I was changing my oil today and went to replace the filter, and there was one thing I couldn't figure out, what the deal with the spring??? If the bike is upright, there is no way to put the spring in the center and keep it there without it falling off. I just laid the spring in the bottom and figured it would hold the filter in there just the same and push resistince up against the cap, but I want to get it right. Do you guys actually lay your bike on its side to put the filter in?? How else can you possibly get the spring to stay in the middle while putting the new filter in?? Thanks in advance

 

I wasn't sure, so I did put the bike on it's side. Only a little gas spilled out. I'm definitely sure that the spring iss in fact required. The filter won't seal on the spout without it.

 

put a dab of grease on the end of the spring, it will stick the spring in place so you can put your filter in easily. You might not want to have the spring out of place it is improbable but possible that the filter get semi-cockeyed in the housing and not seal against the cap properly

 

Yep I have 600 miles on the bike and I just did my 3rd oil change, the first one I too asked and found the answer to the problem. The grease trick worked great. But do you think Kawasaki could have come up with something better than this? Oh well if this is my only complaint then all is good. Happy ridding.

deej

 

vaseline is a better choice than grease because it totally disipates when the oil comes to temp as regular grease will get into the filter and remain until the next oil change

 

Thanks, the vaseline trick worked exactly as described!!!

 

Vasoline sound a lot easier than laying the bike on it's side. Although it's good to find out how hard it is to lift up. Not really that hard at all.