Lots o' oil -- first 400 miles?

[briandtw]

I just checked my oil and it seems ridiculously low (barely registered on the dipstick). Has anyone heard of the 500F's burning through THAT much oil in the first few hundred miles?  I'm hoping I haven't bought a lemon here...

I checked it twice, once while held upright after having run for 5 minutes and once on the centerstand after having run for about a half hour around town.  (checked both times after letting the engine cool for about 5 minutes).

Thanks...
-b

PS...while I know (or think I know) how to check oil having done it a million times in a car I'm wondering if maybe I'm doing something wrong to get nothing to show up on the dipstick.  I guess I'm more worried about adding too much oil.  I assume that the oil would look pretty thick on the dipstick, but I'm not seeing anything.  Am I missing a trick perhaps.  I know the fairing is getting in the way of trying to get the dipstick in straight.   Anyway...thanks.

[Kerry]

Letting the bike sit for a few minutes: CORRECT.
Checking the oil with the bike upright: RIGHT ON.

You didn't say whether you screwed the dipstick back in before checking the oil level.  (DON'T - After wiping the dipstick just put it back in the hole, touch the filler cap threads to the top of the hole, and pull the dipstick out again.)

Depending on the oil, it CAN seem almost invisible for a few hundred miles.  Maybe you could tilt the bike to the right on purpose just to get the dipstick wet, and then hopefully you can see what the oil looks like on the stick.

You didn't mention whether the crankcase was full when you bought the bike.  I wouldn't be too surprised if it wasn't....

If you put too much oil in, you can always use a cooking baster (think GIANT eye dropper ) to suck some back out through the filler hole.

[briandtw]

Depending on the oil, it CAN seem almost invisible for a few hundred miles.  Maybe you could tilt the bike to the right on purpose just to get the dipstick wet, and then hopefully you can see what the oil looks like on the stick.

I'll try this...Thanks!

You didn't mention whether the crankcase was full when you bought the bike.  I wouldn't be too surprised if it wasn't....

I could have sworn that the mechanic who did my presale maintenance checklist and whatnot showed me how to check the oil and we verified that the oil was full, but I don't know if I'm imagining that at this point.  There was a lot going on at and I'm not sure.  I'd have a hard time believing a dealer would forget to put oil in and the bike ran OK for 300+ miles before I checked the oil, so I'm thinking that maybe it is so clear I'm having trouble seeing it. I'll try to doublecheck it a couple more times before I run it again.  Thanks again....