How to Measure Oil Level?

[Dave39]

I am completely baffled on how to determine the oil level in my 2001 1100RT. I peer through the Tupperware with a flashlight and just see a little solid brown, round window, no oil level. I tried cleaning the window behind all the plastic lest grime was obscurring the level....still just a solid brown window. The maual says I should see a small circle in the center of the window....nothing there. There seems to be three possibilities: 1) the plastic window is permanentely clouded with time and the level is just not observable, 2) the solid brown means the window is all oil, e.g. way over-filled, or 3) I'm looking at a void and the level is way, way down. I lean the bike on it's sidestand to raise the level in case of possibility #3, but still no visible level. The bike had its 30k maintenance about 1k ago so I'm assuming/hoping the level is OK, but there's no way to know for sure. Oh, for a good old-fashioned dipstick! Is there any other way to determine the oil level in these bikes short of completely draining and measuring the oil?

[phod]

Do you have oil in the air box? It usually blows out there if you overfill.

[Dave39]

Thanks for suggestion. I'm very new to this stuff and not the greatest mechanic around. I had to refer to the detailed pdf repair manual. I assume you mean air cleaner box. It appears from manual to get at that thing you have to come close to dismantling the bike, including removing the tank. Think I'll pass on that option for now.

[Deadboy]

Get it warm (4 or 5 bars) then let it sit on the sidestand for 15 minutes to drain the oil cooler, then put it on the center stand....

 

Brown window usually means it is a bit over filled.

 

You can also reach up from below (left side when sitting on the bike I believe) and twist out a drain plug from the airbox....will be tricky the first time and easy after that....this will let you know if their is any extra in there without pulling the seat and opening the airbox...something that you will learn how to do soon enough...

 

Enjoy!!

[T__]

I am completely baffled on how to determine the oil level in my 2001 1100RT. I peer through the Tupperware with a flashlight and just see a little solid brown, round window, no oil level. I tried cleaning the window behind all the plastic lest grime was obscurring the level....still just a solid brown window. The maual says I should see a small circle in the center of the window....nothing there. There seems to be three possibilities: 1) the plastic window is permanentely clouded with time and the level is just not observable, 2) the solid brown means the window is all oil, e.g. way over-filled, or 3) I'm looking at a void and the level is way, way down. I lean the bike on it's sidestand to raise the level in case of possibility #3, but still no visible level. The bike had its 30k maintenance about 1k ago so I'm assuming/hoping the level is OK, but there's no way to know for sure. Oh, for a good old-fashioned dipstick! Is there any other way to determine the oil level in these bikes short of completely draining and measuring the oil?

 

Dave, on the BMW RT you must do the oil dance to get a valid oil level reading..

 

_Ride long enough to fully heat the oil so that the oil cooler valve is open (15-20 minutes)

_Then put the bike on the sidestand for at least 5 minutes..

_then put the bike on the center-stand for at least 5 minutes..

_ At that time the Oil should be up to the center on the sight glass..

If up to the top of sight glass (all brown window) you are usually slightly overfull but not by very much..

 

As a quick check if you start the bike on the center stand cold then shut it right off the oil level should not show in the sight glass.. (if glass still brown it is either over full by quite a bit or the sight glass is permanently discolored)..

 

 

Twisty

[notacop]

You need to replace the little round window because it is opaque and you should be able to see the little red circle in the site glass. 15 bucks or so at the dealer. screw a drywall screw in it and pry it out. Wipe the surrounding area with MEK or some solvent to make it clean and bash the new one in gently being careful not to break it.

Drain the oil and replace the filter and put almost all of a gallon of fresh oil in it and run it for a few minutes. When you stop the motor, leave it on the side stand for 15-20 minutes then put it on the center stand and look at the site glass. Oil should be at least at the mid point of the glass. You can put more oil in until it shows to the top of the glass. If you start with a gallon you'll likely not over fill it using all since the bike holds 4 quarts.

If in doubt, go see your dealer and ask lots of questions.

They will answer questions for a princely sum.

We however will give infinite opinions for free.

[Stan Walker]

Have someone start the engine while you watch the sight glass. You will see the oil level drop through the sight glass widow if it's overfilled. Needless to say do this on the center stqnd while in neutral.

