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Arggh. Long story short, I dont know what I'm doing and I think I may have put too much oil in my bike. There are issues with my drain bolt which I dont fully understand, and I have been scared to mess with it for fear of messing something up.

My bike has been acting as if it needs oil for the past few weeks. It strains to accellerate, surges slightly at times, and feels "shakey". So after work today I came in and after about a half hour had my girlfriend level the bike so I could check the oil. It was a solid colour, so I assumed it was empty. I impulsively threw in two litres of oil, and checked the level again. No change. So I took it for a boot, and it did seem to make a difference, but I'd have to ride it more to be certain.

Then I read that the oil should be checked cold, which I didnt do. Did I mistake a warm engine for an empty one? I have been looking at the level over the past hour waiting for the engine to cool, and the window has yet to change - its just all one colour. I'm assuming this means it is over filled rather than underfilled, as there are 2 litres in there for sure.

Anyway, how bad is it to put too much oil in there? What could it do to the engine, and is it something that I can leave uncorrected. I have a road trip on friday and i dont have the time or money to bring it in.

H

buddhacide wrote:I'm assuming this means it is over filled rather than underfilled, as there are 2 litres in there for sure.

Correct.

buddhacide wrote:Anyway, how bad is it to put too much oil in there?

Very bad.

You can blow a seal. You can make the camshaft turn while partially submerged in oil, seriously robbing you of power. This could also foam up the oil, making it much less effective. You could even hydrolock the engine or otherwise force oil into the cylinders.

I'd drain all the oil immediately and then look at the oil level window. You'll see that it looks quite different.

*Swears* - Thank you. I'm gonna take it into the shop first thing tomorrow, and let them deal with it, as well as get a tune up. I really hate how impulsive I can be with stuff like this. I really hope I dont cause any damage as a result of this.

buddhacide wrote:*Swears* - Thank you. I'm gonna take it into the shop first thing tomorrow, and let them deal with it, as well as get a tune up. I really hate how impulsive I can be with stuff like this. I really hope I dont cause any damage as a result of this.

I wouldn't start the engine at all right now.

Drain the oil. There is no reason or excuse for running the engine with as much as 3-4 quarts too much oil inside.

Too late, got it to the shop this morning. Thing is it was running far better than than before I put that oil in. Like I said I was having problems previously, so who knows maybe there is more than meets the eye going on.

Regardless, it was stupid mistake, and I hope there are no issues as a result. At least now they'll be doing a full tune up, and proper oil change. So I'll be able to rest my mind a little on my trip (if not my wallet )

Right, so I took it in and the guy told me the oil levels are fine, which i'm a little boggled by, but i must have been running low. He didnt even bother with an oil change. He told me that its very likely my clutch plates have fused together, which is whats causing the symptoms I'm experiencing. He took the bike for a spin, which drew him to that conclusion. So, dodged a bullet on the oil thing (I hope), but it seems I still have a pretty big problem.