oil sight glass almost impossible to gauge

[SteveMc278]

Hi people,
Have done a search but no joy. Here's my question - red oil light comes on soon after pulling away and stays on for about one mile. Oil has been changed at least 500 miles ago therefore its a light gingery colour in addition to the milky colour which having read on this site seems to be caused by condensation. So trying to see the oil level in the sight window is proving very difficult. If I knew for sure that the level was low then I could top it up which should stop the red oil light illuminating but i don't want to risk overfilling with oil. As my memory pans back to a mechanic who overfilled with oil a deisel mini bus I used to drive causing literally a black smoke screen behind me after i pulled away from every set of traffic lights. Agreed that my FZS is not Transit deisel but i just don't want to overfill my bike with oil.  . Any suggestions?

[darrsi]

Put the bike on the centre stand, on a level floor, and let it tick over for a couple of minutes, then switch the engine off and keep your eye on the window, and you should see the oil gradually rise.
The oil should only be about half way up the window so if you're saying you can't see it then 'perhaps' there's either too much in there, or the oil light is doing it's job and there's not enough?
Check the colour of your coolant as well in the expansion tank, if you're saying the oil is a milky colour then you may have a dodgy gasket somewhere in which case it needs sorting out quickly?

[Fazerider]

The oil level gauge is nearer the front of the engine so the oil moving back when under hard acceleration tends to turn the light on. The oil pressure is still fine, but that red light is disconcerting!
I fill to nearly the top of the window, a couple of hundred mL more than Darssi suggests won't cause problems. A torch may help you see what's going on behind the window.

[darrsi]

When i first bought my bike i took it out for a blast and on returning noticed an oil leak from around the cam chain tensioner area.
I thought i'd change the oil anyway for peace of mind, and the previous owner had put 4 litres of oil in the engine instead of around 2.5 litres.  :eek


I wasn't impressed.......


All this talk about oil, i think i'll do something constructive today and go and change mine 

[His Dudeness]

i'd probably just drain the oil and catch it in a clean container, then measure it and re use it if it's only 500 miles old. you could take the clutch cover off at the same time and give the sight glass a clean

[darrsi]

I changed my engine oil earlier and put in a fraction under 2.5 litres without changing the filter (next time), and the oil level after letting it settle was exactly in between the lower and upper markings by the window, or about a third of the way up in the glass window.

[born to be mild]

''The oil level gauge is nearer the front of the engine so the oil moving back when under hard acceleration tends to turn the light on''
Bloody hell !
.

[SteveMc278]

Thanks for all the advice.
Its probably rare for any motor vehicle not to have a dip stick. How about retro fitting one ?
If I unscrewed the oil filler cap would that reveal what the oil level is?
Best option is probably to add oil in small increments until the level shows in the sight glass.

[darrsi]

Empty it, then bang in 2.5 litres for starters you can't go wrong! It's obviously a bit more if the filter gets changed too.
It even says 2500ml on the engine to the left side of the window.

[midden]

My inspection glass is dark with an off centre clear circle. Cant see any min max marks. Is the clear circle in fact a large bubble?

[fazersharp]

The clear circle is the clear glass and the marks are two dots like brail. if you canot see the oli leavel then its either too low to be seen in the window or too full, try putting on the side stand and then look, or on the side stand on a block of wood - this would tip the oli away from the window side and you can then tell if it is overfilled 
We dont have dips sticks because we have somthing much better- a little window to see the oil

[fazersharp]

The oil level gauge is nearer the front of the engine so the oil moving back when under hard acceleration tends to turn the light on. The oil pressure is still fine, but that red light is disconcerting!
I fill to nearly the top of the window, a couple of hundred mL more than Darssi suggests won't cause problems. A torch may help you see what's going on behind the window.

Yep a couple of months ago whilst cranked over and exiting a roundabout and accelerating away the light came on for about 2 seconds, I looked and the leavel was fine -between the marks like it has allways been, so I put about half an egg cup worth of oil in and no light since

[darrsi]

[quote author=Fazerider link=topic=5723.msg50220#msg50220 date=1357118384]

The oil level gauge is nearer the front of the engine so the oil moving back when under hard acceleration tends to turn the light on. The oil pressure is still fine, but that red light is disconcerting!
I fill to nearly the top of the window, a couple of hundred mL more than Darssi suggests won't cause problems. A torch may help you see what's going on behind the window.

Yep a couple of months ago whilst cranked over and exiting a roundabout and accelerating away the light came on for about 2 seconds, I looked and the leavel was fine -between the marks like it has allways been, so I put about half an egg cup worth of oil in and no light since
[/quote]


Half an egg cup?

[fazersharp]

Yeh --its a little cup that you can put a boiled egg into and it makes it eaiser to eat.
Ok may be a whole egg cup, that is all it needed to top up to keep the light off on accelerating hard. The leavel in the glass was ok before but the sensor must be very er---sensitive

[Lez72]

Yeh --its a little cup that you can put a boiled egg into and it makes it eaiser to eat.

:rollin :rollin :rollin :rollin

[midden]

No No No......It's soldiers who make it easier to eat
Everyone knows an egg cup is for engine oil top ups.  duh

[darrsi]

Yeh --its a little cup that you can put a boiled egg into and it makes it eaiser to eat.
Ok may be a whole egg cup, that is all it needed to top up to keep the light off on accelerating hard. The leavel in the glass was ok before but the sensor must be very er---sensitive

Hmmm, you do understand that the little window level is a gauge for the oil level in the sump which is the width of the bike?
Half an egg cup would be like spitting in a bath to top it up.

[midden]

Accuracy and precision dear boy, accuracy and precision

[midden]

Cheers for helpful replies BTW 

[fazersharp]

Hmmm, you do understand that the little window level is a gauge for the oil level in the sump which is the width of the bike?
Half an egg cup would be like spitting in a bath to top it up.

Yep a very small amount, and thats the point, the window view said the level was ok, and as I dont want to overfill it I only put a small amount in and that is all it needed.I feel that the sensor is positioned very high. When it came on and the leavel through the window was ok I was thinking there was some other problem but it just needed a very small amount extra, I did not actually use an egg cup
I was trying to back up what was said about the light coming on on hard accelerating Doesn't mean that your oil is dangerously low.
Now on the same issue. I have always used Act-evo oil and have never had the oil light come on like that before when filled up ok, but this time- last year I used hein gerrick oil and the light was coming on on hard acc after 1000 miles. Given that the oil moves to the back on hard acc could it be that the hien oil is getting thinner quicker than the act evo and more readily moves to the back