I know you're supposed to check the oil level in the bike when it's hot, but I was curious whereabout on the dipstick the oil should be if you're checking it cold??

Once I get the bike running more regularly I'll check it while it's warm, but say it's the middle of winter and my bike's in the basement, where should it be?

The bike ran when I first started it last fall right before I parked it, but after those initial 2 rides around the block, a total of maybe 2 miles, I notice that wheel doesn't want to move easily in gear with the clutch pulled in. It feels like the clutch is out of adjustment and it's just not disengaging when I pull the lever in, although it did just work fine before. I'll pull the engine cover off and take a look at it, but I've heard that having too much oil in your motor can make the clutch act weird too, too much pressure between the plates or something like that, so I figured I should start with the easiest checks, which would be making sure that there isn't just too much oil in the motor, and as I've mentioned, it's the middle of winter and my bike is in the basement, so I can't warm it up to check.

And if anyone has any idea what would make a clutch behave that way, please let me know. I've adjusted the cable at all 3 points numerous times, and I've even pulled the cable way tighter than it should be to ride just to make sure that the cable is being pulled extra far to disengage the clutch, and it's still being difficult. The wheel spins fine in neutral, so I know it's not just the back wheel bearings or anything of that sort.

Thanks!

I only drain the oil when it's hot, if my bike has been sitting for a month and the dip stick says it's full, then it's full. And as far as the wheel dragging that is normal especially with cold oil/engine.

I would assume the oil would read high when the bike is cold because all the oil in the top end has drained back into the oil pan (  damn gravity).  As far as the dragging, before you start tearing the bike apart wait and see how it acts hot.  Like the above poster said, that might be normal.

-Jessie

Quote from: tt_four on February 07, 2010, 09:33:05 AM
I know you're supposed to check the oil level in the bike when it's hot, but I was curious whereabout on the dipstick the oil should be if you're checking it cold??

Once I get the bike running more regularly I'll check it while it's warm, but say it's the middle of winter and my bike's in the basement, where should it be?

Unless you have a very large basement you can ride in, pretty much anywhere is good. It's not running. In spring, make sure there is oil on the dipstick, take it out and warm it up, then park it and check it.

Quote from: DoD#i on February 07, 2010, 11:19:35 AM

Quote from: tt_four on February 07, 2010, 09:33:05 AM
I know you're supposed to check the oil level in the bike when it's hot, but I was curious whereabout on the dipstick the oil should be if you're checking it cold??

Once I get the bike running more regularly I'll check it while it's warm, but say it's the middle of winter and my bike's in the basement, where should it be?

Unless you have a very large basement you can ride in, pretty much anywhere is good. It's not running. In spring, make sure there is oil on the dipstick, take it out and warm it up, then park it and check it.

Hmm... I see I wrote that last part weird, so I'm not sure if I confused you and you thought I was asking where my bike should be in winter, or if you knew what I meant and were just giving me a hard time, either is acceptable, but by "where should it be?" I meant where should the oil level be on the dipstick?

I may just leave it until spring then. I didn't specifically want to tear into it, but I also hate the idea of having a super warm day, pulling the bike out to try and ride it, letting it warm up, and seeing that it's still doing it and just having to spend the first of the nice weather looking into it instead of riding, but no huge deal. How much drag would you consider normal? If I put it in first and pull the clutch in I can make the bike move, but I definitely have to put a good bit of weight behind it but once it's moving I can at least keep it moving with some effort. I just don't remember the bike ever doing that before, nor any of the bikes I've owned over the past 10 years, but it's possible all the factors just never lined up the same.

Starting when my CB750 began burning a lot of oil amost 25 years ago until present I've always checked my oil cold on my CB750, CM400, CB650SC, GS500E, and current GS500.  Almost 400k miles of checking oil cold.  Starting with the CB750 I checked it hot a couple times when I came home and then left it on the center stand over night and checked it again cold in the morning.  I found the check I got cold by just unscrewing the dipstick and reading it was very close to the same as I got hot when just putting the dipstick in to where the threads touched without screwing it down, the standard way of checking it according to OMs.  If I think the oil needs checked when I come home I put the bike on the centerstand over night to remind myself to check it in the morning.  I confirmed that hot/cold evening/morning check with each of the bikes I acquired after the CB750.  Personally I think the cold check after sitting overnight is more accurate than a hot check, by morning all the oil that is going to drain down has drained whereas checking it hot can give varying readings depending how long you wait after turning it off to check it.

I agree, the GS has a lot of drag moving it cold with bike in gear and clutch disengaged.  You seem to have to break it loose to get it moving like the oil was glue in the clutch.  No problem, I wouldn't mess with it until you can check it hot.

Moving cold while in gear....

If I try to move the bike while the engine is off (cold) and it's in gear, forget about it. Too much hard work. Take a few seconds, pop it into neutral and away we go.

Start the bike while in gear and clutch in, and what was hard to move now moves like it was in neutral.

It's done this since new. I just put it down to one of those GS quirks... like the squeaky rear brake.

Michael

Glad to hear, my other concern was what it would do when I tested it for the first time, started it in neutral, and then tried to shift to first. Even if I had the clutch pulled in, if it was still holding the back wheel I thought it might start moving me even with the lever in and I'd have no way to stop it.

Quote from: tt_four on February 07, 2010, 04:35:38 PM
Glad to hear, my other concern was what it would do when I tested it for the first time, started it in neutral, and then tried to shift to first. Even if I had the clutch pulled in, if it was still holding the back wheel I thought it might start moving me even with the lever in and I'd have no way to stop it.

Cold oil and all the surface area our wet clutch has is why its dragging, all 20+ bikes I have owned since the 60's have done it. Your clutch has friction and metal plates all stacked on one another, that's allot of surface area...add cold oil between them and you get the drag you are experiencing, TOTALLY NORMAL for all bikes with a wet clutch.