As part of routine maintenance, the air cleaner must be checked or replaced every 12,000 miles. To change the air filter, allow yourself an afternoon of time because this will take about 3 1/2 hours and will take some mechanical skill. So if you are not handy, you should leave this to your Honda dealer. With the technical disclaimer out of the way, lets get to this. Instead of changing to a new paper filter, I went with a K&N Air Filter. Just remember you still need to maintain the filter on a regular basis.

Tools needed:

• #2 Phillips head screwdriver
• Flat-head screwdriver
• Needle-nosed pliers
• 10 mm socket and ratchet
• 5mm hex wrench

Previous steps:

The first steps of getting to the air filter require you to remove several body panels:

• Remove the seat
• Remove the side panels
• Remove the side pockets
• Remove the meter panel
• Remove the top shelter

Once you have removed the top shelter remove the

• Shelter inner covers
• Intake air duct (these are held in place by one screw each)

1. Release the boot clamp and the wire band.
2. Disconnect the cruise actuator connector.
3. Remove the screw and BARO sensor.
4. Remove the engine control module (ECM) and ABS control module (if equipped).







5. Disconnect the IAT sensor connector.
6. Remove the four bolts for the control module holder.



7. Loosen the seven screws and remove the air cleaner cover.



8. When you have the cover off, make sure that you clean out any debris from the housing.

Now that this is done, it is time to reassemble the bike. It is the opposite of disassembly. As you reassemble, take the time to check fuel lines for cracks, and rubbing points. Also be careful to make sure that you route the wire harnesses where they won’t be pinched or broken.

Tools Needed:

• Plastic knife
• #2 Phillips head screwdriver

There are many times that you’ll need to remove the seat from the bike, for various maintenance operations or to add accessories to the bike.

Tools Needed:

• 6 mm Allen wrench

1. There are 2 bolts on either side of the seat in the hand-holds. Unbolt these.


Remove 2 allen-head bolts from each seat handle

2. Then pull the lower portion of the rider seat-back forward, and shift the seat towards the rear. Lift the seat, and be aware of the wire harness leading to the seat if you have a seat heater. Don’t pull the seat to hard, you will have about 12 inches of room to disconnect the harness.


Lift the seat slightly, and disconnect the seat heater plug



Close-up of the seat heater plug

When reinstalling the seat, remember to plug-in the wire harness to the seat. Then reinstall the seat, with the nose first, making sure that you slide the tabs under the the top shelter. When reinstalling the seat bolts, sometimes the rubber bushings behind the seat, need to be realigned. Make sure that you torque down the bolts, tight. These bolts are responsible for assisting you to putting the bike on its center stand.

To perform most of the basic maintenance, the top shelter needs to be removed. To view larger images, just click the image.

Previous steps:

• Remove both pockets
• Remove both side covers (these just pull off)
• Remove seat
• Remove meter panel

Tools needed:

• Needle-nose pliers
• 5 mm Allen wrench
• #2 Phillips head screwdriver
• 13 mm wrench

1. Inside the pocket openings, there are panel switch connectors (1 in each pocket). Disconnect these. In the left opening, there is the foot warmer ventilation switch cable that you need to remove. I use needle-nose pliers to maneuver this cable to disconnect.


Right side wire connector





Left side wire connector





Left side foot warmer control

2. Then remove the 12 screws that hold the top shelter in place. There are 3 different sized screws: six 6 x 14 mm, four 5 x 12 mm, & two 5 x 19 mm. Pay attention to where each of the sized screws go. Eight of the screws are under the trim pieces that you removed in the side pocket removal steps. the other 4 screws are along the top of the top shelter.


Right side top bolt locations





Left side top bolt locations

3. Remove the two phillips head setting screws from around the ignition switch.
4. Remove the nut from each side of the top shelter (found under the side cover).
5. Release the top shelter off the studs from where you just removed the nuts.
6. Raise the top shelter gently and disconnect the antenna connector and the harness to the audio unit.


Antenna connection

7. Then you can place the top shelter aside.

This is what it looks like under the top shelter.

Under the top shelter

Installation is the reverse of the removal process.

The first step to perform any maintenance to many parts of the the bike is to remove the pockets on either side of the dash. To see larger images just click image.

Tools needed:

• #2 Phillips head screwdriver
• Plastic knife
• Needle-nose pliers

1. First step is to remove the trim strips on each side of the bike.


Left Pocket



Right Pocket

2. It is easiest to start at the bottom, from the inside edge. I used my fingernail to lift the edge, and gently lifted the trim. You don’t want to use a screwdriver because it could scratch the paint. If you can’t use your fingernail, use a plastic knife.
   

   Left pocket with trim removed

   

   Right pocket with trim removed

    

    

3. Then open the pocket and you’ll find 2 screws and 2 plastic trim tabs on the right side, and 4 plastic trim tabs on the left side. To remove the trim tabs, depress the center, and then remove the tabs. Be careful not to loose the tabs, they are hard to find if you drop them into the bike, and it ruins your day to have to buy more (if you can find some to buy). Then lift out the pocket. On the right side, the release cable will limit your movement, but you can undo this easily, I recommend using a pair of needle-nose pliers for this. On the left side, you will have the auxiliary sound input and power port (if installed) that you will need to disconnect.
   

   Left side pocket holding tabs

   

   Right side pocket holding tabs

    

    

4. 

   Left side pocket removed

   

   Audio and power port connectors in the left pocket

   

   Right side pocket removed

    

    

4. Reinstallation is just the opposite.