When you guys check your oil level what is your procedure, I had my on the kickstand and went to check oil and the dipstick was completely dry, I went on the centerstabd and still nothing, I sat on it and moved it left and right and then a little showed up, how do you guys check for oil, I just had mine done 2k ago/a month ago I can't believe I'd be low already I must be doing something wrong?
Bike on center stand!!!! Unscrew the dipstick, clean it off, put it in and rest in on the hole. Dont screw it in! If your not near the full mark, add oil as needed.
When i change my oil + filter i pour in 3 quarts and run it for a minute. Then I generally need a little extra (a couple little spills) to top it off at the full mark. Always check after you run it a minute and of course on the CS.
Will running it cause it to rise? what brand oil is everyone running on here?
Yes, it's fairly common for the GS to go low after 2K miles. Air cooled motors tend to consume oil, so we need to really be on top of it. I'd strongly advise you to check your oil level every time you check your tire pressures.
Different brands have different rates of consumption. In my experience, group IV synthetics (Amsoil, certain flavours of Mobile 1) tend to have a lower consumption rate than conventional oils and group IV synthetics (Redline, Silkoline.)
You just want to get some heat into it and let it work its way around for a minute or so before checking.
As for the oil, prepare for 10,000 replies. I use regular Castrol GTX. Works fine.
+1 on Castrol GTX.
+2 on Castrol GTX! :thumb:
the ONLY oil I've ever used in any car I've ever owned, grew up seeing my dad use that and only that.
so, thats what my baby gets
(never heard a bad review on it, vs other brands I have)
where do you guys go for 10w40 GTX? I use GTX in the cars and would love to go to GTX in the bike. but no luck finding local so i go with 15w40 rotella.
I have a hard time reading my dipstick, oil is so clear/clean =D But yea 3qts and normally 1/4-1/2 more. If you dont see anything with the center stand down, start adding some. Worst thing that can happen is if you overfill it and need to drain it out. if you dont you could run the motor dry.
Per the manual:
1. Hold the motorcycle vertically without the center stand.
2. Start the engine and allow it to idle for a few minutes.
3. Stop the engine and wait three minutes.
4. Check the oil level. The oil filler cap threads should not be run in but just touching the filler hole upper edge.
Mrs. and I check oil once or twice a month, as a team; I pull her dipstick, and she reads my 650R's sight glass.
And yep, GS500's do use a bit of oil from time to time. And yep yep, reading the GS's dipstick is best done by a color-seeing person (I'm colorblind and can't tell a damned thing).
We dont' sweat the brand too much, because we change oil pretty routinely (2,500-3,000 miles). We just top up between changes with SAE 10W-40, which works for both motos.
Quote from: MysterYvil on June 06, 2011, 03:53:18 PM
Mrs. and I check oil once or twice a month, as a team; I pull her dipstick, and she reads my 650R's sight glass.
so you look at your wife's stick and she looks in your hole...
I use MC specific Castor GTX oil.
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=41989.0
Quote from: LEMON8 on June 06, 2011, 04:08:13 PM
Quote from: MysterYvil on June 06, 2011, 03:53:18 PM
Mrs. and I check oil once or twice a month, as a team; I pull her dipstick, and she reads my 650R's sight glass.
so you look at your wife's stick and she looks in your hole...
Yeah, a bit counterintuitive, ain't it...but whatever the case, we share lube! :D
Quote from: LEMON8 on June 06, 2011, 03:33:35 PM
where do you guys go for 10w40 GTX? I use GTX in the cars and would love to go to GTX in the bike. but no luck finding local so i go with 15w40 rotella.
I have a hard time reading my dipstick, oil is so clear/clean =D But yea 3qts and normally 1/4-1/2 more. If you dont see anything with the center stand down, start adding some. Worst thing that can happen is if you overfill it and need to drain it out. if you dont you could run the motor dry.
actually nm it isnt GTX but it is Castrol (new rider and only changed the oil Once so far)
Castrol Power RS Racing 4T SAE 10W40 full synthetic.
http://www.castrol.com/castrol/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9021703&contentId=7040544
Got it at auto zone while I was buying any parts I needed before the bike was even road ready. ( was there for spark plugs, oil & filter, the basics)
asked where the motorcycle oil was and seen Castrol, made sure it was ok to use and grabbed it because of the brand.
wasnt too cheap I'll say that
Auto zone site for Fluids and Chems isnt loading so I cant get an exact price.
Think it was around $7 a Qrt.
lil expensive compared to a car but a new rider on a new used bike, I didnt wanna go cheap.
(edit)
and I go over all the basics each day I can ride, before I ride.
speaking of which, its about that time now :)
(edit again)
actually it was Advance Auto Parts, where I got the oil.
Auto Zone was my first stop and they didnt even have spark plugs or an oil filter.
I have only run regular motor oil, not mc specific. The cheap recycled stuff loses viscosity really fast, so an major brand works for me. Usually Valvoline or Penzoil. After 25K miles, the only side effect I've notices is saving money. Checking the oil either on the center stand (prefered), just make sure it doesn't get really low. I fill it to the top of the full mark, after two months is a little lower but not below the low mark.
Quote from: Allen on June 06, 2011, 05:31:16 PM
I have only run regular motor oil, not mc specific. The cheap recycled stuff loses viscosity really fast, so an major brand works for me. Usually Valvoline or Penzoil. After 25K miles, the only side effect I've notices is saving money. Checking the oil either on the center stand (prefered), just make sure it doesn't get really low. I fill it to the top of the full mark, after two months is a little lower but not below the low mark.
Oil should be checked with the bike level but not on either center stand or side stand......it needs to be level left and right and front and back......so both tires on the ground and bike standing up vertically .... it also needs to be checked with the engine (and oil) at operating temperature....but engine off for three minutes so oil will drain down into bottom of crankcase......
Hot oil expands considerably.....they want the reading taken with oil hot.....overfilling is not a good thing...just keep it between the lo and hi marks....
Cookie
I've been checking my oil in 4 Hondas and 2 GS500s the same way for 27 years and 390k miles. I check it in the morning cold after it has sat on the centerstand overnight. I just unscrew and pull the dipstick and check it. If it's low I top it up before heading out to ride.
Way back years ago when my CB750K began to use a lot of oil I became annoyed with the conventional method of checking it hot, it was very hot to handle and as it sat there if you would check it at different times after shutting it down you would get different results. If I checked it after 4 minutes it would show more oil than after 2 minutes for example, hardly an accurate way of doing things. So when I got home I pulled it in, shut it down, and checked it hot on the centerstand after a few minutes and then left it until morning and checked it again in the morning cold. The hot reading was done wiping the dipstick off and putting it in without screwing it in and the cold morning reading was just unscrewing it and pulling and reading it. Seemed to me the amount it screwed in was about equal to the difference between the hot and cold oil volume. Got the same reading close enough that way repeated times. What could be easier.
Checking the level on a GS500 is not rocket science, it's closer to tractor science.
gsJack I'm going to start checking the oil this way, thanks
for the tip.
Agreed with gsJack on this one. If you're concerned about checking the oil on the center stand, try using your favorite oil inspection method, then put it on the centerstand and compare the difference. My expectation..? It'll be pretty close.
BTW... Even supporting the bike on the wheels isn't an exact science... Front and rear static sag will both have an impact on the bike.