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Tip of the Week
Check That Oil - It's Critical
This tip, and all of our tips-of-the-week, are general
principles provided for your consideration. They are not
hard and fast rules that should be applied without thinking
in all circumstances. Always use your judgement and take all
current safety factors into account while riding.
What's The Problem?
The level and quality of engine oil in your bike is critical - more so than in your car. Motorcycles place a much heavier demand on their oil than cars do, because motorcycle engines often rev twice as fast as cars for a given speed, and because in most modern bikes the engine oil also lubricates the gearbox; there is no separate "transmission fluid" as in a car. Low oil can cause engine wear and expensive repairs; an engine seizure due to excessive wear will cause a crash.
Solution
 Use a good quality motorcycle-specific oil (the difference in cost to an "el cheapo" brand is negligible over the life of a bike), and change it, or have it changed, according to your owner's manual. If you're doing it yourself, don't forget to change the filter at the recommended intervals too. |
Make sure you check the level regularly. To do it properly, you will need to put the bike on the centre stand. If your bike only has a side-stand get a friend to hold the bike upright. (Don't use a rear-wheel (race) stand to check the oil - you will not get a true reading.) For bikes with a dipstick, remove the dipstick and wipe it down before re-inserting it to get an accurate reading. For bikes with a sight-glass, check that the oil level is between the two marks. If the marks are hard to see, check that you can see some air at the upper level - if you can't then you've over-filled. If you don't see any oil you're probably down at least one-half liter - not good.
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Don't forget that a motorcycle typically lubricates engine and gearbox with less than 3.5 liters of oil, so being down a full liter means you've lost almost one third of the lubricant. While it is not recommended to mix oil viscosity, type, or even brand, if you are down significantly use the best oil that is available. Any oil is better than no oil.
One final oil-related tip: Don't idle your bike while it rests on the side-stand - the outboard cylinder may not receive all the oiling it deserves.
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The MRC Tips of the Week are a collection of riding tips written by, and drawn from the riding experience of, the MRC instructors, a group with hundreds of years of cumulative riding experience. The tip changes every week. Check back to our main page every week to learn more from experienced riders.
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