High Oil Level !!

[Bendy toy]

Good point but we have a costly sight glass prone to leaks and melting (apparently) and some daft procedure just to get an accurate level.

What IS that about?

A simple wire dipstick used by every other road vehicle does the job perfectly. It can even be accurate with the bike on the side stand. Just put two level marks on the thing. How ferkin hard can it be?

As for all this fuss about a 400cc overfill - get a grip. If its that much of a worry, drain some oil out.

 

[Beemerman59]

Good point but we have a costly sight glass prone to leaks and melting (apparently) and some daft procedure just to get an accurate level.

What IS that about?

A simple wire dipstick used by every other road vehicle does the job perfectly. It can even be accurate with the bike on the side stand. Just put two level marks on the thing. How ferkin hard can it be?

As for all this fuss about a 400cc overfill - get a grip. If its that much of a worry, drain some oil out.

You can get different levels depending on what you've been doing with your bike and a dipstick is no different than a sight glass in that respect - it can give you a different reading if you vary the way you monitor it.

I think the point is that the OP thought his bike was overfilled and so drained some oil when in fact it may not have been overfilled in the first place.

 

[Wrinkly]

I've had two that dont. Inevitably you will get riders who mistreat the bike, maybe thrashing the nuts off it to run it in like that american site suggests, and then come on here moaning of bad oil consumption, so you get a wrong impression.

If your talking about "motoman",I can't say that I've seen any reports on here from folks that have used this method and then "come on here moaning of bad oil consumption" but I'd be interested to read them if you could point me in the right direction.

From a personal point of view,after reading about this method several years ago it did make sense to me,I'm no engineer but for me I could see some logic in it,so I decided to run in my next bike using this method.

I'm now on my 3rd bike that I've run in using this method and all I can say is that all 3 bikes have felt very strong and smooth and none have used oil.

If you do use this method,when you change the oil for the first time (20-50 mls) let it settle for 30mins pour all but about 1/2 pint into another container then pour the last 1/2 pint into a glass jar and hold it up to the light the amount of metal floating about is staggering.

Just my opinion,but I recently rode a 1200gs tc the same as mine,which had been run in very gently it used around 500ml of oil every 1500mls and felt sluggish compared to mine.

Steve.

 

[Steptoe]

. How ferkin hard can it be?

.

You tell me what's harder - unscrewing a dipstick, wiping it, re-inserting, then removing it again and looking at the level, then replacing - or simply looking at the oil window .

If you can see oil anywhere in the sight glass or it's full up no need to worry, it's enough.

Always check the oil level at the same time; before you start the engine after the bike has been left overnight or longer is best and simplest, and then always stick to checking it at that same time frame.
Don't chop and change when you check from in morning to after you've ridden it at the end of the day, to the middle of a ride.
Consistancy is your friend.

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

You tell me what's harder - unscrewing a dipstick, wiping it, re-inserting, then removing it again and looking at the level, then replacing - or simply looking at the oil window .

If you can see oil anywhere in the sight glass or it's full up no need to worry, it's enough.

Always check the oil level at the same time; before you start the engine after the bike has been left overnight or longer is best and simplest, and then always stick to checking it at that same time frame.
Don't chop and change when you check from in morning to after you've ridden it at the end of the day, to the middle of a ride.
Consistancy is your friend.

He's right

 

[Greenman14]

Not being very clever, but knowing enough not to disagree with Steptoe, I'm puzzled why BMW would go to the trouble of fitting an oil sight glass, and writing up a specific procedure for checking the level using this sight glass, if the result is an engine with 400cc less oil than it needs???

 

[(RIP) Miff]

And when using a dipstick, do you screw it all the way in, or not?

Tappety Tapped in MMXIII

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

And when using a dipstick, do you screw it all the way in, or not?

Tappety Tapped in MMXIII

Don't you feckin' start

Andres

 

[Bugbear]

Always check the oil level at the same time; before you start the engine after the bike has been left overnight or longer is best and simplest, and then always stick to checking it at that same time frame.
Don't chop and change when you check from in morning to after you've ridden it at the end of the day, to the middle of a ride.
Consistancy is your friend.

