Checking Oil Level

[karlp]

Someone please say what is wrong with this logic.

Book says check oil when hot (level bike etc, etc).

So check oil as per manual - all ok.

So then check again in the morning. - when cold

Obviously level will have dropped BUT it must still be ok.

So note new 'correct' level when cold (could even mark the glass) - then check to this and all should be ok.

However I know that if it is very near the bottom of the sight glass it may not be possible to do it accurately.

 

[Sir James]

Are they telling you how to fill it up when cold

Rather than hot as per the norm

 

[Wapping]

Are they telling you how to fill it up when cold

Rather than hot as per the norm

Book says check oil when hot (level bike etc, etc).

So check oil as per manual - all ok.

Nah.

He wants to add in another alternative method, including the option to scratch the sight glass.

Not sure why Usual attempt to make a simple process more complicated, I can only assume.

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

I do everything 'by the book'

 

[karlp]

Nah.

He wants to add in another alternative method, including the option to scratch the sight glass.

Not sure why Usual attempt to make a simple process more complicated, I can only assume.

It is a lot easier to check the oil prior to riding than checking when you get back home etc after dark and being knackered.

When I get home most of the time I want to just dump the bike, have a nice cup of tea rather than spend another 10mins in the garage waiting for the oil to settle.

Cannot see why it is making a simple task more complicated

Would you not agree.

I notice no one has said it cannot be done.

Maybe people cannot think 'out of the box'

 

[Taff]

.... When I get home most of the time I want to just dump the bike, have a nice cup of tea rather than spend another 10mins in the garage waiting for the oil to settle..... Cannot see why it is making a simple task more complicated .... Would you not agree.

Well to be blunt no, I wouldn't agree. I've timed it, parking up with the bike on its centre stand (as per the book) taking my helmet and gloves off, opening the shed door, saying hello to the wife and kids and taking my jacket off takes about 5 mins, ie just in time for you to pop out and check the glass. BTW my book says wait 5 mins (not 10 mins) before checking the level.

 

[Boxerboy55]

It is a lot easier to check the oil prior to riding than checking when you get back home etc after dark and being knackered.
When I get home most of the time I want to just dump the bike, have a nice cup of tea rather than spend another 10mins in the garage waiting for the oil to settle.
Cannot see why it is making a simple task more complicated.
Would you not agree.

Yes I would. Did exactly that last week. It's an absolutely crazy recommended process - to check after running a motor. After a run, I'm usually tired, and/or the bike is on it's side stand an/or dinner is ready, etc, etc, as others have said.

I wanted to go for a run after the bike had been standing a few days, so when I saw the cold oil level was in the bottom half of the sight glass I threw in a splash (technical term for measured amount ) of lube. A few days later, before the next run, the cold oil level was in the upper half of the glass. Bike is perfectly happy as far as I can see. Like any machine, you have to get to know it. How much it uses, etc. Once in a blue moon I might manage to check it standing straight up 10 mins after being used, but not often.

 

[Wapping]

Maybe people cannot think 'out of the box'

Maybe it is simply that people do not need to think out of the box, if they do not find it difficult to check the oil by the method recomended by the manufacturer?

However, if anyone finds it difficult, then indeed some alternative method might well have to be found.

But, of course, this itself creates worries and concerns for the 'Out of the box thinkers', who then have to voice their theories and concerns here, seeking confirmation that all is well.

This inplies that that their 'Out of the box thinking' is itself an unsettling experience, so possibly best avoided.

 

[karlp]

Well to be blunt no, I wouldn't agree. I've timed it, parking up with the bike on its centre stand (as per the book) taking my helmet and gloves off, opening the shed door, saying hello to the wife and kids and taking my jacket off takes about 5 mins, ie just in time for you to pop out and check the glass. BTW my book says wait 5 mins (not 10 mins) before checking the level.

Yep and the oil level ain't correct - so you go get the tools, find the oil and then top it up and recheck - all after that long ride.

Now wouldn't you rather be sitting by the fire with a nice cup of tea when it is dark, cold outside - I would.

I am not saying it is an alternative but used sensibly and applying the correct amount of intelligence could just make things easier once and a while.

I am not suggesting writing to BMW or altering the manual just enquiring if an alternative quick check is feasible.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

I`m constantly amazed by the oil checking and people`s take on it. My advice Karl is to stick to the manual or any other method which suits YOU because you should know whether your bike uses oil regularly.

