Overfilled oil .... maybe?

[deliriousthun...]

Hi,

This is a long post, please bear with me and read all of it, I need advice

Getting the bike MOTd tomorrow, spent the last 2 days working on it. Changed the oil and filter yesterday (or more accurately, my friend did).

I read online that the oil capacity was 2 litres. So when I filled up, I put 2 litres in, and it still wasn't enough, so I put just under another half a litre in. So, a total of around 2.5 litres.

My friend, (who's a bike mechanic), said to ride the bike for a few miles, to let the oil circulate, then let it stand for half an hour, then check using the dipstick again, because the level would drop. So I did that today, and the dipstick was totally dry.

That seemed fair enough to me, because once I got the engine running the temperature went up pretty high, and when I stopped at a petrol station and turned off the engine, it was ill to start again. Thought maybe low oil level would explain that.

So I topped up a little and checked again. Dipstick dry again. Repeated that process a few times, dipstick still dry. By this point I have put almost 3 litres out of my 4 litre bottle in. Maybe 2.80 litres. (Although a little was used to fill the oil filter before installing it anyway).

Now at this point I'm thinking, ok, I've put a fair amount of oil in, and it's still giving me a dry diptstick. Then I had a moment. "Maybe I should check the oil level with the bike level, instead of on it's side stand" (doesn't have a centre stand).

So I checked with the bike level, and it seemed to be way over the maximum, (think twice the distance between min and max again). Though I found it difficult to read, because the fresh oil is so much clearer than the old stuff.

So I came back inside and downloaded a manual, and checked the oil capacity. This is what it says:

Engine oil capacity at draining: 2.4 litres
at disassembly: 3.0 litres
at oil filter change: 2.5 litres

The problem is, that if I check with the bike level, it seems to be way over, but if it's on the sidestand, the dipstick is still totally dry. I tried it both ways 3 or 4 times to be sure.

1) How on earth can there be that big a difference between readings on side stand and when level.

2) If that makes any sense, which reading should I trust?

3) Does this mean I'm going to have to take the fairings off and drain some oil?

4) If it does, can I simply loosen the bolt a little, let some oil seep out, and tighten the bolt again, without ever fully removing the bolt? (Will that even work?)

MOT is at 10 tomorrow morning so I'll want to do the work tonight if I have to.

Thanks very much for advice,
____________________
Tom

[.....]

The usual way is to measure the oil level with the bike level.

You can let some drain out the sump by undoing the sump plug like you say, or try and draw some out of the dipstick hole with a syringe or similar.

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Yes , just undo the drain bolt and let some out over a tray.

The difference is best described as tipping a half filled cup of tea to one side.

Checking oil is always done when its been stood for a few mins, and on level ground or center stand if your bike has one.

If you drop the drain bolt and washer..don't panic. Just pop your finger over the hole... retrieve bolt n washer and try again.

Pat
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[deliriousthun...]

Thanks.

The size of the difference still confuses me, but I don't want to take any chances.

Kind of sucks, I'm totally knackered, but has to be done tonight for MOT tomorrow morning
____________________
Tom

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

An overfilled bike might blow some oil seals out, wouldn't fail an MOT tho.
But yeah..time for you to get it sorted before you ride it again.


Pat
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[deliriousthun...]

Yeah, I'm aware it wouldn't fail an MOT, but I have to ride to the MOT, and the engine will be run during the MOT.

I'm just confused as to how it can be so overfull that's all.

Thanks though
____________________
Tom

[temeluchus]

[chris-red]

[TUG]

Oil as stated in manual, with filter replacement is normally 200-300ml more.
Let the bike get hot, leave standing for 15mins then check the oil level.
____________________
Haz ER-5, innit!

[StevenF]

I drained my own and replaced the filter, ended up putting about 4L of oil in my CBR! Couldn't believe it, but once measuring it was exactly where it should be.
____________________
My Project - Honda CBR 600 F2/FM

[Ditto]

[Wise1]

[deliriousthun...]

Thanks everyone. Job done, time to get some sleep I think.

I guess I didn't make it clear in the original post, but the engine hadn't been run at all since I added the extra oil.

I'm not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but I study mechanical engineering, so I have just enough knowledge to know that the oil level needs to be correct Wasn't so much asking whether I needed to change it, as querying why there was such a big difference, and which reading I should use.

Either way, you've all helped
____________________
Tom

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

@Wise1: I'm careful when it comes to oil levels, as my bike has a small oil capacity. There is a negligible difference between using my center stand or held level.

The manual for my bike recommends the center stand on level ground...so thats what i do.

Pat
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project