SLR oil levels

[beanfeast]

Is it just me who has a bit of a nightmare working out when my SLR has the right amount of oil in it!?

I seem to be forever either overfilling it or not having enough in. Last week I did a quick oil change as per the manual - put 1L in idled the bike for a couple of mins without any throttle, added more and did the same again checking the level, 3rd time it was showing just right - a tad below the max mark and on riding the bike it seemed quite a bit smoother. Come to ride the bike yesterday and it really sounds quite rough so this morning I check the oil level and it's hardly touching the bottom of the min mark! I add more oil run the bike as usual and this time get the level to midway between max and min. I bet you anything I get home tonight to check the oil again only to find it too high!

I can't see any leakages and it stays in my garage every night so i'd be able to tell if there are a lot of drops all over the floor. Help!?

[switch]

It's a bit hard to properly check the oil for these bikes. I usually average over a few checks. Here's what I do: every day once I get home, I stop the bike and hold it upright while I'm taking my gear off (helmet, gloves). Then I unscrew the dipstick, wipe it and check the level. Most of the time it's somewhere in-between min and max.

If you check after idleing on the sidestand for 10 minutes it might be waaay off.


As a sidenote, I do this when chainging oil: drain, fill 1L, run a little, put some 500ml more, run some more then fill with the remaining 500ml. The manual says 1.9L, I say about 1.95 w/o filter change. With filter change it's slightly over 2L. So 2L usually covers it.

[beanfeast]

It's a bit hard to properly check the oil for these bikes. I usually average over a few checks. Here's what I do: every day once I get home, I stop the bike and hold it upright while I'm taking my gear off (helmet, gloves). Then I unscrew the dipstick, wipe it and check the level. Most of the time it's somewhere in-between min and max.

If you check after idleing on the sidestand for 10 minutes it might be waaay off.


As a sidenote, I do this when chainging oil: drain, fill 1L, run a little, put some 500ml more, run some more then fill with the remaining 500ml. The manual says 1.9L, I say about 1.95 w/o filter change. With filter change it's slightly over 2L. So 2L usually covers it.

Thanks for that switch, why do you say it might be way off if left on the sidestand idling for 10mins? The manual says to let the bike idle for a few minutes before checking... does it make a big difference wether this is done upright or on the sidestand?

[switch]

The manual says that indeed, but I haven't for the live of me been able to accurately measure the level using that method. After a fresh oil change and filling with 2L, the manuals' method shows a level close to min while my method usually gives me about 1/2 - 3/4 between min and max. And since the entire capacity under normal conditions is about 2.4L (and that only after disassembling engine!) while the oil change capacity is about 2L, I'd say the method is consistent.

Try this, if you have LOTS of free time: use some cheap mineral oil and fill to the manuals' specification. Check the next day and fill to max. Then drain. You're likely to end up with a lot more than 2L, and remember you can't drain ALL the oil without disassembly.

My bike has done almost 40k km using only this method of oil checking (previous owner said this is the method the Honda guys used in Italy) and hasn't got any engine problems.

I've no technical explication for this issue; I just know what I do to work around it

[beanfeast]

Lol, it's a bizarre set up isn't it! Well your way sounds like it works better than the manual way so I'll give that a go!

Alternatively, instead of holding the bike steady whilst idling I was just going to stick it on the rear paddock stand and then assume the stick would show slightly more oil in the tank than there actually is due to the height difference on the back of the bike?

[Mervinh]

I usually check mine about 10 mins after a decent run I:e over 10 miles
merv