| Author | Message | ||
     Nikponcherello |
I'm at my wits end with the oil level on this thing. I'm only at about 500 miles past my first oil change (got about 1100) on her. Love the bike, but hate the oil check procedure and inconsistency. So anyway, at only 500 miles I'm probably at at around 3.5 quarts added in that time. I'm everywhere from not seeing any oil on the stick to barely seeing it at the tip. I've done hot checks and cold checks. I have a rear stand. I've used a friend holding it upright because I was worried about the 1 inch that the stand elevates the rear wheel. I can't do anything to get a full reading on the stick and I don't want to keep adding oil because there are no puddles under the bike, it seems to be running okay, and I don't notice any major puffs of white smoke. Although I don't know if I would anyway. Soooo... the question.. Should I just sleep well at night and trust the fact that I put enough oil in it coupled with the low oil light? I mean, if the oil gets low can I expect the light to protect me from any engine damage? Assuming I shut it down if the light were to come on? Or if the light comes on is it already too late and some damage has probably already occurred at that point? | ||
| Smoke |
3.5 qts is too much oil. 3 qts is actually too much. when i do my oil and filter change i started with 3 qts and ride to the next oil change. now i am to 2qts,24oz of mobil 1 per oil change. remember that there are 2 drains, 1 on each side. i gave up checking oil on the 1125 and i'm still waiting for the light. i do look for signs of leakage when i get ready to ride it however. tim | ||
| Jdugger |
You can use the cold check procedure, and I actually find it more consistent. But the bike on stands or in a chock overnight and check it in the morning. I like the oil level "a titch low", as in, right at or just above the "low but acceptable" mark on the dip stick. Now that I'm riding on the track a lot, I find it necessary to change the oil quite a bit more frequently -- around every 4 track days or so. The gearbox will start to get ever so slightly "sticky", and the oil starts to get a bit dark cloudy instead of golden clear honey colored. I find running the lower oil level at high revs the oil doesn't slpash out of the crankcase breather and all over the shift lever! | ||
| Ds_tiger |
My 2 cents worth I was alarmed first time when I checked the oil level after putting in "2.7" liters or quarts- whatever it called for: Nothing on the stick what so ever! Then I read the hot/ cold procedure - WHEW! Then I decided to forgo it and buttoned everything back up. Oil level never gets checked. I monitor the soot on the exhaust (none) and get on down the road to the next oil change (< 2000 miles) I realize this may not be OK for many, but it will work for me- | ||
| Daggar |
Have a beer and relax, man. 3.5 quarts is way too much. Do we have a low oil light? I thought it was a low oil pressure light. If that light comes on, damage has probably been done. | ||
| Ccryder |
It's not a "Low Level" light. It is a low pressure light. Checking the oil requires a little patience and consistency. Just like my Honda ST1300, I use a watch to time so many mins after I shut her down when she is HOT (not warm) and my level shows up consistent. At least the 1125's don't puke oil all over the place like the "Tubers" will do if they are too full, that is EMBARRASSING for sure! Time2WOrk Neil S. | ||
| Xl1200r |
I don't check the oil in the 1125. It's too much of a PITA. Seriously - my girlfriend rides a Ninja 250, based on 1980's technology, and all I have to do to check the old is stand the bike up and look in the little window, and right away I can see if it's over or under filled. I understand the dry-sump complicated things, but my Sporttster or XB was never this hard to do. | ||
| Nikponcherello |
I've read a bunch of the threads about this. I understand that there are drains on both sides, but if I had botched that I would expect to see high oil. I put the bike on a rearstand and have tried the hot and cold procedures using a watch. That dipstick is a joke. I've left it on the rearstand, level, overnight and it doesn't read. | ||
| Bob_thompson |
Nik, if you go to the archives there is a lot of info on this from when the 1125R's first came out as I believed you have. A revised dipstick and several ways of checking. What works for me is to change oil every 1000 miles, add 2.7 qts. w/filter, and not worry if I do not see any leaks. With this my oil level cold is just at the bottom of the older dipstick (barely discernable) and in the mid range when hot and the bike perfectly level on front and rear stands. If I cannot see the oil level easily with the stock dipstick I use a 10" long piece of SS 1/8" wire and go into the dipstick hole and bottom it in the cases. It will always show then with 2.7 qts. and not be over filled. | ||
| Ccryder |
Mark, Mark: Your XB and Sportster while also being dry sump, have remote oil tanks. When the oil pump stops pumping, no more oil goes into the tank, that's why they are easier. No waiting for oil to drain back down to the internal oil tank. Nik: Follow the instructions like Bob mentioned and........... take it off the rear stand! You really don't have to wait more than about 2-4 mins for the oil to drain down after the engine is hot to take a reading. Leave it on the sidestand, strip off your gear, grab a cold drink and then..... straddle your beast, unscrew the dip stick, wipe it off, screw it back in, all the way, and then unscrew it and you should have some oil on your dip stick. You need to try and check it on the same level surface each time and about the same drain-back time to get some consistency (oh yeah don't use the stand except for storage, I know it's convienent (I have one of the front wheel chocks too) but.).. After 21,000+ miles, I check mine about every other week (~1000 miles) after I get back from work (70 miles) and guess what???? I have not had to add any oil in 21,000 miles. Don't get me wrong, you still should check it periodically. Time2Work Neil S. | ||
| Ron_luning |
I've started documenting my oil checks in my maintenance record just to keep track of the ludicrous inconsistency. I did a cold check on it once, and the dipstick was completely dry. The bike had been sitting on a front and rear stand so the wheels were elevated equally. I figured it must have been low on oil so I added 200 mL I think. I did a hot check after riding 6 miles including a few redline runs. The engine was warmed up pretty well. The hot check showed only a couple of drops of oil throughout the range on the dipstick. I then waited until the next day and did another cold check, and again the oil was not showing at all on the dipstick. The bike was once again on front and rear stands. I figured that the bike must have been really low on oil since even after all night it hadn't drained enough down to measure on the dipstick. I believe I added another 150mL, then went for a 100+mile ride. Upon return I did the hot check and the oil was at the "Full" mark, just below where it says to drain oil. The range on that dipstick is quite a bit more than 150 mL, so I have no real explanation for how it went from nothing at all to being almost overfull. The cold check the next day showed oil at the center of the acceptable range. So yes, there is a difference between cold and hot checks that is significant enough to negate the value of one or the other. The problem is I don't know which one is the better one to go by. Also, the hot check is something that apparently needs more than just a high engine temp to work as it should. Now that I've got a bunch of extra oil in the bike, I could have pretty much not added anything and it would have been OK. I think you've gone over at 3.5 quarts. The correct amount should be 2.7-2.8 qts. If the light is reliable or not is a gamble. I wouldn't trust it to tell you if the oil level is acceptable. If anything, just document your oil level checks and that way if the thing craps out on you you have a record of caring about it. | ||
| Dtx |
Speaking of oil light, has anybody ever seen theirs come on during extremely hard braking? Sometimes I will approach a stop sign (with no one behind me), pull in the clutch and see how quickly I can come to a stop. Its kinda fun sometimes, but I have noticed the oil light come on for about 1 second...like all the oil has pushed to the front and away from the sensor. | ||
| Nikponcherello |
I've never seen that on mine. Although I haven't done any hard braking yet. But the consensus above seems to be that the light isn't for level, but pressure. So in doing what you're doing you'd have to be starving the pickup right? That seems unlikely given it's track prowess. But I'm just guessing. |