Spot on

I will admit to going through the oil-level worry phase when I first bought my bike though - mainly through taking too much notice of some threads on here

 

[JPB]

Just be glad it's not a Harley. They have dip sticks and, contrary to the advice in Haynes manuals, need to have the oil checked while level and not on the side (or as they call them, "jiffy") stand.

The trouble is, they don't have centre stands so you have to check your oil while sitting on the bike, and this involves some tricky contortion which looks a bit iffy to bystanders and often ends up with oil dribbling onto your trousers.

No, far better to grovel about on the ground looking at the sight glass!

 

[AberdeenAngus]

Just be glad it's not a Harley. They have dip sticks and, contrary to the advice in Haynes manuals, need to have the oil checked while level and not on the side (or as they call them, "jiffy") stand.

The trouble is, they don't have centre stands so you have to check your oil while sitting on the bike, and this involves some tricky contortion which looks a bit iffy to bystanders and often ends up with oil dribbling onto your trousers.

No, far better to grovel about on the ground looking at the sight glass!

Why don't they just ask a pal to hold.........

Oh, a Harley, never mind.

 

[seadog]

Why don't they just ask a pal to hold.........

Oh, a Harley, never mind.

.....

 

[CuzGS]

I'm no expert but IIRC there is only 400 or 500ml between the sight glass being empty and completely full.

FWIW after an oil/filter change I fill using the amount spec'd in the manual, not via the sight glass and as you say it always ends up over the top of the sight glass. By the time it's due fresh oil it's normally down to the mid point of the sight glass.

Full to the top or just a wee bit visible is fine in my book

Now, if you want to get paranoid about oil levels try running something like my old Berg that only held 1 litre in total - mind you, with an oil change every 10 hours it never had a chance to use any oil

Andres

Good to know you're a fastidious owner

 

[Deleted account 211025001]

Good to know you're a fastidious owner

I ran the Husky on cooking oil

Andres

 

[Steptoe]

Just be glad it's not a Harley. They have dip sticks and, contrary to the advice in Haynes manuals, need to have the oil checked while level and not on the side (or as they call them, "jiffy") stand.

!

I take the dip stick out of my harley, peer into the oil tank, see oil, and put the dip stick back. I do his once every couple of months.

All while the bike is on the side stand.

 

[beatmeier]

I take the dip stick out of my harley, peer into the oil tank, see oil, and put the dip stick back. I do his once every couple of months.

All while the bike is on the side stand.

And it works and works...............no need to panic

 

[seahorse]

Laverda triples have a dipstick which screws in at an angle. Level is checked by unscrewing and placing vertically in the hole. Failure to do this results in overfilled sump and excess puked out of the breather and all over the back tyre. A mistake you only make once!

 

[iandavid]

Why don't they just ask a pal to hold.........

Oh, a Harley, never mind.

strange that cos my HD manual that came with my 2010 Dyna says very clearly to check oil on Jiffy stand.

 

[beatmeier]

strange that cos my HD manual that came with my 2010 Dyna says very clearly to check oil on Jiffy stand.

It's because it really makes not much of a difference. Once the tank is more than half full .....you have plenty!

 

[Bendy toy]

With any parallel side container the level in the middle stays the same when its tilted. Fluid goes up on one side and down the same amount on the other side.

If the engine had a long flexible dip stick it could run close to the middle of the sump where the level hardly changes when bike is leaning or vertical. Agreed its not an exact parallel container but it wont be far off and we are only leaning the bike a few degrees. Or not at all on the centre stand.

Funnily enough the middle of engine method is used on car engines. The sump oil level is the same when measured on a slope sideways or up/down. Yes, the manual says check it on level ground but unless its parked on a really steep hill the readings are adequate. Check it in the morning and you dont need to clean the stick with a rag.

Bikes of course have to do it the hard way with a poxy side glass tucked under the cylinder or a cheapo dippy on one side.