Oil Filter Question

[Toro5xi_imp]

I am gonna open myself up to a dumb response but my OCD is kicking in. I rebuilt a few old motorcycles over the winter and changed a lot of oil and have lost track.

I am 99% sure I changed the oil in my CB1100 before putting it away for the winter. Only has 457 miles on it but I never leave old oil in a vehicle for the winter or so I think. Work got really busy this year and my attention to detail at home has suffered.

My question is the filter looks very clean and does not have any japanese writing on it but does anyone know if there a way to tell the factory supplied oil filter with one from the dealer here in the US. Someone on here had a good suggestion to date the filter when installing it just for this reason but I did not follow that good advice.

Thanks for any help.

[the Ferret]

Does the whole bike only have 497 miles on it? So you can't remember if you did the 600 mile service? Do you always use oem factory filters? If so they will all be identical, so no way to tell if it is one from the factory or from a dealer.. For peace of mind it would cost you about $ 42 to change it all again. Personally I keep a log of all maintenance. Being a multi bike owner it's easier and more accurate than relying on my memory.

[Toro5xi_imp]

Does the whole bike only have 497 miles on it? So you can't remember if you did the 600 mile service? Do you always use oem factory filters? If so they will all be identical, so no way to tell if it is one from the factory or from a dealer.. For peace of mind it would cost you about $ 42 to change it all again. Personally I keep a log of all maintenance. Being a multi bike owner it's easier and more accurate than relying on my memory.

Thanks for the response. Yeah, I think I am just gonna change the oil again to be safe. I bought this bike kind of on a whim last year. Traded in a 2013 Bonneville that gave me all kinds of starting issues. Love the looks of the CB1100. Thanks

[DGShannon_imp]

Anyone remember if the stock filter has a dab of white paint on it, like the bolts do? Never paid attention before I changed mine.

[the Ferret]

Anyone remember if the stock filter has a dab of white paint on it, like the bolts do? Never paid attention before I changed mine.

Mine didn't, at least not that I recall

[ClassicVW_imp]

I usually buy what supplies I need all at once for my winter lay up or spring opening up services. Sometimes I buy a bulk order of oil filters for my two or three bikes off the internet. If you used a charge card or debit card, there will be a record of purchases you could access and then see if the oil or filters are still on your garage shelf to compare what was bought and what is still there.

Alternatively, do you still have the used oil in a container or can you recall disposing of it?

[JustPassinThru_imp]

I'd split the difference.

Run it a couple hundred more miles. If you DIDN'T change it, you're not that far from your maintenance schedule. If you DID do it, you're not throwing out completely-pure oil.

Maintenance is like cooking - it's an inexact science. Forgetting to change the oil for a few thousand miles, or a few hundred the first time...not good but far from a calamity. Just get back on schedule.

Get a yellow junkyard crayon and put a date on your new, clean oil filter - so there's no question next go-round.

[ClassicVW_imp]

If I put the date or the mileage on the filter, six months later I'll probably be wondering --"Was that the date (mileage) that I changed the oil, or was I supposed to change it on that date?!"

All joking aside, on my cars I put the mileage when it was changed.

[JustPassinThru_imp]

An old farmer back where I used to live...would write the date he changed the oil on his tractors with a grease pencil on the side of the cowling. A long line of maintenance record, stretching from the center of the cowl to the operator's seat.

Seemed to work for him - he had five old tractors (backups and parts sources) and was in his eighties. He might have forgotten once or twice, but his half-century-old tractor inventory mostly forgave him.

[HikerToo_imp]

The filter shipped from the factory seemed to be VERY tough to take off for many people....so see how easy it is to break loose your current filter, that could give you a hint....or not.