 

Stan

[smiller]

In other words...

 

1. Do what Stan said to verify that you are not overfilled.

 

2. Do what Twisty said in order to get a stable reading.

 

3. If neither step provides a visible oil level then you may be underfilled (or the window has become opaque but I doubt that's the problem.)

[MNCruiser]

Another thing to remember when doing your own oil change is that here in the US, some oils, such as the BMW brand are sold by the quart, while others, such as Castrol are sold by the liter. The containers look the same size, but the liter is actually 1.06 US quarts. So if your manual states the capacity is 4 quarts don't put in 4 liters.

 

Read the label!!

[Dave39]

Thanks all. I've got enough info to keep me occupied for a while. What great forum!

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Just find a handy tree or buddy and lean the thing over to the right while looking in the window. If the window is not opaque, at some point in the lean, the level should appear. If it is over full, remove the oil filter, pour off whatever is in there, replace the filter and then do the oil dance as suggested by Twisty. If it is way over full, you might have to repeat a couple of times as the oil filter only holds about 3 or 4 oz.

[Big D]

dave: welcome to the board! the situation with the oil level is common anong newbies. I had the same problem when I bought my first RT. it is easy once you get the hang of it. On my first trip with my 1100Rt I swore I couldn't see oil in the glass and overfilled it and ended up taking the oil filter off twice in a 7-11 parking lot in NC. The next question you will probably have is about the accuracy of the speedo(they are all off). relax and enjoy one of the finest motorcycles ever produced.

D

[skinny_tom (aka boney)]

OR: If, when your bike is cold and on the side stand, you can see oil in the window, ride it.

 

Or you can do the dance (don't forget to make a pot of tea.)

[Rinkydink]

I am tragically white, can't dance worth a hoot so I like bony just look for oil in the window while on the sidestand. See oil ride, no oil you must dance hopefully in the privacy of your garage.

[SinNH]

FWIW, but I thought this observation was interesting--

After the last ride last fall I drained the pan, removed the oil filter and let it drain for couple of weeks. In the meantime , emptied the valve covers ( valve adjust).

Later using a total of four quarts , filled the filter and engine. Totally warmed up ,kill, do the dance with at least 30 minutes on the sidestand, then c-stand.

Sight glass shows level about 1/8" below top of circle.

Being as 4 qts is a touch more than recommended I would have thought the sight glass would be filled.

Used a PF 53 filter.

 

Steve

[Ken H.]

Look at window + see oil = ride bike.

 

(But it does sound like you may need a new window.)

[Dave39]

Well, I've put a few hundred more miles on my 1100RT since my original post on this subject, and I noticed yesterday that an oil level is suddenly visible right at the very top of the sight window when the bike is on its center stand. White-gray above the level and red-brown below. I guess the window is OK. Looks like there was a little too much oil added during its 30K maintenance about 1000 miles back. Does it also indicate that the machine is burning some oil?

[tonyla]

why can't you open the oil fill and use a homemade dipstick, will this work?

[Ken H.]

why can't you open the oil fill and use a homemade dipstick, will this work?

No. There is no path into the sump from the filler opening in the valve cover that a dipstick could pass through.

[tonyla]

ok Now I know thanks

[shuster]

Consulting the owners manual for my 2003 1150 RT, BMW recommends to check the oil level after the bike has come up to temperature. Turn it off, put it on the centerstand, and wait 10 minutes. This is when you take the viewing window look. Adjust accordingly. You should follow this procedure ever 3 tanks of fuel. Hope this helps.

[Dave39]

Sorry to bring this beat-to-death issue again, but I made some observations over the last week regarding this mystifying oilhead oil level. This has bothered me because I'm a BMW newbie and am used to the good old oil dip stick on my previous bikes. Well, anyway I went on a 200 mile ride last week, mostly fast 60-70 highway riding. At the start the oil level in the window was right at the top of the circle. The next morning after the ride, I checked the level. It was below 1/2 the window! I thought that there must have been a sudden loss of oil. To confirm it, I warmed the engine up to about 4 bars, turned it off and did the "dance". Now the level was hardly showing; it was way down at the bottom of the window. I went through the process a couple of more times and the level was consistently at the bottom. Before adding more oil, I decided to go out for a short (50-60 mph) 10 mile ride to thoroughly warm up the engine. Upon returning and shutting off the engine I heard this "glug, glug, glug" sound up front sounding just like oil glugging out of a bottle, a sound I haven't noticed before. I went through the dance and, guess what. Yes, now the level was way up at the top again. The glug must have been oil coming out of the cooler. The moral of my story is that measuring the oil level in these oilheads is hit-and-miss (no great news I guess) and don't be too hasty to start adding oil. Sometimes the oil just decides to stay (vapor locked?) in the cooler.

