Value

[jeremy_nash]

damn, thats an expensive mistake.  did you think the light labeled oil was supposed to be on?

[jonathanneely]

Light never came on.

[jeremy_nash]

oh, I make it a point to periodically check the safety lights on vehicles not equipped with gauges.  to check, turn ignition on without starting, oil light should be on.  remember that for the future  


if it were me, I would buy a cheap gs, and swap the motor over to yours, then you can sell the rest of the parts to help offset the cost  

[jonathanneely]

Crazy thing is light would come on before I'd crank it, but it never came on while running...

You're recommendation is what I'm thinking about doing...If I can find one. I can't spend a whole lot. I started breaking the bike down today and should have the engine removed tomorrow. MAYBE I'll break into the engine.

[sledge]

The fact the "red light of death" didnt come on is a good sign. It says the engine didnt see a drastic drop in oil pressure which in turn suggests any damage may be relatively light.

[jonathanneely]

May be true but I was 2 1/2 quarts low!

[the mole]

The thing about oil lights is that they only come on when the pressure gets very low, else they'd be on whenever the motor is idling and riders would be panicking. So if the light comes on in normal riding, its not to warn you that damage might be caused, its to tell you the motor is now a boat anchor.
Its quite possible for the pressure to be low enough to cause damage but just high enough to keep the light from coming on.

[jonathanneely]

So then why have oil pressure lights to begin with if that's the case?

[tt_four]

My light doesn't come on when I turn the ignition on, never knew it was supposed to. Is that all of them, or just the newer ones? Mine's a 91. I'll just keep an eye on the oil.

I hurt the engine on my last bike pretty bad from running low on oil. It was a newer bike, it sprung a pretty bad oil leak, but the dealership couldn't get to it for a week or two. I'd had a bad history with them and only scheduled appointments to get my bike worked on so I new they were actually going to do it, so I had to keep riding it in the mean time. I just kept pouring oil into it constantly, but it eventually started making a noise, and I got about $3k worth of an engine rebuild done between parts and labor thanks to my warranty.

[the mole]

So then why have oil pressure lights to begin with if that's the case?

That's a good question. Pretty much the same applies to temp warning lights in your car. If it starts to boil and you don't see the steam, the temp stays around 100 degrees Celcius as the coolant boils off, this is only a little above the normal mark on a gauge and probably not enough to turn the light on. The boiling coolant holds the temp down, but once most of the coolant has boiled off the temp spikes and the light comes on to tell you the motor is f.....d.
Oil and coolant level warnings are more useful, but 10% more expensive for manufacturers to fit.

[007brendan]

My light doesn't come on when I turn the ignition on, never knew it was supposed to. Is that all of them, or just the newer ones? Mine's a 91. I'll just keep an eye on the oil.

That's standard operating procedure for all vehicles actually.  Next time you get in a car and turn it on, take a look at the dash.  All the warning lights should light up for a second.