How do I Change Oil on a WR250 Yamaha?

Maintaining a Yamaha WR250 requires regular oil and oil filter changes to ensure that the WR250 motor's internal parts can withstand the harsh environments found on the street, the race track and the trail. Typically, Yamaha recommends an oil change every 600 miles, but you should performed an oil change on your WR250 earlier if the machine is used in competition or after long periods of hard usage. Changing the oil and filter on a WR250 is a relatively quick process, but it requires some preparation to prevent dirt and debris from entering into the motor. Expect the job to take at least an hour to complete.

Prepare the motorcycle before changing the oil. Remove the skid plate and engine guards from the bottom of the motor, using a 10mm and an 8mm socket to unscrew the skid plate's bolts. Lower the skid plate and pull it away from the motorcycle. Using a brake cleaning spray, clean the area around the oil filler, the oil filter cover, as well as the oil drain plugs on the oil tank and the bottom left side of the motor. Wipe these areas with a shop towel to remove any remaining dirt or debris.

Start the motorcycle to warm its oil supply. Allow the engine to idle for at least three minutes, then turn off the ignition.

Unscrew the oil filler cap from the oil tank. Remove the drain plug bolt from the oil tank using a 12mm socket. Allow the oil to drain into a container. Clean off the drain plug bolt's tip with a shop towel and reinsert it into the oil tank with a 12mm socket. Screw the oil tank filler cap into place.

Unscrew the oil filler cap from the left side of the motor. Move your container below the drain plug bolt on the bottom left side of the motor, just below the shift lever. Use a 12mm socket to remove the drain plug bolt and allow the motor's oil to drain into your container. Clean off the drain plug bolt's tip with a shop towel and reinsert it into the oil tank with a 12mm socket.

Move your container below the oil filter cover on the right side of the motor. Using a 4mm Allen key, remove the bottom bolt from the oil cover. Hold the motorcycle upright to drain any remaining oil from the oil filter into your container. Remove the remaining bolts from the oil filter cover using a 4mm Allen key and pull the cover off the motor.

Inspect the oil filter cover's O-rings for tears, replacing them as needed with new O-rings. Coat the O-rings with fresh 10W40 motor oil. Pull the oil filter and its retaining spring out of the motor. Insert a fresh oil filter into the motor. Clean the retaining spring with brake cleaner and wipe dry with a a shop towel. Place the spring over the oil filter. Place the oil filter cover over the motor. Using a 4mm Allen key, reinsert and tighten the cover's bolts.

Place a funnel into the motor's oil filler neck. Pour up to 1.5 quarts of fresh 10W40 motor oil into the motor. Remove the funnel and wipe away any oil spills with a shop towel. Screw the oil filler cap onto the motor's oil filler neck.

Clean off any spilled oil from the motor using brake cleaner and shop towels. Start the motorcycle and let it warm up for three minutes. Stop the motor and check the oil level using the dipstick on the motor's oil filler cap. Add oil as needed to raise the oil level to the dipstick's "FULL" mark.