Ran bike with low engine oil!!

broc11

broc11

Joined
Apr 10, 2012
Messages
875
Location
Donegal, Ireland.
Bike
Vstrom 650
Hi, I took a 30 mile ride today on my st1100, I just bought her a few days ago and it was supposed to be fully serviced,
anyway i was having a look round the bike when I got home and checked the engine oil window and couldn't see any oil,
so I had about a litre of motul 10w 40 semi synthetic left from my last oil change on my honda cb500,I added that and the level showed up about a 1/4 inch above the min mark,
question is would i have done any damage to the engine riding it with such a low oil level?
The guy I bought it from is going to get an earfull in the morning,I know i should have checked but the p***k said it had been fully serviced
there was no oil light on when I was riding the bike, I'm hoping there still would have been a few litres in the sump below the min mark?
any help appreciated thanks
 
No damage, it was low not empty. As long as there was oil for the pump to move and it didn't get too hot you're fine with no damage. You would've known if there wasn't enough oil, you'd been walking home.

You did have the bike level when you checked right?

Raymond
 
thanks Raymond,
yes I had her on the centre stand, I rode about 15 miles, then stopped for half hour then 15 miles home approx,so she wouldn't have got too hot.
How much oil does it take to fill her to the correct level with a new filter fitted?
I feel like an idiot for not checking beforehand, I always maintain the oil and filters on any machine I have
 
About 4 quarts. I like to run my 1100 a little below the 1/2 way point in the sight glass. It is a little smoother that way. Also I assume that you let it sit for a bit before checking the oil right. If you shut it down and check right away all the oil is up in the engines and hasn't drained back down to the oil pan yet. It needs to be on center stand as mentioned and let it sit for about 10 minuets.
 
thanks Sennister, 4 quarts equals 3.8litres, so if added 1 litre to bring her to about a quarter inch above the min mark then there would have been around 2.5 litres in her which hopefully was enough to prevent damage,my concern is how many test rides had she had before I bought her with this low oil level.
This is the first machine i have had with a sight glass, I'm used to just pulling the dipstick and checking that way, ah well I'm going to change the oil and filter and hope for the best, thanks again
 
GKman said:
Not familiar with "semi-synthetic" but have heard cautions about mixing synthetic with non-synthetic oils.
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More of an old wive's tale... ( maybe when syn first came out many many yrs ago )... All syn oil ( to my knowledge ) that you would run in the ST can be mixed with dino oil. Just, you end up with a mix of the two and prob should be changing it along the lines of reg dino oil ( as opposed to syn oil which many change at higher miles ).
 
broc11 said:
checked the engine oil window and couldn't see any oil
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And I see no one has said it.. but just to make sure for any future archive readers.

Folks do not try this at home! Do not repeat what others have done here!

T
 
Fearmor said:
As long as the oil light didn,t come on you,ll be fine.What part of ireland are you in,I,m in Kells,Co.Meath.
Pat
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Hi Pat,

I'm In Donegal, I think the engine will be fine,it prob still had 2.5 - 3 litres in it, I topped her up and will change the oil and filter soon,it took very little to go from the just above the min to the top line, bout half a litre i think,
I moved up to the st1100 from a cb500s, big difference in the weight,not sure yet if she is as much fun in the twisties as the wee cb,then again its a touring bike,built for long journeys,I still have the cb, only cost 20euro extra to have her on the same policy.
great roads up here in the wild northwest for biking,have you ever been up this way? Brendan
 
Remember that a US quart is 20% less than a UK (or Irish) quart. Check the level with the bike completely cold; once the engine has been started it takes ages for the oil to settle back to the lower levels and it can look like your oil level is low... you add some and a few hours later it's overfilled! :doh1:
 
Your fine. As mentioned checked on the ctr stand on level ground. Relax go ride. :)
0 engine damage.
0 issue mixing oils.

Stay away from the energy conserving oils which could cause the wet clutch to slip.
 
A new motorcycle owner who was so anxious to ride they didn't check the bike out, this sounds familiar to me! :D
glad it's ok and congrats on the move up.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk 2
 
To add to Hound's post, the sight glass on the 1100 is clear of oil when the engine is running. To check the oil level you turn off the engine and you then have to wait about 3 or so minutes for the oil level to settle. For my 2002 1100, 3.4l of oil after a filter change gives me a reading 1/2 between the lines.

If it really was low I think in the absence of a red oil light warning you've done no harm by running it.
 
Would you believe Brendan I was up there all over easter on the bike.Was in Portsalon,Kerrykeel,creeslough,Glen,Fanad Head.Was drinking in Paddy Jacks in Kerrykeel on Easter sunday.Weather wasn,t great but crac was mighty.Came home on Monday morning.My daughters partner has a house near Kerrykeel so I stayed with them.
pat
 
Unbelievable! :hat4:

Like Hound said!
Hound said:
Remember that a US quart is 20% less than a UK (or Irish) quart. Check the level with the bike completely cold; once the engine has been started it takes ages for the oil to settle back to the lower levels and it can look like your oil level is low... you add some and a few hours later it's overfilled! :doh1:
Click to expand...

With my Big 11 (RIP), it has been my experience that letting it sit 5-10 minutes will show oil in the sight glass...a half an hour to an hour later it will show a much higher level in the sight glass. Very easy to over fill the 11's. Running an 11 just under half way on the site glass provides for the smoothest engine operation. (IMHO)
 
Thanks everyone for all your help and advice,some run around portsalon and fanad Pat,this place is bikers heaven but you have to watch out for boy racers at times,great weather today but I'm busy on the farm so can't get a run on the bike,I was worried last night when I copped on the oil was low,ah well you live and learn,

thanks again everyone
 
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