V-strom 1000 Oil Change

Well, I did my first oil change on my v-strom  1000 since installing the aftermarket skid plate. It is simple to change the oil, even with the skid plate. The manufacturer did not drill out a hole for the drain plug but it is easy to circumvent the issue. Simply drop the two bolts at the back of the skid plate and loosen the front mount so they act as a hinge. Then cram a oil catch, or a funnel leading to one, under the drain plug and change the oil as usual. It took me maybe two minutes longer than  if I did not have a skid plate on the bike. I did sped a few minutes touching up the scrapped spots on the skid plate with black paint though. The oil filter is only slightly harder to get to with the givi crash bars in place but you don't have to do anything different to get the filter on/off. As usual I installed a Fram ph6018 filter and rotella 15w-40. The whole mess cost me a whopping $24. Just the oil alone would be be more than that if I used a different brand. I would rather change it more frequently but pay less for the supplies. I figure frequency matters more than almost anything else anyway.