WoahThereThrottle Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Hey all, My bike: 1998 VFR. I hadn't checked the oil and coolant level in a while. So I followed the Clymer manual's directions, let the bike idle for three minutes, turned it off, and waited three more minutes for all the oil to settle. While the bike was running, the oil level was in between the marks. But as the three minutes went by the level went higher and higher until it was over the maximum mark, and there was only a sliver of clear space left (my viffer has a small window that shows oil level. The last oil change was around 500 miles ago, so I should probably get an oil change anyway. How concerned should I be about the extra oil? I heard too much oil can lead to foaming, which could cause serious under lubrication. How worried should I be, considering the oil must have been at this level since the last oil change, 500 miles ago. Thanks for the help Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dedofnite Posted August 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 13, 2014 Hey Josh, If there were massive damage being done to the engine by your day to day riding, you would probably know it by now. Oil level slightly too high is not a real big deal, but if, for instance, you accidentally added 5 quarts instead of 4, there is the possibility of damage. Maybe just leaking seals, or, as you mentioned, foaming in the wrong places. You would probably be sending lots of oil past the rings into the cylinders and getting white smoke out the tail, if not fouling spark plugs. Some engines may blow out some seals from too much oil pressure, or even damage some bearing surfaces from cavitation at high RPM. If you are concerned enough to not ride the bike, use an easy solution, like a syringe or turkey baster to suck some of the oil out the top till the window level is correct. If it's time for new oil, change it. It's never a bad idea to put new oil in! Your bike will love you more... :wub2: (Ooooh, finally, a chance to use that smiley!!!) Ded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4 Rosso Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 The last oil change was around 500 miles ago, so I should probably get an oil change anyway.Why? The normal oil change interval is around 8000mls How concerned should I be about the extra oil?Just drain some of the oil until the oil level is correct and you don't need to worry about anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raoufhakam Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 had the same issue when I first bought my VFR, previous owner filled to halfway between the marks when its on the side stand, so when its upright on centre-stand (correct way) the oil level was above the high mark! you don't need to change oil at 500mi, just suck out some oil with a vacuum pump if you have one until its down to where it should be, that's what I did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spud786 Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 As long as clear space don't worry about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjadoc Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 i have a similar question, on my 6th gen when i changed my oil i dont know if i made some oil amount calculation error. so the effect is when cold and on center stand the lvl is almost top of the glass window. I run idle for couple minutes and wait another couple of minutes, the lvl recalibrate above the high lvl mark. I am thinking i used may be 200ish ml more. Will this be okay for now or i have to drain that out as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabio222 Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 You can always just loosen the sump nut and let some come out there, then retighten to torque. I know you should use a new washer but you'll be fine. Modern motor oils are very very very good at what they do and there is absolutely no need to change the oil ever 500 miles. You're just wasting your money and whatever oil is left in the ground for us all to make petrol out of so we can actually ride our Viffers! Seriously, rest assured that oil has even improved since the bike was first made so the oil you put in is good for, probably, more than 8000 miles because that's what Mr Honda said in 1998 (1997 for my bike) and oil has improved even since then. The most important thing is just to go enjoy it ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gradus Posted August 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 13, 2014 While the bike was running, the oil level was in between the marks. There's no benefit to checking the oil level when the bike is running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer doubled Posted August 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 13, 2014 You can always just loosen the sump nut and let some come out there, then retighten to torque. I know you should use a new washer but you'll be fine. +1. Been there, done that. If you let too much out, just add a more back in to bring the level back between the upper and lower marks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MarkDetroit Posted August 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 13, 2014 I've found that the orientation of the fill cap on the VFR makes it very easy to syphon oil out of the case when the bike is on the center stand. A thin clear plastic line and with the oil warm (so the oil is not so thick) has worked easily for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted August 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 13, 2014 One thing to be aware of, whether the oil smells like gas, this could be indicative of a fuel leak through the intake manifold. This is rare but does happen. It actually happened to me with my Duc. I smelled gas one morning when I opened the garage and later when I came home from work I investigated and it looked as if I had gas leaking from the Duc, I thought it was outside of the engine but when I investigated further, the oil level window was completely full and the oil smelled of gas! It must have been from sitting too long but all is good now...but I'm keeping an eye on it! As far as too much oil, when I picked up my '01 last year, the PO had put too much oil in and the bike was very hard to shift, after my fluid flush/fills, everything is working just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer gll429 Posted August 13, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 13, 2014 here is what i can tell you. i have seen morons add 10 thats , TEN , T E N , quarts of oil to a bike . said morron DROVE his gsxr to the shop.. and said .. " i gave the bike a tune up. new oil new plugs..cleaned the filter.. etc, now it lacks power" i was thinking he didnt put enough oil in and killed the bearings.. boy was WRRRROOOOOOOONNNNNGG!!!!!!!! oil all over , in the filers in the pipes on the plugs. i was shocked it was still running. drained the oil. new air filter, new plugs.fired it up. burned off the oil in the pipes and away he went.. he did come back 4 months later.. not from oil problems.. but being a squid and doing clutchless shifting. AND HE WASNT THE ONLY ONE!!!! people look in the window and see black.. thinking they DONT see any oil and keep adding it.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted August 14, 2014 Share Posted August 14, 2014 Sounds like job security for ya, gll. Good Avatar, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrAustin Posted August 14, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 14, 2014 I once bought a bike, FZ750, and the owner told me he couldn't get it running, ran great before he started to "service" it. As I was looking at it he asked "do you know how to check the oil?" "Because I don't and I just keep adding oil till I can't add any more, and she still wont run" It had low miles and I told him because it isn't running I would take it off his hands for $400. Took it home and drained the oil out. I never saw so much oil leave a MC. Holy shit! it just kept running out. She was running the same day. Sold it two weeks later for $1000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BusyLittleShop Posted August 14, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 14, 2014 Too much oil does not lead to foaming because modern oils have anti foaming additives... too much oil may escape the breather and end up in the air box... oil in the air box may become ingested into the cylinders and cause white smoke out the exhaust... if you have none of these signs then your high oil level is not a problem... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dedofnite Posted August 14, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 14, 2014 Oh yeah, forgot about blowing out the breather! Thanks, Busy! Ded Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer B4V4 Posted August 16, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted August 16, 2014 e. While the bike was running, the oil level was in between the marks. But as the three minutes went by the level went higher and higher until it was over the maximum mark, and there was only a sliver of clear space left (my viffer has a small window that shows oil level. As previously stated, looking at the oil level while the bike is running is darn near worthless. My reply to you is you'd be surprised at just how little oil is required to put your level from within the marks to the top of the window. If I recall correctly, methinks once you hit the spy-glass, about a cup will bring you right within range. Based on deductive reasoning, sounds like this same cup gets sucked up into the system when the bike is running as my spy-glass empties - interesting. So ... a cup too much oil ain't going to hurt anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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