oil level check.

[sthomson1]

OK, ive read the manual and Kens site, but, im still having trouble checking the oil level !!!!

If i let the bike cool down to COLD, the oil sits half way between max/min

When i start the bike and let it get to operating temp, the oil level goes up and up, and oil trickles down the tube, until the whole tube is full.... is this correct ?

cheers
steve

[Fausto]

I only check the oil when cold thesedays. If it were my bike I would be totally happy with your oil level.

The cold engine level can fluctuate but on average it will be between the hi and lo.

[fastasfcuk]

have a look in your air box you'll know if you've got to much in.but if your tubes full when it's hot i'd say you have.

[sthomson1]

the reason i was checking the oil was because there was a wee bit oil in the air box.

took about 1/5 litre out to get the level down...then took more out to get the level sitting just under max when hot, however, when i went out o check the level the next day, when cold, the level was sitting just at MIN .. is this correct ?

cheers

have a look in your air box you'll know if you've got to much in.but if your tubes full when it's hot i'd say you have.

[Falco9]

These motors always blow a bit of oil into the airbox, overfill the engine and they will blow a lot of oil into the airbox.

I always check the oil the way the manual says these days. Run the bike for 10mins (go for a quick blast) and then have a look at the sight tube to check. Its the only reliable way of knowing for sure.

I know where fausto is coming from because with my old falco I could always see some oil in the tube and got used to checking it when the engine was cold. But my mates Mille (02 model) never (rarely) shows any oil in the tube and my Tuono rarely does these days either despite having the right amount in. The reason you cannot depend on the sight tube when cold is down to where the oil pump stops when you turn the engine off, so there will always be a slight difference in the readings.

These engines are easy to overfill and bear in mind its only 1/2 ltr from seeing nothing in the tube to full to the brim

F9

[sthomson1]

thanks falco9

ill run it tomorrow for 20 min, then drain it until the oils sitting just below MAX.

These motors always blow a bit of oil into the airbox, overfill the engine and they will blow a lot of oil into the airbox.

I always check the oil the way the manual says these days. Run the bike for 10mins (go for a quick blast) and then have a look at the sight tube to check. Its the only reliable way of knowing for sure.

I know where fausto is coming from because with my old falco I could always see some oil in the tube and got used to checking it when the engine was cold. But my mates Mille (02 model) never (rarely) shows any oil in the tube and my Tuono rarely does these days either despite having the right amount in. The reason you cannot depend on the sight tube when cold is down to where the oil pump stops when you turn the engine off, so there will always be a slight difference in the readings.

These engines are easy to overfill and bear in mind its only 1/2 ltr from seeing nothing in the tube to full to the brim

F9

[mrapriliafalco]

Never known a bike thats such a pain in the arse to check a oil level

[fastasfcuk]

it's worth it.

[HowardQ]

What you have to remember is the fact that it is a dry sump engine and it is designed so that the tube shows the level in the separate oil tank.
As I understand it you run the engine then leave to settle for a while, (I thought about 10 to 15 mins, possibly a bit more, not got my manual at work!), then check the oil level. This allows the now warm oil to flow back into the oil tank, warm oil flows back quicker than cold.
Might seem a pain, but there are at least two or three major advantages compared with the more common method of holding oil in the crankcase sump.
1) If you wheelie something like a Duke, which has the oil in the sump, the oil riuns to the back of the sump away from the pick up, no (or very little) oil is pumped through to the bearings and you blow the motor.
2) With a dry sump system it is much less critical to low oil levels, unlike some other bikes (Triumph for example) where if levels drop low in the sump you do not get consistent pumping when banked over or accellerating hard. Again pumping from a separate tank (as used in all racing engines) does not have this problem.
3) The bottom of the engine does not have to be made as deep and is therefore lighter and stonger.

So get used to it, it's well worth having for lots of reasons including the bike itself!

