Oil Window Thingie

[txbanditrydr]

Yup..... don't do it.  Alot like drinking too many beers.....  

[tacoman]

Its actually better to be a little under than a little over.  The trick for engine oil level is to have enough for the pump to pick up even when leaning or accelerating/decelerating.  Too much oil and "windage" occurs, which is when oil gets too close to moving parts and becomes aerated and foams.

[Red01]

Even if you don't have it full enough to cause windage, you can cause oil consumption from an overfull engine. In these kind of cases, the oil is only consumed until you get to a 'normal' level.

Windage has other problems, too. It can seriously hamper engine performance. Tp get an idea, stand in the shallow end of a swimming pool (or other body of water ~3-4' deep), Lift your arm over your head and swing your arm in a circle (in the vertical plane). Notice how much harder it is to maintain your arm's roatational speed when it hits the water... that's windage.

[Oldschooler]

JV,
 The short answer is yes. Crank will blend your oil like a kitchen blender, making millions of tiny bubbles in the oil. This means much less oil between parts. Air in the oil pump makes your pressures drop to almost nothing depending on how much air it's trying to pump with the oil.

Like txbanditrydr said:  

it's easier to add then to remove oil.

 

[maddiesdaddy1]

I have a 2005 Bandit 1200.To check the oil,  the owners manual says to place the Bike on the centerstand, allow it to run until warm, and in the same breath says to check the oil while holding it vertically on a flat surface. It never says to remove it from the centerstand. Is there a definitive answer as to which way is correct? I ask because there is a signifigant difference in what is full while on the stand compared to just level ground, and until I get an answer I am not confident driving it around.

[txbanditrydr]

As long as the oil level does not exceed the full mark in either case it won't make much difference... with that said if you "top it off" on the centerstand to just the halfway point you should be okay on level ground as well.

Just my experience.  

[Red01]

I have a 2005 Bandit 1200.To check the oil,  the owners manual says to place the Bike on the centerstand, allow it to run until warm, and in the same breath says to check the oil while holding it vertically on a flat surface. It never says to remove it from the centerstand. Is there a definitive answer as to which way is correct? I ask because there is a signifigant difference in what is full while on the stand compared to just level ground, and until I get an answer I am not confident driving it around.

They have you run it on the centerstand because that's the safest way to run the bike when no one is on it - just in case it gets bumped into gear. To check it, it's supposed to be on both tires on flat ground and held vertical. Once you have filled the bike to the full line in this position, you can put it up on the centerstand and take note of where the oil level is and only fill to that point in the future, then you won't have to go thru the balancing act while trying to veiw the sight glass.

[BBDAD]

Stupid question, when bike is running will the oil level in the glass go down? I have never noticed this but today I changed oil and when I started the bike the oil was not showing in the glass.

[PaulVS]

Always check the oil when the bike is OFF, preferably for 5 or 10 minutes at least.

And yes... your oil is circulating throughout the engine when the bike is running... so the window will probably be empty.

[fartndust]

Seemed like such a simple thing, don't know why I didn't think of it earlier...With the bike on the center stand, I just use a nylon splitting wedge.. nudge it under the front tire till the bike is level and THERE you go!  Now for you sissyfied city boys, one of your platform shoes should do the trick!!        

[KoolDawg6]

As well balanced bikes are I put my bike on the sidestand then walk around to the opposite side, grab the handle bar and slowly pull it towards me until I feel the bike balance.

[ricklee4570]

I have noticed that when I hold the bike level off of the centerstand, it is very very touchy. In other words, a very very very slight tilt left or right dramatically increases or decreases the oil level view in the sight glass. Just how accurate can this be?  I have even noticed a difference in the level shown when on the centerstand if I move the bike a few feet to a different area on my concrete driveway.

I think on 1st G Bikes, it says that with a oil and filter change you should add about 3 quarts. I will do this and check the bike on the centerstand and mark on my driveway where the bike is for the best repeatable results.

I did notice that if I overfill, some leakage occurs around the filler cap at very high rpms.!

[orionburn]

Is there anything wrong with overfilling?

Yes and no, but depends on how much. Sometimes when there's too much in there it can cause the oil to foam up. I overfilled once in my FZR (first year rookie mistake) and it bogged the engine down big time plus made it a total b!tch to shift. Made it about a mile down the road, turned around and drained some out. I can't imagine it being really healthy on your engine overall  

Biggest thing to remember is that after an oil change if may look right in the window, but after you run it for a minute it's going to be low once the oil gets back into the filter and other areas of the engine. I always fill the the level mark, run it for a minute and shut down, then top off after 2 or 3 minutes, and repeat if needed.

[rkfire]

My 2003 owners manual says, check the oil level ON the centerstand, on a level surface!

[ricklee4570]

The whole oil level procedure is so inaccurate!  Let me give some examples:

I placed the bike on the centerstand. Changed the oil and filter. Added 3.7 quarts as per manual and Factory Service Book. Cold the oil registered exactly at the half way mark on the centerstand. I placed a level on the gas tank filler area to make sure it was exactly level (I placed a shim under one side of the centerstand to ensure it was level)

Now, the owners manaul says to run the engine a few minutes, the Haynes and Clymer Manuals I believe say to run the engine until normal operating temperatures are reached. And the Service Book says to run the engine only a few seconds to circulate the oil. Going by the Factory Manual, running a few seconds, then waiting one minute and checking, had the level still close to center on the window on centerstand. Owners Manual method (running several minutes) had the level between half way and full. Using the Clymer and Haynes Manual method (fully warmed up engine, shut off wait one minute) had the level slightly over the full mark in the window.

So, that is on the centerstand. In almost every case, when on the two wheels, the level is overfilled. With the exception of checking it cold or slightly warmed up.

To check it on two wheels is a guess at best. When using the level, it is very touchy. Cold engine, If I centered the bubble and checked the level, it would be at full mark, however, tilting the bike a very slight amount, so slight that the bubble is still in the middle (albeit slightly more toward one line in the window than the other) made a drastic change in the bikes oil level site glass. From right on the full mark, to way over full.

So unless you have the bike locked in a vise, with a level on it, there is no way to get an accurate oil level reading on two wheels.

I had originally filled my engine up to the full mark with the bike on centerstand (engine cold).  1650 miles later I drained about a pint of oil from the air box! The engine ran great all this time, no problems noted. However it was obviously overfilled.

So at this point, if I do what is recomended on here and leave it on its wheels, run the engine a few minutes, then wait one minute and check the level, I will  be way overfilled.  If I reduce the level so that it is right between the marks, then on the centerstand I show under the lower level in the sight glass. And when changing the oil and filter I will not be adding 3.7 quarts like all the books show. More like 3 quarts.

Very confusing to say the least. And I sure didnt like removing that much oil from the air box! Is that normal?