He was riding his FJ-09 onto a slab of granite that had a 4 inch "bump" on it. I find that on flat surfaces the oil pan with the fin cut off is not the lowest point. The center stand or muffler makes first contact on speed bumps.

[Duke]

2 hours ago, estell said:

OK, there is one but it is a bit of a special case. The full story there is that he was off road. He was riding his FJ-09 onto a slab of granite that had a 4 inch "bump" on it. I find that on flat surfaces the oil pan with the fin cut off is not the lowest point. The center stand or muffler makes first contact on speed bumps.

Some of us have embarked upon a new farkle quest. Don’t be killing the buzz.

Only joking of course, but I’m certainly planning to Mazda my ride at the next oil change. Too many instances of cracked oil pans for my tastes. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Duke

[1moreroad]

That looks like the "fixed" oil pan with the bolt on the side rather than the bottom.  Even with the Mazda fix, our older models would have been worse.

[nhchris]

Yup, that is not a stock 2015 or early 16 pan.  It has side drain.

Why would he think he could drop off a 4-inch granite ledge on this bike?

Major brain fart if you ask me.

Good field fix however!

cb

[nhchris]

All this oil pan talk got me curious.... How bad is our ground clearance problem?

Here are some clearance numbers I pulled off the Internet for various bikes:

Goldwing 1800     4.9 inches

Harley Road King  5.1

Tracer 900            5.3

ST 1300                5.3

FJ 09                    5.5

Versys 1000          6.1

Vstrom 1000         6.5

BMW GS 750         7.5

I guess the real issue is what hits first. In that regard we seem to have em all beat when it comes to dangling dainty bits.

Edited April 26, 2019 by nhchris

[koth442]

9 hours ago, nhchris said:

Yup, that is not a stock 2015 or early 16 pan.  It has side drain.

Why would he think he could drop off a 4-inch granite ledge on this bike?

Major brain fart if you ask me.

Good field fix however!

cb

He wasn't dropping off a ledge, he was posing his bike for a picture. Because Joe (aka com3) is a hooligan and professional motorsports photographer. See picture below.

[chitown]

Both of his accounts left some question marks for me. Haven't been gentle with mine. About the same level of concern as with the FJR. 

[gv550]

I've felt my bike scrape bottom numerous times, usually when riding 2-up (we are 350 lb combined) and when entering or exiting driveways. I don't want to add a large cage under the bike, too heavy, reduced ground clearance, and aesthetics, so I'm wondering about adding a small piece of 1/8 steel checker plate stuck to the bottom of the sump with industrial double side tape. I'd bent a lip up to match the curve at the front of the sump, and drill a hole to access the drain plug.

It appears the stock sump is very thin and punctures easily so the plate would strengthen it without loosing much ground clearance. 

I welcome comments.

[norcal616]

1 hour ago, koth442 said:

He wasn't dropping off a ledge, he was posing his bike for a picture. Because Joe (aka com3) is a hooligan and professional motorsports photographer. See picture below.

Higdonion Cage 😎... And both wheels off the ground 👍👍 like a motocross rider, knees grabbing the tank, body is up and leaning forward to pull the bike into the turn...

Edited April 26, 2019 by norcal616

[BBB]

3 hours ago, gv550 said:

I'm wondering about adding a small piece of 1/8 steel checker plate stuck to the bottom of the sump with industrial double side tape. I'd bent a lip up to match the curve at the front of the sump, and drill a hole to access the drain plug.

That’s pretty close to the SW Motech skid plate, which has worked for me.

 

[1moreroad]

13 hours ago, nhchris said:

All this oil pan talk got me curious.... How bad is our ground clearance problem?

Here are some clearance numbers I pulled off the Internet for various bikes:

...

I guess the real issue is what hits first. In that regard we seem to have em all beat when it comes to dangling dainty bits.

I have wondered the same thing. I have never had a problem with this bike. I scraped the lower fairing on my old Ninja a few times (enough to remove paint never enough to damage it). Maybe it's a weight distribution/suspension setting thing? I'm not criticizing riders with cracked pans. I'm kind of wondering why I - who is not graceful or a masterful bike handler - haven't done it yet. 

[nhchris]

Did not mean to offend our cracked pan guy. Sorry if I did.   His scenario is a strange one but totally possible.  Here's why...

In an earlier post I cited clearance numbers for various bikes. Then I wondered how those numbers were measured. So into the basement I go with my measuring tape.

My FJ has the advertised 5 inches of clearance at its lowest point (oil pan)... but that's sans rider!! When my lovely wife sat on the bike and took up the sag 20% of that clearance (1 inch) instantly vanished, and she weighs less than I do.  

I then asked her to work the suspension  by bouncing up and down on the seat. Bang, there goes another inch plus of clearance from suspension travel!  Now we are down to a measly 3 inches between oil pan and whatever. And this is why a simple parking lot speed bump can take out an FJ.  With weight of rider, forks compress, oil pan leaks.

I think the problem is not one of clearance, but rather component placement. By locating the oil pan out there in the wind, low and with absolutely no protection, Yamaha created a problem.

I think all bikes should be able to occasionally hit bottom without damaging the engine.

What do you folks think?

Edited April 26, 2019 by nhchris

[foxtrot722]

I agree with you nhchris, the FJ sits very low and has fragile expose parts. I change the pan today and will post some pictures a little  later.  The bottom drain should have been a recall. As long as Yamaha has been producing bikes, the bottom drain was extremely poor design. I also agree with GV550, I don't want to add a large cage under the bike, too heavy, reduced ground clearance, and aesthetics. 

My first bike was a 1970 DT 250 that I converted to a MX bike, race it a few time and later purchased an 1972 MX 250. Won a lot of trophies back in the day, had a successful amateur racing career for about 6 years. Continued to ride off road after that and didn't purchase a bike with a license plate until a few yeas ago. That was a DR 650 and used as a on road bike, those are bullet proof. So not riding off road like I use to, decide the FJ would be a great bike to used for performance and touring. I guess I need to be more careful with it or switch to a adventure bike. 

Edited April 27, 2019 by foxtrot722