[Boffin]

When you say you warmed the engine to 4-bars were you riding the bike? Warming these up at a standstill is a no-no unless you have some fans running over them as you risk ruining th epaint round the exhaust, or if left unattended thay have been known to melt the plastic, melt out the oil-level window and even catch fire.

 

Oh, and 4-bars will not open the thermostat, that happens at around 5 bars. The ONLY way to properly warm up an RT is to ride it, besides its much more fun that way.

 

Only add oil if you see no oil when on the side-stand is a good rule of thumb. These bikes have a huge reserve of lube, to allow for a big enough heat-sink for the oils cooling duties.

 

Andy

[4wheeldog]

Oil expands with heat, and the capacity of the window from top to bottom is only about a pint. My experience is that top of window hot = middle of window cold. Unless your bike uses a lot of oil, I would shoot for middle of window hot, just still in window cold. Or just check it cold on the sidestand. I generally check it at a gas stop, hot, leave it on sidestand while I hit the restroom, put in on centerstand, look, then ride away. YMMV. Good Luck!

[ESokoloff]

Hi Dave

 

The "dance" is to ride till the oil temp. gets up to 5 bars.

Shut it down & let it rest on the side stand for 5 min. to drain the cooler.

Then place on center-stand & check level after a few min. look for half a glass.

[Sierra_Rider]

Dave, after reading about your overfilling situation and seeing you're from Sacramento I'm thinking you may have had your oil change done at A&S. My oil has been overfilled everytime I've had them do it for some reason. Even after I've brought to their attention not to over fill. They are a first rate dealership but for some reason they just don't pay too close attention to being precise with the oil level.

[4wheeldog]

Dave, after reading about your overfilling situation and seeing you're from Sacramento I'm thinking you may have had your oil change done at A&S. My oil has been overfilled everytime I've had them do it for some reason. Even after I've brought to their attention not to over fill. They are a first rate dealership but for some reason they just don't pay too close attention to being precise with the oil level.

 

Overfilled, by BMW definition, would be above the window. If it is above the window, how do you know it is overfilled? Catch 22.

I know we are beating this dead horse beyond reason, but I have noticed one other phenomenon that took a lot of observation. I try to make sure I drain ALL the oil.....Get it good and hot, drain it, rock the bike to both sides until no more will come out. Then I fill it with 3.75 quarts. Ride bike for several miles after it reachs 5 bars. Oil is just above middle of window. Ride several more times, and it is barely in the window. Refill, and it stays in the middle for a long time, maybe til the next change.

My current theory is there is some void in the cooling jackets that doesn't necessarily fill on the first warmup. Several warmups work the air out, and the level drops. This may account for the difference between BMW's 4 quart refill quantity and the 3.75 most of us use. Just saying.

[don_k]

With all due respect (and that means lots) to this crowd I'd like to weigh in with the advice I received at a seminar by Rob Lentini (who knew these bikes better than BMW did until his passing). His advice was that if I want to know how much oil is in your bike there is only one way to find out and that is to drain the oil and measure it.

 

Personally, I use the sight glass when doing service (oil change). I fill the bike with oil until the oil is level with the red dot. then I start the bike and run it for a minute or so and shut it down (filling the oil filter and such). I then pour in the remaining amount that the manual says is the capacity for the bike and it's right on the dot.

 

 

That, as they say, is my 2 cents worth.

Don Kramber

 

[WaywardSon]

Never tried checking the sight glass with the bike running, but if I thought I was overfilled (and it sounds like you might be) I would simply drain a cup or so out with the bike cold & then see how it looked. You should be able to see the dot in the center of the sight glass.