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I check my oil level every few hundred miles. I checked the oil before my ride last Sunday (strictly by the book), and I was shocked to see the level down to the lower of the two lines in the sight glass. The bike had been ridden the day before, and sat in the garage overnight. So I started the engine and let it idle for about 3 - 4 minutes. During this time the oil completely disappeared from the sight glass (Bike was on center stand, on level ground). I turned the motor off, and let it sit for about 5 minutes, and the level was now just below the lower sight glass line. So I added about 6 fl. oz. of Honda 10 w-30 (full synthetic), to bring the level up to the top line in the sight glass. Confident my oil level was good I went on my Sunday ride, of about 150 miles. When I returned home I went through the oil inspection routine, strictly by the book, and the level was now so far above the top line in the sight glass that the window was completely filled! It appears that there is some kind of a check valve in the system that prevents the oil in the oil cooler from completely draining into the crankcase when the engine is turned off that does not appear to be functioning properly. Has anyone else experienced a similar situation?
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You should have done nothing but smile and go for a ride when you saw the oil at the lower line. I've seen these different oil levels at different times on many bikes, it's nothing new. And we're only talking about a few ounces from the lower mark to the upper mark.
IMO, it's not worth trying to chase the oil level with a few ounces here and a few ounces there. If you can see oil somewhere in the sight glass, all is good.
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(11-02-2015, 01:55 PM)Dave_imp Wrote: I check my oil level every few hundred miles. I checked the oil before my ride last Sunday (strictly by the book), and I was shocked to see the level down to the lower of the two lines in the sight glass. The bike had been ridden the day before, and sat in the garage overnight. So I started the engine and let it idle for about 3 - 4 minutes. During this time the oil completely disappeared from the sight glass (Bike was on center stand, on level ground). I turned the motor off, and let it sit for about 5 minutes, and the level was now just below the lower sight glass line. So I added about 6 fl. oz. of Honda 10 w-30 (full synthetic), to bring the level up to the top line in the sight glass. Confident my oil level was good I went on my Sunday ride, of about 150 miles. When I returned home I went through the oil inspection routine, strictly by the book, and the level was now so far above the top line in the sight glass that the window was completely filled! It appears that there is some kind of a check valve in the system that prevents the oil in the oil cooler from completely draining into the crankcase when the engine is turned off that does not appear to be functioning properly. Has anyone else experienced a similar situation?
Never experienced that. I'm sure there is a check valve in the cooler, in order to prevent it having to fill up every time you restart the engine. That said, I would guess it's twin other things:
Fluid expansion that you are seeing. On my bike, from bottom notch to completely covered is around 400mls of oil. This would represent about ~8% thermal expansion of the oil in the bike. 3-4 mins running wouldn't have warmed the oil up to its max temperature.
Or
ADBV in the oil filter isn't sealing completely and the oil filter is draining back when you shut the engine off. At the risk of getting toward an oil thread, what type of filter are you running? Some have better designed valves than others.
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ADBV in the oil filter isn't sealing completely and the oil filter is draining back when you shut the engine off. At the risk of getting toward an oil thread, what type of filter are you running? Some have better designed valves than others.
[/quote]
ADBV?
I use only Honda oil filters.
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(11-06-2015, 12:38 PM)Dave_imp Wrote: ADBV in the oil filter isn't sealing completely and the oil filter is draining back when you shut the engine off. At the risk of getting toward an oil thread, what type of filter are you running? Some have better designed valves than others.
ADBV?
I use only Honda oil filters.
[/quote]
ADBV?
I use only Honda oil filters.
[/quote]
Anti Drainback Valve. It's an internal valve in the oil filter that is designed to stop the oil from draining back to the pan and causing dry starts. The Honda filters have a good one, so it's probably not this.
http://en.filtron.eu/site.php/site/menu?cat=79
