Does anyone do a cold check on oil?

[Mythos]

I see from some old posts here that everyone seems to check their oil after running the engine a few minutes as recomended in the owners manual. This seems slightly retarded to me. Who starts an engine until they know a good amount of oil is in it? Well, I guess i did.

I had a scare today when i went to my bike and checked the glass and could see no oil. WTF??? It was a bit dark in the barn and there could have been some oil showing but I couldn't see it. No pool under the bike, no wetness under the engine. It is damned cold in WI now which makes oil kinda hard to flow around in there and also causes the volume to contract, I believe. Maybe it was just not flowing passed the plates to the glass. Well, I decided to chance it thinking there has got to be some oil in there since there is no sign of a leak and I just changed it 2 days ago. I let it run 3 minutes, no "check engine" light or anything, waited three minutes and sure enough, it was right where it was 2 days ago. I don't know, maybe it was just not possible to see it in the dim barn it is stored in. I sure don't plan to start it ever again without seeing some sign of oil in there.

So, do most of you folks check cold first? If so, what do you consider a good level for cold?

Also, I see lots of people put 4 liters in with a new filter. I just put 3.5 liters/spec and this looks a little lower than halfway between the marks. 4 liters is best with a new filter?

[dadofthree]

I never check mine

[Mythos]

Huh! I wasn't going to either. Glad i did.

[dadofthree]

I hate to say it, but this is my second Busa. Put 36 hard K miles on the first one and it was running like the day it left the shop new. I keep mine in a garage and I've never had an oil leak internal or external and that has made me lazy

[BusaWizard]

I'm always wiping on my bike, so while it's on the stand, (Sports Chock) I look at it.

[Mythos]

^^^and does it give you the same level cold as a check after it has been run and sits a few minutes.

My 14 oil level has to be checked cold. the oil will show way high after the engine has been run a short time.

[jphilipson]

I check it warm. If there was a leak big enough to lose enough oil to matter between checks I think there would be other warnings lol

[Spkrdctr]

I check mine cold, its about 3/4 of the way up the glass.

[outlawbusa]

Mine stays in the attached garage so it never gets TOOOO cold, but I can see your point~!~ Wonder if it thickens up quite a bit...will be interesting to see what people say~!~

[kianhee]

my is nice and clean

[Mythos]

I check it warm. If there was a leak big enough to lose enough oil to matter between checks I think there would be other warnings lol

I have thought the same thing but no signs of an oil leak may be visible if a bike were to burn a whole bunch up or if it leaked into the cooling system or maybe even if it leaked a lot on a long ride. The engine warning light should come on but I have heard of those failing.

[Pacedog]

I check every time.

[dadofthree]

^^^and does it give you the same level cold as a check after it has been run and sits a few minutes.

My 14 oil level has to be checked cold. the oil will show way high after the engine has been run a short time.

Just curious, do you have a pic of your 14 ?

[Pacedog]

It's good habit to look around the entire bike according to the MSF classes I had at Hurlburt Field (yeah we have to take them or we can't ride on base). My new Harley I bought last January had a slight leak around the oil sending unit. It was just enough to look like there was condensation in that area, but it just happened to be oil. Thank goodness mine was an 09 as the 08 and 07 versions of the Street Bob have blacked out engine covers and you can't really tell if you have a slight leak, but with the grey covers you can see a difference if any type of fluid gets on it.

[Mythos]

Just curious, do you have a pic of your 14 ?

Of course. It's nothing special yet other than flies out, a PC under seat and a cool double vinyl stripe down the center. I'm getting a ceramic coated Cannon for it this week. Busa gets one too.

You don't believe me, do you. ?

I'll show ya when I figure out how to post pics here or look for Rooks post, third from bottom here:

ZX-14 Forums

Warning: you will have to take a shower again.

[Mr Bogus]

I check my oil one time... after an oil change...(6-8K on M1 4T)

[Mythos]

Looked at oil today on cold engine. Yeah you can see it fine if you roll the bike over by the door where there is some light coming in. It takes 20-30 seconds for the oil level to flow up to the glass.

Sorry about the false alarm. Hey, it's a brand new bike!

[Taylor]

I cold check my busa and king every time I ride never had a problem with oil being low or using any at all

[thapp]

yep before every ride

[Mythos]

I'll show ya when I figure out how to post pics here

Here's ma fo-teen

Ok, I'm ready to take the heat. Yea, yeah, I managed to make a 14 uglier, i know! Looks pretty to me. Going to paint rims white this winter.


So I don't get flamed too bad: