Where did my oil go?

[Guest]

I left the bike in my granparents garage a few months ago, since its icy on the roads. Because of corona-virus and work I haven't been back to deal with all the things for the winter.

In the sight window there is no oil, I can't see any oil through the fill up hole. There is no stains on the garage floor.

Now I can't remember how much oil is in the bike. I might have taken the oil out for some reason.

I tried starting it, but it doesn't seem eager to start (I am assuming the gas from the carbs have evaporated or something?). The battery seems low (indicators doesn't indicate), but it has enough to crank.

Should I fill it up with oil, pull the vacuum hose, and let it run until its dry? Or just leave it as is and drain what I can? I need to get the clutch cover off for new springs and the other cover off for new gasket.

The oil and filter needs replacing for the summer season anyways. I need the tank off to POR-15 the inside.

Is it bad for it to be low in oil while just standing there? I don't have the rear wheel on, and I don't have room in the garage to move it.

 

[Burque73]

Are you sure it's not totally full, above the glass? Clean oil is pretty transparent. But then again you said it needs to be changed so....

If there's no oil, it won't be eager to start. If it does start it won't run long. One member surprisingly made it to the end of the block before the engine seized.

A good fully charged battery is a must to start that cold engine. It may turn over but not have enoug juice to start it. Do you have a charger?

I like to get the engine hot before draining the oil. Stirs up the junk in the bottom of the pan and it'll drain out better.

 

[roeme]

If you have it on the sidestand, the oil will slowly drain over to the left side, making the sight glass clear.

 

[Guest]

Positive it isnt over the glass.

I tried charging the battery with a car charger, it said it was full after and hour or so but I think its wrong. I am going to get a smaller motorcycle charger and try again.

It is on the centre stand, my rear wheel is not here.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

If in doubt, drop the drain plug. You can always put oil back in.

 

[Cipher]

pull the sump plug. drain ifany is present. add new.
i can't recall if centre stand gives bad reading as opposed to sitting on ground
regardless drain plug obviates all

 

[Guest]

pull the sump plug. drain ifany is present. add new.
i can't recall if centre stand gives bad reading as opposed to sitting on ground
regardless drain plug obviates all

I find it is sort of finnicky to measure no matter how it is. But I usually just fill it while on centre stand, run a bit and wait several minutes, and then fill back up to the line. When its on the ground it seems to be a bit inaccurate, but I just tilt it more to get a general idea of the oil content. But I can't tilt it on the centre stand easily (would probably be less disinclined to do so if it had a wheel on the back, if I drop it now I can't get it back up).

Draining and filling up seems like a sensible course of action. I wish there were more choices of oil here. I don't think motorcycle store will be open until after christmas, so then I can only get synthetic 10w40 for bikes. Most gas stations doesn't even sell diesel oil (only gasoline + diesel).

 

[rphillips]

Correct way to check oil is on level ground & on center stand. For what you are doing just any oil is fine. Or spend a couple of $$ on your regular oil, pour it in till you see it in the window, doesn't need to be full. Set pet cock to pri. for 2 or 3 min. to fill carbs. then back to on. Then try to start with a good batt. car charger, 10 amp or less will work fine, leave charger connected while cranking for a little extra power.

 

[roeme]

(...)It is on the centre stand, my rear wheel is not here.

In which case you add oil until visible in sight glass before running the engine.

The engine doesn't care about having to no oil when just sitting around or waiting for repairs (why would it...?), unless you live in a corrosive environment or leave the bike outside exposed to the elements (in which case you'll have other problems).

(Sidenote: Simply "sitting around" however doesn't extend to decades. That's when conservation techniques and other measurements come in to play. Which clearly isn't called for here).

 

[Guest]

Correct way to check oil is on level ground & on center stand. For what you are doing just any oil is fine. Or spend a couple of $$ on your regular oil, pour it in till you see it in the window, doesn't need to be full. Set pet cock to pri. for 2 or 3 min. to fill carbs. then back to on. Then try to start with a good batt. car charger, 10 amp or less will work fine, leave charger connected while cranking for a little extra power.

I have an irrational fear of using the PRI, I used it once, and forgot it. Woke up to a puddle of gasoline.

I think my diagnosis of empty battery might have been wrong, my TSCU was filled with mud (I check if it inidcates to get an indication of voltage).

In which case you add oil until visible in sight glass before running the engine.

The engine doesn't care about having to no oil when just sitting around or waiting for repairs (why would it...?), unless you live in a corrosive environment or leave the bike outside exposed to the elements (in which case you'll have other problems).

(Sidenote: Simply "sitting around" however doesn't extend to decades. That's when conservation techniques and other measurements come in to play. Which clearly isn't called for here).

I found some "Turbo Diesel Oil" in the garage, I believe it is 15w40. It only took a tiny bit so it must have been right under the window.

Aren't you supposed to do a ton of things for winter storage? I think it will be winter stored for 4 or 5 months before I can ride it again (in total, it has been stored for about 2 months now).

 

[ptegsotic]

I have an irrational fear of using the PRI, I used it once, and forgot

just put a quick 'Alarm' or 'Timer' on your phone. (they have phones in Norway right? )

 

[rphillips]

Winter storage depends on your situation. It's been sitting for a couple of months? Should start up without much trouble using Pri. Get it going & let it warm up good (winter time 10 to 15 min. shouldn't overheat). How far to your grandparents garage. Should start it & let it warm up at least once per mo. to keep it starting without aggravation nor Pri. Once a week would be even better. Be sure fuel tank is completely full to prevent rust inside, & as you have found don't (Do Not) leave it on Pri.

