CHECKING OIL PROPERLY, OR DESTROY YOUR ENGINE

[beRto]

what if we don't have a center stand? 

Simply hold the bike vertically on level ground. The owner's manual actually states that the bike should be held vertically for checking oil, rather than on the centrestand; however, the measurements are practically the same.
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=11547.msg96564#msg96564

[qwertydude]

No center stand and you have to check the oil while straddling the bike. If you can't flat foot it then you're screwed and have to get help.

[ecpreston]

Takes 10 seconds to put the bike on the centerstand.

what if we don't have a center stand? 

exactly. I took mine off too.

[sledge]

Are you being serious?.........the level doesnt have to be spot-on to the nearest 1cc and there is very little difference between readings using the center and side stands but you can lean the bike against a wall or block the sidestand up by 3 or 4" with some timber or a rock to get it a bit closer to vertical.

[beRto]

Are you being serious?.........the level doesnt have to be spot-on to the nearest 1cc and there is very little difference between readings using the center and side stands

I agree that the level does not have to be spot-on. According to Kerry's empirical test, there is a significant difference in the reading between centre and side stands:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=11547.msg96564#msg96564

Centerstand	Vertical on both wheels	Sidestand

edit: copied Kerry's table directly into this post

[ben2go]

Are you being serious?.........the level doesnt have to be spot-on to the nearest 1cc and there is very little difference between readings using the center and side stands

I agree that the level does not have to be spot-on. According to Kerry's empirical test, there is a significant difference in the reading between centre and side stands:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=11547.msg96564#msg96564

Almost a quart low with my bike on the side stand.

[sledge]

I have never been overly concerned about oils levels in my bikes, certainly not enough to worry about the difference between upper and lower levels and which stand its on, near enough is good enough for me. As soon as you take the bike out on the road and you are leaning into bends, travelling over bumps, up and down hills etc,  the oil gets flung around the level goes all over the place and it becomes insignificant, even at minumum level there is still more than enough to cover the oil-pump pickup and pass around the engine/gearbox. Sure I regularly check levels and monitor consumption but I dont start panicing if its at the minimum. Not saying it doesnt matter in the long run, I am saying if you are at minimum level its not a big issue short term unless you are going on a long trip or burning or loosing oil big time and I would rather be running short on good quality oil than full-up with 2nd grade stuff.............The time to really worry is when the red light  flickers in the bends.

[ben2go]

I'm still urging everyone to read this.I don't like blown engines.Makes me wanna 

[average]

Remember too,that to much oil is just as bad as not enough

I've heard this elsewhere too. What happens if you do overfill it with oil? I did that back in the day before I knew much about my GS. Drove it about 100 miles before finding out  I didn't have any consequences though, so I'm wondering how much I lucked out...

If you don't have an airbox anymore you'll first notice that your right foot starts slipping off of the peg for some reason.....oh,and your shoes/boots are covered with oil...and there's smoke....and your swingarm is covered with it....and your back tire is slicker than a fresh condom Oh, and with the heat the we've been having....ANYWHERE stateside you would definetly feel it. 

[ohgood]

Are you being serious?.........the level doesnt have to be spot-on to the nearest 1cc and there is very little difference between readings using the center and side stands

I agree that the level does not have to be spot-on. According to Kerry's empirical test, there is a significant difference in the reading between centre and side stands:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=11547.msg96564#msg96564

Centerstand	Vertical on both wheels	Sidestand

edit: copied Kerry's table directly into this post

This should be stickied, and the title changed to "CHECKING OIL PROPERLY, OR DESTROY YOUR ENGINE"

This particular post should be included in the topmost post of the thread.

my 2 cents

[natedawg120]

edit cause i answered a question before seeing there was a page 2

[arbakken]

the 500 has a dipstick and not a window? 

thats funny, I didn't even notice yet. Although to be fair, I've owned it for a week and not run it yet, or even gone over that part of the bike. Since the engine is SOOO similar to that of my '78 GS400, I assumed it would be the same. I've never owned a bike with a dipstick yet

[theUBS]

Remember too,that to much oil is just as bad as not enough

I've heard this elsewhere too. What happens if you do overfill it with oil? I did that back in the day before I knew much about my GS. Drove it about 100 miles before finding out  I didn't have any consequences though, so I'm wondering how much I lucked out...

Damage depends on how much you overfill the oil.

The engine has a limited amount of empty space to accomodate the moving parts (pistons, connecting rods, etc). If you fill this empty space with oil, the moving parts have nowhere to go. Because the oil will not compress, the moving parts will bend and twist and the oil will be forced into places it should not go (spark plug fouling, blown gaskets, seal leakages).

In most cases, slight oil overfilling will not cause any problems. The risk of damage occurs mostly with a significantly overfilled engine (such as if the oil level is set with the bike on the sidestand).

As I understood it to be with car/truck engines, generally if you're overfill is less than 20% you should still be okay.  Same for bikes?   That much I don't know for sure. 

[ben2go]

Not good to over fill our bikes.The crankshaft will be churning the oil into foam.

[sledge]

You will never bend a rod due to overfilling with oil  . Where does the compression come from? This is a twin cylinder engine with a 180 deg crank offset. The volume inside the crankcase never changes, as one pot goes down the other goes up and the internal volume remains constant throughout each revolution. If pressure does build up in the crankcase it generally finds its way out through the breather on the top of the cam cover......unless you have put an air filter on there in the belief it is doing some good and restricted or even blocked the path out of the engine, then it will find the next weakest route and blow a crankcase gasket or shaft seal.

Oil churn causes foam to form on the top surface of the oil level, the pump draws oil in via the pickup at the bottom of the sump. Its extremely unlikely that foam will ever enter the pump. If it is drawn into the pump the pump will cavitate, oil- pressure will immediately drop and the oil-light will trigger giving you a chance to investigate way before any damage is done.

[groff22]

how far up the exhaust do I put the dipstick ? Do I  have to keep the engine running ?

[natewesselink]

no that would be a bad idea to have the engine running when you check it

[beRto]

how far up the exhaust do I put the dipstick ? Do I  have to keep the engine running ?

I'm not sure if you're joking or not. The exhaust has nothing to do with checking the oil.

Insert the dipstick into the oil filler hole (i.e. the hole that you unscrew the dipstick from). And as natewesselink said, leave the engine OFF

[The Buddha]

This prolly should be a stickie considering the rash of newb's of late as well as the spate of seized up motors from what I can only presume are last year's newb's, but then what do I know, I been accused of stickie-ing too much.
Cool.
Buddha.

[groff22]

it buuurns!