Oil level questions

[scott]

I realize these are dumb questions but ...

Note: I assume these are all with the bike on the center stand on level ground.

Level 1: What should the oil level be when the bike is completely cold (say hasn't been run in 24 hours)?

Level 2: What should the oil level be when the bike is hot (a few minutes after stopping the engine)?

Based on the Suzuki manual, you should fill the oil "with 2.4L" (I've never measured the oil as I'm putting it in so I tried just above the Low mark), start the engine and let it idle for 10 seconds, shut off the engine, wait 1 minute, then fill to the Full mark.

I assume the purpose of the Suzuki process is to get some oil up into the engine thereby causing you to put more oil in than if you just put the oil in a cold bike. In my case, after 1 minute, no oil was visible in the sight glass. I would think that this would cause the oil level to be over the Full mark in both measurements above. And that would mean the only way to check the oil level would be to do the: cold bike -> start, idle 10 secs, turn off -> wait 1 minute -> check.

Is this correct?

[cowboyup3371]

Your oil at cold should be between the Full and Low marks while the bike is on the centerstand. While running you'll probably not see any as it's all in the engine/transmission. Once you stop, it should flow back (if the bike is on the centerstand) but might take a bit. If you leave it on the sidestand than no, you probably won't see any.

[Steve]

There are no "dumb questions" if you truly don't know.

Yes, the measurements are made with the bike on its centerstand and on level ground (and the engine OFF).

When cold, the oil level should be between the marks on the sight glass.

When hot, the oil level should be between the marks on the sight glass.

Filling the engine with 2.4L will handle the crankcase, but if you are doing this at oil and filter change time, you also need to add for the filter. Your total amount will probably be closer to 3.0L, but I don't work on 550s, so I don't know from experience.

Not sure why you would bother to idle for 10 seconds. When cold, it will take a while before it will IDLE. Merely running it for 10 seconds will be at a speed that is considerably higher than IDLE.

After changing the oil and filter, you will need to run it longer than 10 seconds to fill the filter. At least run it until the OIL light goes out, feel free to warm it fully, if you want, then let it drain back for several minutes before checking. Hot oil might drain back within a minute, cold oil will take a bit longer.

.

[JEEPRUSTY]

I realize these are dumb questions but ...

Note: I assume these are all with the bike on the center stand on level ground.

Level 1: What should the oil level be when the bike is completely cold (say hasn't been run in 24 hours)?

Level 2: What should the oil level be when the bike is hot (a few minutes after stopping the engine)?

Based on the Suzuki manual, you should fill the oil "with 2.4L" (I've never measured the oil as I'm putting it in so I tried just above the Low mark), start the engine and let it idle for 10 seconds, shut off the engine, wait 1 minute, then fill to the Full mark.

I assume the purpose of the Suzuki process is to get some oil up into the engine thereby causing you to put more oil in than if you just put the oil in a cold bike. In my case, after 1 minute, no oil was visible in the sight glass. I would think that this would cause the oil level to be over the Full mark in both measurements above. And that would mean the only way to check the oil level would be to do the: cold bike -> start, idle 10 secs, turn off -> wait 1 minute -> check.

Is this correct?

I think the plain bearing engines would bleed down the oil pressure slowly.
Mine can sit for a while before the oil shows on the sight glass after shutdown.

I think you have a low pressure system so maybe you oil shows up quickly?

The time it takes to get back to the sump would alos depend on the oil being at operating temperature and not just warmed up for a few seconds.

[1_v8_merc]

It's supposed to be between Low and Full.

I put mine to Full, just to be safe....I've run Low on oil twice before....not fun when you're overheating.

[Nessism]

If the level is at the top of the window when cold, it will be over the window when hot because the oil expands with heat. This situation is fine, and even preferred since it's best to have as much oil as possible in the sump to soak up engine heat.

The manual calls for checking the oil level when cold, and after running the engine a short period, followed by waiting one minute. The oil level will increase further slightly after one minute so keep this in mind. I think this method is fine. I'm a little lazy and usually just try to make sure the cold oil level is at the top of the window without the added running business.

[scott]

Thanks for the responses. I figured there would be one answer so I guess it wasn't as straightforward as I thought. So if I take the "average" of the responses, I would fill the oil when dead cold / sitting over night to the F line (which is slightly below the top of the sight window). In this scenario, I would be using:

• Less oil than: Suzuki recommends, Nessism uses
• The same as: 1_v8_merc uses
• More oil than: Steve uses, cowboyup3371 uses

[Flyboy]

You would have the right amount of oil in the motor.