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When I had my Kawasaki 500 not only did it have the site glass for oil but it had NO Center Stand. Thats how it came new with no option for a center stand. This is very common setup with mfg's saving a dollar that end up with this crappy solution.

With one hand you held the bike up while getting your head down enough to see the sight glass. Too easy to tilt the bike too far and drop it on ones head.

Current bike (1998 Goldwing 1500se ) Small gripe is a extra tall windshield (previous owner upgrade) that will not allow you to turn the handle bars all the way without the bars hitting the windshield. A small change in the angle of the windshield would have eliminated this issue but they just took the standard and elongated it.

OEM and aftermarket mfg's, we love them and hate them at the same time.

Well... the only thing that annoys me about my Harley is the placement of the oil filter; it's next to impossible to do an oil change without either burning your hand on the front barrel and/or dribbling oil onto the front motor mount.

flw wrote:With one hand you held the bike up while getting your head down enough to see the sight glass. Too easy to tilt the bike too far and drop it on ones head.

Exact same issue with a Triumph Trophy. It's a two-person job, one to steady the bike and one to look at the sight glass.

jstark47 wrote:

flw wrote:With one hand you held the bike up while getting your head down enough to see the sight glass. Too easy to tilt the bike too far and drop it on ones head.

Exact same issue with a Triumph Trophy. It's a two-person job, one to steady the bike and one to look at the sight glass.

I hold the bike steady while going down to a full squat (like a baseball catcher) to see the oil level. The sight glass on the CBR is so low that even at a full squat, I still have to bend down my head to see it.

I do have a suggestion for those that don't want to do this, get one of those mechanic's dental mirror with the extension handle. This way, you can check the oil level while you sit on the bike by holding the mirror by the sight glass. You can then see the oil level from the comfort of the saddle.

HYPERR wrote:I hold the bike steady while going down to a full squat (like a baseball catcher) to see the oil level.

2004 CBR600RR dry weight: 370 lbs
2003 Trophy 1200 dry weight: 520 lbs

It makes a difference.


For the lighter bikes at our house, I check the sight glasses by myself. For the Trophy....... not so much.

jstark47 wrote:

HYPERR wrote:I hold the bike steady while going down to a full squat (like a baseball catcher) to see the oil level.

2004 CBR600RR dry weight: 370 lbs
2003 Trophy 1200 dry weight: 520 lbs

It makes a difference.


For the lighter bikes at our house, I check the sight glasses by myself. For the Trophy....... not so much.

Ironically the CBR has the worst designed sight glass. It is so low, you practically have to lie on the ground to see it and the lighting has to be perfect as it is pretty much hidden by the lower faring other than a tiny cutout.

I'm surprised that the Trophy does not have a centerstand. Can you get one as an accessory? Believe it or not, at one time, the centerstand was an accessory on the CBR600Fs, (not on the RRs). I don't know of anyone that ever bought it though.

HYPERR wrote:I'm surprised that the Trophy does not have a centerstand. Can you get one as an accessory? Believe it or not, at one time, the centerstand was an accessory on the CBR600Fs, (not on the RRs). I don't know of anyone that ever bought it though.

It has a centerstand (although you have to built like Charles Atlas to get the pig up on the stand!!) View through the glass is kind of dim, so I usually have to rock the bike a bit to get a sense of where the oil level is. Can't do that on the stand.

Bonneville and V-strom have nice big, clear sight glasses. Not the Trophy.

jstark47 wrote:

HYPERR wrote:I'm surprised that the Trophy does not have a centerstand. Can you get one as an accessory? Believe it or not, at one time, the centerstand was an accessory on the CBR600Fs, (not on the RRs). I don't know of anyone that ever bought it though.

It has a centerstand (although you have to built like Charles Atlas to get the pig up on the stand!!) View through the glass is kind of dim, so I usually have to rock the bike a bit to get a sense of where the oil level is. Can't do that on the stand.

Bonneville and V-strom have nice big, clear sight glasses. Not the Trophy.

Sounds a lot like my Connie. To her get up on the centre stand took one big ugly fat fella (me) and a small boy pushing back on the front fairing to get her up. Even then, it was a pita to try and see anything in the sight glass. I figure it just might be a tad bit easier just to do a complete oil change the next time I think I might low.

My Harley has an oil dipstick on a screw-in plug, conveniently located on the right hand side of the motor. Oil level is quickly and easily checked by unscrewing the plug and looking at the marks on the dipstick. With the bike on its sidestand.

Just sayin'.

Gummiente wrote:My Harley has an oil dipstick on a screw-in plug, conveniently located on the right hand side of the motor. Oil level is quickly and easily checked by unscrewing the plug and looking at the marks on the dipstick. With the bike on its sidestand.

Just sayin'.

Dat's only coz they considered the low IQ of your average Harley rider and decided to keep it as simple as possible. They didn't want to confuse them any more then they already are or overtax their thought/judgement process.

Just sayin'.