Has Anyone Ever Done This or Thought Of It?

[BlackandBlue]

I think it would be great if I could change the oil filter housing on my 83 GS1100E to accommodate a spin on filter. I've thought about it before and here is what I came up with if the cover is thick enough. Have a tube going through the center of the cover into the hole in the case. Not sure how to attach the tube to the case yet. Next oil change I'm going to look at it more closely. The tube would be threaded on the other end to accept the filter. Carefully drill holes in the cover around the tube hole for oil flow. Then take the cover to a machine shop to have the surface around the tube hole machined down to a circular, flat surface that would allow the filter rubber ring to seal. I also need to check clearance between the two center exhaust header pipes. Some of the spin on filters I've looked at seem to be small enough to fit just fine. The old filter chamber would be like a reservoir allowing a little more oil capacity. Would also need to add a small drain plug in the bottom of the case or cover to drain the oil from the old filter chamber. OR is there a kit out there somewhere??

[tone]

My old gs1000s used to run a oil cooler fed of a spacer plate between the filter cover & the engine & i often wondered if i could convert this to take a spin on filter, so i'll be watching this thread with interest to see how you get on :-D

[hampshirehog]

Seen this done on Hondas as a kit - example.

http://www.randakks.com/oil%20filter%2023.jpg

One bloke was doing a bespoke set up for CB1100Fs I seem to recall, so maybe someone is already doing this for GSs.

[Planecrazy]

Seen this done on Hondas as a kit - example.




One bloke was doing a bespoke set up for CB1100Fs I seem to recall, so maybe someone is already doing this for GSs.

Interesting concept, but here is my concern: Unlike in a car or truck, where the thin-walled oil filter is somewhat protected from road debris, the same filters would be susceptible to damage from anything coming off the front wheel (which they're lined up with). By contrast, the OEM filter cover on our bikes is MUCH thicker and less likely to be damaged (and leak) when struck by road debris.

I suppose one could take the Fram "toughguard" concept a step further and coat the entire filter with a "Line-X" / "Duraliner" style protective coating, but as long as the OEM style filters are readily available (which they are) I think there's little point in doing the mod.

My .02

[tone]

Interesting concept, but here is my concern: Unlike in a car or truck, where the thin-walled oil filter is somewhat protected from road debris, the same filters would be susceptible to damage from anything coming off the front wheel (which they're lined up with). By contrast, the OEM filter cover on our bikes is MUCH thicker and less likely to be damaged (and leak) when struck by road debris

I must say ive never thought of that but thats probably because ive done thousands of miles on gsxr's where the spin on filter is in exactly the same place without problems :-D

i think the advantage of going to this type of setup is that you could decide which filter you wanted to use & make the parts up to suit for example you may want a bigger or more efficient filter for use in extreme conditions, which is why i looked at doing it years ago :-D

[BlackandBlue]

Interesting concept, but here is my concern: Unlike in a car or truck, where the thin-walled oil filter is somewhat protected from road debris, the same filters would be susceptible to damage from anything coming off the front wheel (which they're lined up with). By contrast, the OEM filter cover on our bikes is MUCH thicker and less likely to be damaged (and leak) when struck by road debris.

I suppose one could take the Fram "toughguard" concept a step further and coat the entire filter with a "Line-X" / "Duraliner" style protective coating, but as long as the OEM style filters are readily available (which they are) I think there's little point in doing the mod.

My .02

Good point about the debris. If I do this I'll look into a slip on protection cover for the filter. Maybe secure it with a hose clamp or something similar.

[Planecrazy]

I must say ive never thought of that but thats probably because ive done thousands of miles on gsxr's where the spin on filter is in exactly the same place without problems :-D

i think the advantage of going to this type of setup is that you could decide which filter you wanted to use & make the parts up to suit for example you may want a bigger or more efficient filter for use in extreme conditions, which is why i looked at doing it years ago :-D

Are the Gixxers using standard car filters or are they running a specialized filter with a thicker housing (I suspect your answer is going to be the regular "car" filters)?

Having the flexibility to choose your own filter is nice, but last time I changed the oil on my GS I had no less than three different available brands to choose from so I didn't feel particularly "locked in" with regard to brand or price. As for flexibility "on the road," truthfully ... how often do we find ourselves in a position where we have to unexpectedly change our filters?

So, in short, while I like the idea of the mod (for convenience versus stock) and I even like the way it looks, I just don't see a huge advantage to it overall.

Regards,

[tone]

Are the Gixxers using standard car filters or are they running a specialized filter with a thicker housing (I suspect your answer is going to be the regular "car" filters)?

There is a car filter from some obscure japanese car that fits the gsxr's but i forget which one, i run genuine suzuki filters on my gixer's & they are certainly no thicker than car ones

There is a range of aftermarket filters available for gsxr's but some have been known to collapse due to the high oil pressure in the oil cooled engines so i avoid them like the plague

Back to the original post :-D if you want to do it go ahead & give it a go but i wouldnt worry about protection because as i said gsxr's run a spin on in exactly the same position & ive never known one to get damaged yet apart from in an accident, remember gsxr's will be running at a considerably higher speed than almost any gs is ever likely to acheive on the road with no damage to filters
there ya go i hope thats cleared that up :-D

[bwringer]

Bad idea, at least for most GS models.

The oil system in a roller-bearing GS doesn't run with enough pressure to use a spin-on filter.

[Planecrazy]

Thanks for chiming in, Brian - VERY valuable insight!

Regards,

[BlackandBlue]

Bad idea, at least for most GS models.

The oil system in a roller-bearing GS doesn't run with enough pressure to use a spin-on filter.

Didn't think of that. So the filter element in a spin on has more resistance than the standard filter? Potential for oil pump failure?

[t3rmin]

This is a popular mod for the XS11.

[tone]

He he this is getting interesting now :-D

I'm not sure that a spin on filter is any more restrictive than an element type but if so uprate the pump gears, a common mod on racing gs engines :-D

Gs750's pump gears give the highest flow of any of the stock gears & others are available from specialists :-D

[BlackandBlue]

Didn't think of that. So the filter element in a spin on has more resistance than the standard filter? Potential for oil pump failure?

Well my bubble may have been busted but I am going to continue my research on spin on filters. I was considering the spin on filter for a VX800 but the oil pressure for it is 92 psi verses a max of 7 psi for my GS1100E. Anyone feel free to correct me on these numbers. The VX spec came from a workshop pdf file I downloaded and the GS spec is from my Haynes manual.