| Author | Message | ||
     Buellistic |
As nobody probably knows the oil capacity for a TUBE FRAME oil system is 2 1/2 quarts ... To get a correct refferance on the dip stick it needs to be done with the small OEM oil filter ... Change the oil and install the small filter putting only 2 1/2 QTs in the system ... Go for a good ride to get the engine up to operating temperature ... Stop on level ground, with th bike on the side stand and the engine idleing, check the oil ... Mark the dip stick as this is the correct(refferance) oil level(if you put on a larger oil filter the oil can not go above this refferance level) ... If you put too much oil in the oil tank above this refferance level the excess oil will find a way out of the oil system !!! ie: out the head breathers ... "AND" if an excessive amount the oil will blow the dip stick out of the oil tank and over flow all over the oil tank ... Some of you have aready experanced this as you have had to clean the excessive oil off your rear tire ... This used to be a common thing early on when you took you BUELL to the Harley-Davidson Dealer to get the oil changed ... The Harley-Davidson "TECHNICIAN" changed your oil and put 3 Quarts into a 2 1/2 Quart system and before you get home you have oil all over the side of your rear tire !!! STARTED THIS THREAD BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT OF NEW BUELL RIDERS BUYING "TUBE FRAME MODELs" !!! In BUELLing LaFayette (Message edited by buellistic on May 15, 2005) | ||
| Aesquire |
Ah' the infamous Buell self leveling oil system! At my last scheduled service the nice lady behind the counter looked at me funny as I insisted she write on the work order to "be sure the belt is nice & loose, and don't overfill the oil" Then the Buell tech started laughing ( he heard me ) and told me the belt specs from memory. We grinned at each other. If Tube frame belts are too tight, it's Bad. Sportster specs are way too tight. "The yellow M2? that thing runs great!" the test ride/inspector told me when I picked it up. Yep, belts ok, I checked. | ||
| Buellistic |
Aesquire: Now that it has been estabilised these are reactions from a Harley-Davidson/"BUELL" TECHNICIAN(ie  elt) ... He only knows what is in the BOOK ... The BOOK has a lot of "ERRORS" in it ... After all, the BOOK is written by "TECHNICIANS for "TECHNICIANS" ... This is one of the occasions when a "MECHANIC" has to correct a "TECHNICAN" with how it is in the REAL WORLD ... If you want me to send you a "INFO SHEET" on this ping me(Ljenne73c@verizon.net) so "i" can get your e-mail address ... In BUELLing LaFayette | ||
| Cabs |
Buellistic, thank you very much for your help! I changed the oil and the filter too, now it runs great! Thank you Cabs (Italy) | ||
| Jackbequick |
"As nobody probably knows the oil capacity for a TUBE FRAME oil system is 2 1/2 quarts..." Buellistic, Are you saying that, in spite of the specs saying that it is a 2 quart system, you can actually run a half quart more in a tuber without any problems? Jack | ||
| Hans |
IMO Buellistic is perfectly right in his meaning, but the oil capacity, at changing oil, is closer to 1 1/2 quarts instead of 2 1/2 quarts. Slip of the pen, I suppose. Hans. | ||
| Buellistic |
Hans: Did you wait until the engine colded off and the oil drained into the bottom end before you changed the oil ??? CHANGE THE OIL WITH THE ENGINE AT OPERATING TEMPERATURE ... WITH ALL YOU OIL CHANGE EQUIPMENT READY, WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING, REMOVE THE OIL TANK DRAIN PLUG("TURN OFF THE ENGINE BEFORE OIL TANK IS EMPTY)... REMOVE OIL FILTER, FILL NEW FILTER WITH AS MUCH OIL AS YOU CAN AND INSTALL ... REPLACE OIL TANK DRAIN PLUG A FILL OIL TANK WITH THE REMAINDER OF THE 2 1/2 that you had set aside ... WITH OIL CHANGE COMPLETE, GO FOR A RIDE TO GET ENGINE UP TO OPERATING TEMPERATURE ... WHEN YOU RETURN FROM THE RIDE, WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING AND ON THE SIDESTAND, CHECK THE OIL ... NOTE AND MAKE A REFFERANCE MARK ON THE DIP STICK ... YOU CAN NEVER EXCEED THIS REFFERANCE MARK OR YOU WILL BE PUTING IN TOO MUCH OIL ... ALWAYS CHECK OIL AFTER A RIDE(OPERATING TEMPERATURE), ON SIDESTAND WITH ENGINE RUNNING ... ANY QUESTIONS, "PLEASE" ASK !!! | ||
| Hans |