[Syltiz]

Howard, Im sure you have to check the oil while the bike is still running. As you swith off the sight tube starts filling up straight away and will give an incorrect reading.

For me it could not be simpler... when I arrive home after a ride, with the bike still up and the engine running I look down at the tube. If it looks like its getting towards low then I drop a small amount in. This method has never resulted in over-filling or running too low.

[D-Rider]

Right - let's get rid of the "I think you're supposed to blah de blah de blah " nonsense and actually have a look at what those nice Aprilia people have to say on the matter.

It's all in the Workshop manual and the Owners Manual ... which everyone should have - if not the paper one that came with the bike, the online one on Aprilia's official website (click the link above, download whichever language you like and turn to page 55)

..... and if that's too much bother ..... here's what it says:

The engine oil level must be checked with warm engine.
If the check is carried out with cold engine, the oil level may temporarily lower below the “MIN” mark.

This is not a problem, provided that the engine oil pressure warning light LED does not come on, see p. 16 (INSTRUMENTS AND INDICATORS TABLE).

• # Start the engine, see p. 43 (STARTING).
  # Allow the engine to idle for about 15-20 minutes, or ride the vehicle on a country road for approximately 15km (9.5 mi).
  # Stop the engine.
  # Keep the vehicle in vertical position, with the two wheels resting on the ground.
  # Check the oil level in the transparent pipe (1) through the appropriate slot provided on the left fairing.

MAX = maximum level
MIN = minimum level

The difference between “MAX” and “MIN” amounts to approximately 460 cm3

• # The level is correct when the oil almost reaches the “MAX” mark.

When it says:

# Keep the vehicle in vertical position

This is NOT an instruction to wheelie the thing to check it correctly .... the remainder of the sentence is quite important:

..... with the two wheels resting on the ground.

I presume that this section was just copied directly from the Mille handbook from this comment:

# Check the oil level in the transparent pipe (1) through the appropriate slot provided on the left fairing.

.... and, finally:

MAX = maximum level

..... as well as being Aprilia's WSB rider for the next season .....


Now go and check your oil properly ....

[HowardQ]

Styltis - that's not my understanding, as the oil will not have all drained back and also the tube tends to be covered in oil when the engine is running so you can't accurately check. Also this way you can more easily overfill as will continue dreaining back after you top up.
Must admit my comments are based on a mixture of knowledge of the Falco and past work on general competition engines.
If you take a sight reading when running it is just the same as checking a car the same way via the dipstick, which you never do, they always have to be left so all the oil drains back from the top of the engine around the cams etc.. Same with other bikes like my CBR where you use a dipstick to checkm oil in the sump. Not sure if the Falco actually has a scavenge pump like most dry sump units or just relies on oil draining back. This would get it back to the separate oil tank quicker but either way you need to let all the oil get back there.
Will have a look what it says in the manual when I get home, but as I said earlier the dry sump system is not as critical to oil levels anyway, unless it goes empty you are still OK as long as there is some in the tank, but obviously it will get much hotter if really low.
If you think of old Brit bikes, it is a lot easier to understand. The scavenge pump pumps the oil back from the bottom of the engine to the oil tank on the side of the bike near the seat. It takes oil back from the bottom of this tank to feed the bearings and the return feed is at the top so you can see it flow back in. There is no drainage from the engine with these units as they are above engine level and when the and oil will still feed as long as there is still some in the tank.

[D-Rider]

JUST SEE MY POST ABOVE .... IT TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO !!!!

[Falcopops]

When I was changing my oil at the weekend I must have had exactly the same thoughts as you when I read the "keep the bike vertical with both wheels on the ground" sentence.

Prolly modified so our merikin cousins didn't start throwing law suits around like friendly fire incidents.


Just getting me coat (the bullet proof one)

[mrapriliafalco]

EXACTLY all THIS ON HOW TO CHECK THE OIL.
Christ noone start on thr tyre pressures