Oil amount?

[sharper]

Just changed the oil myself for the first time, very easy. I usually had a mechanic friend do this for me, but I decided to do this myself and use the Rottela 10w40 as suggested by most of ya'll. :headbang:

My question is how much oil does everyone else usually end-up putting back in? I reallize that near the fill it says 3.7l, and i'm glad I didn't actually end-up using that much. I put 3 quarts in and cranked it up to fill the oil filter back up and then checked the site glass. It was nearly full, so I took it for a spin around the block to warm it up. I checked the level again and it was just a little low, so I added less than a quarter of another quart and that topped it off. Granted, I didn't start it up prior to draining, this still seems like there was a bunch of oil I didn't drain.

Just curious if anyone else ends up adding about that much. Isn't a liter slightly more than a quart?

[kawboy]

I have never put more than 3 qts in mine. This engine was shared with some other models that had oil coolers, which would make it hold more, maybe that's the difference.

If you overfill, it'll blow the excess into the airbox. If you run the engine, let it sit a while. The oil level should be about half way on the glass with the bike sitting level.

A liter is slightly less than a qt I believe, not sure.

[sharper]

Thanks kowboy, my site glass reads completely full now. Maybee I outta drain a little.

That 3.7 could be very misleading, although you should always check before putting in the full amount.

[prfixer]

There are also 2 drain plugs on the oil pan. If you don't drain the front one, you will leave some old in there.

[zlMark]

3.7L is for the ninja and concours, they didn't think we are special enough to have ours say 3.2L

If you have an airbox the oil change specs are on the air filter cover

[jmac]

There are also 2 drain plugs on the oil pan. If you don't drain the front one, you will leave some old in there.

Good point.
It has to be sitting straight up,when checking the site glass too.
I used 3 1/2 qts,and that put it about 3/4 up the site glass.

[sharper]

I was unaware of the second plug, good point. I only drained the one right next to the oil filter.
The bike was indeed upright when checking the site glass.
Do most of you guys bother to get the oil warm before draining?
Thanks

[zlMark]

I was unaware of the second plug, good point. I only drained the one right next to the oil filter.
The bike was indeed upright when checking the site glass.
Do most of you guys bother to get the oil warm before draining?
ThanksYea, operating tempature!

[jmac]

Yea, operating temperature!

Me too.
Drains a lot easier too.

[Stormy]

I usually buy 4 litres of oil, fill to half way up the sight glass, run the bike, then top up to just about five millimetres before the top of the sight glass. It usually takes anywhere from 3 to 3.5 litres of oil when doing an oil service.

I've just found the full / low "arrow" marks that are on the sides of the sight glass, The two arrows on either side of the sight glass are raised, but as they are painted the same colour as the engine black, so I never really saw them before, as they just blend in with the rest of the surroundings, I found them recently when using a flashlight to try and see through a dirty sightglass one day, so I've highlighted them with some white paint, so my ancient eyes can see them better when doing my routine oil check.

They look sorta like this;

http://www.hotkey.net.au/~mattakana/oilsightglasslevel.jpg

[sharper]

Thanks everyone, I probably outta drain a little. That was a cool picture Stormy i'll have to check those tabs out.

[Stormy]

no worries, sharper.

To look for the second drain plug, it's forward, right of the engine, near the radiator and header pipes, there is a oil line that runs nearby. it is the same size bolt head as the drain plug, so it should be easy to find. if you drain the main plug, then the forward one, you'll probably get about half a cup of oil from it.

I found mine and replaced it with a magnetic sump plug to catch metal debris.

[Turn_em]

Thanks Stormy...that was what I was looking for!