 

[xkaes]

The windows can be tricky -- especially with clean oil and bad lighting. All good advise above. I'd let it drain completely overnight -- catch the oil for re-use if it's clean. Then refill it with exactly the amount the bike requires -- don't fill it until it shows up in the window.

 

[Rob S.]

Hoboken...

 

[rphillips]

Sorry, I didn't mean to run the bike all the time with the oil at the bottom of the sight window. You were just getting it up & going for now. Before getting it ready to go for next yr. drain & refill with new oil, to the full mark with bike on center stand & on reasonable level surface.

 

[roeme]

(...)
Aren't you supposed to do a ton of things for winter storage? I think it will be winter stored for 4 or 5 months before I can ride it again (in total, it has been stored for about 2 months now).

As usual; it depends. But there's not much to do IMHO:

1. What's the fuel quality you get around your place? If it ain't the best, it might be worthwhile to add some fuel stabilizer to your tank. But see 4.)
2. Drain carburetors completely if you're not running the bike for months. Weeks _may_ be ok if you have good fuel.
3. Charge the battery every 1-2 months.
4. If the bike is stored in a humid environment:
- either fill the tank completely and add stabilizer,
- or drain the tank completely and spray some WD-40 into it
- Spray a light coating of WD-40 on rust-prone parts, or to your liking (it [very] slowly flashes off, come summer it's either mostly gone or you can easily remove it).

(...)
I tried charging the battery with a car charger, it said it was full after and hour or so but I think its wrong. I am going to get a smaller motorcycle charger and try again.

No, that makes sense. If you put the battery on the charger as described above it will charge quite fast. It doesn't loose a lot of charge on these old electronic-free bikes.

 

[Nessism]

The Suzuki owners manual (available on Basscliff's site) details out Suzuki's recommended storage procedure. Can't go wrong following it. One slight deviation that seems popular is to fill the fuel tank all the way to the top and add a healthy dose of fuel stabilizer. Then ride the bike to get the stabilized fuel into the carbs and park the bike. Last step is drain the carbs. The stabilized fuel will coat the carbs and eliminate any varnishing that happens when fuel dries out. There are various other steps related to storage, this post is just focusing on the fuel and carbs aspect.

 

[Redman]

I have an irrational fear of using the PRI, I used it once, and forgot it. Woke up to a puddle of gasoline.. . . . .
. . . .

Do need to use PRIme on occasion, especially if bike is not starting after sitting for a while.
And do need to be concerned about not leaving it in PRIme position for too long.

What I have forced myself to do, when do need to use PRIme, is to stand there and hold the lever and keep fingers on the lever, only needs to be on PRIme for a portion of a minute, don't step away ..... stand there and don't take fingers off of it until put back to ON (or REServe) position, then can step away. I have forced myself to make that a habit.

Similarly, I have forced myself to make a habit of looking at car keys in my hand, before closing car trunk or locking car doors.

I know, it seems stupid and ridiculous.

But after repeat occasions of locking keys in car (in my early years of driving) and second occasion of having gas puddle in garage (in early years of having a bike), I said "Huh, a reasonably intelligent person should not have this same problem repeatedly. So it seems that I need a stupid solution to the problem."
And, so I forced myself into stupid habits, that have each worked on each problem, have not locked keys in car since I was 21, have not left petcock in PRIme in last 35 years.

My stupid fix/procedure/habit for not leaving the sidestand down has worked for 30+ years, .... except for once last year.

 

[Guest]

Its been sitting since November. My grandparents live about 40 kilometers or 40 minutes away, so the drive isn't an issue. But when there is coronavirus in town I avoid going there, hopefully the vaccine will solve that. Still I believe the season will start before then.

Starting it once a week seems somewhat excessive. What would be the point? I see starting it once a month or so to keep the oil flowing. But I think I can make sure the engine is oiled before I start it by taking it for a walk with the spark plugs out while in fifth.

It is not at all humid here, the cold takes care of that. And its inside a garage.

The gas tank is already too rusty for my liking, so after I have started the bike up for a bit, I will take the gas tank home and POR-15 it. If I understand correctly its advisable to replace the petcock even when its new (a couple years old).

I think the fuel in the tank is 98 octane that is ethanol free. Do note that the octane numbers is different in Europe. Standard gasoline is 95 octane here. I think I'll make a habit of only filling 98 from October and out to be sure it has ethanol free gas when the season ends. It is really hard to predict when the last ride will be, if it snows early the season is over early.

Holding the PRI-lever actually seems like a brilliant advice for someone absent minded as me, that would prevent the issue. It was so strange. I rode the bike to the university (maybe 30-40 minute ride). Left it for 7 hours on a flat surface with no leak. Park it "at home" at an incline, and puddle of gas when I woke up.

What is your trick for the side stand? When I have forgotten mine it has just plopped right up.

 

[tom203]

Before you take tank off and home for por-15 stuff, put some fresh gas AND stabilizer in it and take a half hour ride...this ensures the stabilized fuel reaches the carbs internals. My bike sits idle for 5 to 6 months like this and has never failed to wake up happy come spring.