Buellistic, We have liters here instead of quarts and a quart is 0.946 liter. I change oil, following all the rules with about 1 1/2 liter. Then I top it up after a run but not more then just touching the surface with the dipstick: So BELOW the low mark on the dipstick. Never measured exactly how much there is left over in the bottle. As we live in a relatively cold climate, I have no reason to fill as much oil in the system as possible. While we have a dry sump system, it will not harm to keep the oil level below the low mark IMO. It prevents nicely a pressurized oil tank. Hans | ||
| Jackbequick |
Hans, I think your tank will be pressurized too. Apparently the pressure is not a problem if the tank is filled reasonably close to the normal level. What is that small addition on your airbox in the photo on your profile? Jack | ||
| Buellistic |
Hans: THE REASON FOR THE "REFFERANCE MARK" is that is the required air space in the OIL TANK ... THE ENGINE WILL PUMP ANY OIL ABOVE THIS REFFERANCE INTO THE HEADS AND OUT THE BREATHERS(KNOW AS PUKEing) UNTIL THE ENGINE IS HAPPY WITH THE OIL LEVEL ... 1 1/2 "QUARTS" !!! Jackbequick: That is an "INTENATIONAL AIR BOX" !!! IMHO is a better AIR BOX than we got in the U.S.A. ... | ||
| Hans |
Jack: That addition forms an extended inhale channel for the breadbox. The backplate is closed and the hole is at the outside in the breadbox, which is covered with this thing. The filter is sitting in reversed position and the air enters the box from the right side. I don`t know for sure, why we have this kind, but it does damp the intake noise very effectively.  Buellistic: Right on. so we have to look upon the dipstick as an high water marker on a levee: Yellow area already between the two markers and never, ever, exceed the high level marker. Hans. | ||
| Rocketman |
Yes I'll chime in here as I have the Metmachex oil tank, which allows considerably more oil than the recommended amount. It doesn't matter how much more oil you can get in the tank, no matter it seems how much air space you leave, it will blow it out of the engine breather unless you use somewhere very close to the recommended amount. I can't be more accurate at this time as I'm experimenting with my oil consumption at the start of the riding season (Sunday yipee). I'm doing this because I always top up the oil when needed, and never concern myself much with the consumption as I don't consider it that excessive. But recently Pammy seemed concerned that my heads run with no valve guide oil seals, though I don't believe I'm using \ loosing oil through the guides. It seems now is the time to make an accurate assessment of oil usage and tank space / pressure. I want to see if it's possible to stop the puking issue, and by doing so determine how much oil the engine is using, and where that usage is. Rocket | ||
| Jackbequick |
Thanks Henrik, I thought maybe it was intended to distract one's eye from the inherent ugliness of the U.S. version of the what we lovingly call the "breadbox". I abandoned my breadbox for the AFT billet model with a K&N filter. I like that setup, it can be seen in my profile. I don't recall any intake noise with the stock system and don't hear any with the AFT billet housing. That may relate either to my hearing problems or the fact that in a year of ownership I might not have accumulated more than about 2 seconds of time on the stop on my throttle. :>  I recently calculated the speeds that the rev limiter will activate in each gear on a M2 and I don't think I'll be hitting that any time soon either. I don't ride in the rain except by accident and than only briefly, I might be concerned about moisture with the AFT if I rode in heavy rain regularly. I'd probably put a bag around the air cleaner if it were going to let it set in rain. Jack | ||
| Buellistic |
Rocket: Your engine will you know when it is happy with oil level in your after market oil tank(it will stop PUKing and/or using oil) ... The ENGINE HAPPY oil level will equal the proper oil tank AIR SPACE ... Hans: "i" amd still running the STOCK AIR BOX cover("BUT" inside the AIR BOX it is "PRODUCT IMPROVED") and it makes the perfect slider when you fall in the right side ... In BUELLing LaFayette | ||
| Rocketman |
Thank you LaFayette. That is what I'm hoping for. Keep up the great work here. I enjoy reading most (LOL) of your tech stuff. Rocket |