Mine has done 43k and doesn`t use a drop. I give it a cursory check before I ride it and as long as I can see oil in the glass that`s good enough because the level doesn`t have to be critical. I mean, it was all OK when I parked it last time I rode it and an engine doesn`t use any when it`s stopped.

As long as there isn`t a slick underneath it it`s gonna be good to go

Peeps may think my way is a bit slap dash but I don`t check the oil in my car very often either and that`s still running great.

 

[karlp]

Maybe it is simply that people do not need to think out of the box, if they do not find it difficult to check the oil by the method recomended by the manufacturer?

However, if anyone finds it difficult, then indeed some alternative method might well have to be found.

But, of course, this itself creates worries and concerns for the 'Out of the box thinkers', who then have to voice their theories and concerns here, seeking confirmation that all is well.

This inplies that that their 'Out of the box thinking' is itself an unsettling experience, so possibly best avoided.

It is not an unsettling experience for me - I have to think out of the box everyday in my job - always looking for new ways to do things - keeps me at the top of my field.

But it saves time and energy to ask a simple question - does anyone see a problem.

No one on this site has said there is - or has suggested why it may not be possible to do.

If someone had said - "I have tried that and it does not work" then that reply would save me the time in investigating the pros and cons.

Therefore now I will follow this further and see what the problems are.

 

[karlp]

I`m constantly amazed by the oil checking and people`s take on it. My advice Karl is to stick to the manual or any other method which suits YOU because you should know whether your bike uses oil regularly.

Mine has done 43k and doesn`t use a drop. I give it a cursory check before I ride it and as long as I can see oil in the glass that`s good enough because the level doesn`t have to be critical. I mean, it was all OK when I parked it last time I rode it and an engine doesn`t use any when it`s stopped.

As long as there isn`t a slick underneath it it`s gonna be good to go

Peeps may think my way is a bit slap dash but I don`t check the oil in my car very often either and that`s still running great.

absolutely spot on - it is all about using one's brain.

karl

 

[JJH]

simple way to check oil 1/pull into garage
2/fill with petrol
3/pay for petrol
4/check oil
works for me no oil used on 09 gsa 3000 miles JJH

 

[Taff]

Yep and the oil level ain't correct - so you go get the tools, find the oil and then top it up and recheck - all after that long ride. now wouldn't you rather be sitting by the fire with a nice cup of tea when it is dark, cold outside - I would.

But its dark in the mornings too. If mine needs oil (and it rarely does) sometimes I fill it up there and then - sometimes I put it away and top it up before the next run. I suppose that as long as it gets done that's all that matters, but most people just find it easier to check whether it needs it doing it "by the book". It literally takes seconds to check (its part of my end of ride routine) so I've never felt the need to even think about an alternative. Sometimes it's just easier to go with the flow - rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

 

[MikeP]

Someone please say what is wrong with this logic.

I'll have a bash.

Book says check oil when hot (level bike etc, etc).

So check oil as per manual - all ok.

I'm right with you. Sounds good so far.

So then check again in the morning. - when cold

Why?

Obviously level will have dropped BUT it must still be ok.

Will it?

So note new 'correct' level when cold (could even mark the glass) - then check to this and all should be ok.

What if it goes up?

However I know that if it is very near the bottom of the sight glass it may not be possible to do it accurately.

If the level is near the bottom, why do you think that it needs topping-up?

Here's an idea: Why don't you check the oil before you go for your ride? That way you'd have no need to check it when you get in all tired and shagged-out from your ride, you'd not have to leave the bosom of your family to check the oil, you could enjoy your ride safe in the knowledge that the oil level was fine before you put the engine through all that stress and there'd no need to think "outside the box" about something that's about as simple as it can be.

 

[Wapping]

It is not an unsettling experience for me - I have to think out of the box everyday in my job - always looking for new ways to do things - keeps me at the top of my field.

 

[John Armstrong]

Get an airhead, check the oil cold, iaw the manual

 

[wilbjr21]

Wapping ............ you are awful but I like it.

 

[(RIP) Miff]

I have to do this with my KTM. It's a DRY sump. I presume the beemer is too???

I have noted where the oil is on the dipstick when cold, and use it as a GUIDE. I still check it as per the manual.

 

[Wapping]

A warm welcome to the wisdom of Norfolk....

I have to do this with my KTM. It's a DRY sump. I presume the beemer is too???

I have noted where the oil is on the dipstick when cold, and use it as a GUIDE. I still check it as per the manual.

....ah, he's a KTM rider. That clears that up.