| Author | Message | ||
     Okc99 |
Im a little worried. Changed oil around 8k last March. Now at 12k. could swear I checked it ay 10k and was fine. Started her up today and the light came on, cked oil and it barely maesures on the stick. maybe 1/4 inch. Should i worry that damage has occurred? | ||
| Rwven |
If you've got oil on the stick you should be fine as far as oil level goes, you haven't starved 'er of oil. Not saying you don't have another problem though. | ||
| Ulynut |
no | ||
| Okc99 |
Its more like 1/8th inch. Has anyone eveer had this light come on and still put a good 10k more miles on her? | ||
| Davidxt |
is the light still coming on after you've put more oil in? Its an oil pressure light not a low oil level light. Could be another problem you've got if its still not going out. | ||
| Rwven |
1/8" on the stick is where I usually add oil. Otherwise it just gets sucked into the airbox. Under what conditions did the light come on ? Did you hear any valve train clatter? If you had lost oil pressure the hyd. lifters would have collapsed and you would hear a awful racket. | ||
| Okc99 |
It was in the garage, just wanted to warm her up. Then noticed the oil light blinked. I freaked then checked the oil level and saw an 1/8th inch on the stick after 3 mins of running to warm it up a little (probably still not "hot" though. I never saw that light blink before. Would you not expect that low oil = low oil pressure? And my real question...has anyone had this light on before????? | ||
| Davidxt |
i wouldn't of thought so if its s till showing on the dipstick. You say it 'blinked'. Does that mean it went straight off again? Mine has done it before when its been sat for a couple of days and its been cold. If the lights lights not on now you have nothing to worry about. Take it for a ride around the block and check your oil again when the bike is properly hot. David | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
If it's under warranty, I would suggest playing it safe and call your dealer. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Unless your garage is heated...it's balls-cold here in DC right now. My tractor takes forEVER for the light to go out, and I'm keeping our diesel's block heater plugged in these days. Low pressure could be caused by frigid oil - ever try to pour a quart that's been sitting in the garage in this stuff? Hope you have some free time...it takes a while. You might have quantity...but with the cold, you might not have the *flow*. "Flashed" - how? Start, goes out, flashes on, went back out? Or came on a minute or two into the warmup cycle and then went out? Also, as a sidenote - do NOT start your Buell unless you plan on riding it for at least 20-30 minutes in this weather. Or at all, for that matter. All you're doing by running it for 3 minutes is making the "vroom-vroom" noise and adding moisture to the engine and primary oils via heat-cycle condensation. Starting it to warm it up for 3 minutes does more harm than good. If ya gonna start it...RIDE it. | ||
| Trevd |
I'm with Ratbuell... probably the oil is just too cold. A couple of times when I've started the bike after it's been sitting for a while at low temps, the oil light has flashed on for a minute or so... I kind of panicked, but didn't shut it off right away. After about a minute (maybe more like 20-30 seconds), it went out and stayed off... I also agree with Ratbuell about not just starting it for a few minutes - you don't want that condensation sitting in your engine for the rest of the winter. As hard as it is (trust me, I live in Ottawa, Canada, so I know), you're best off to just leave it off till you're ready to ride it. | ||
| 12x9sl |
+2 about running it for 3 minutes. You also run a greater risk of fouling plugs by doing that. | ||
| Okc99 |
Consensus: let her nap undisturbed throughout the winter. | ||
| Mikef5000 |
Consensus: let her nap undisturbed throughout the winter. Pfff, or just ride it in the winter, and know that when it's damn cold, the light may flicker for the first minute. Mine does whenever I start it up in 20 or below. I've been meaning to switch to 10w40 for the winter. | ||
| Froggy |
Okc99, what oil type and weight are you running and how cold is it out? I wonder if a lighter oil like 10w-40 in synth would solve your issue, as I have never had the oil light come on like how you describe, yet I ride year round in upstate New York. | ||
| Okc99 |
I run synthetic and have had many a dealer snark when I wanted to buy a quart of synthetic in case it ever burned some. I've been told many a time that Harley riders who run synth hardly ever need to add any between 5k changes because new bikes rarely burn much at all. | ||
| Ratbuell |
I run Syn3 year round in my bikes, and have yet to have the oil light come on. And I do ride - unfortunately, see my "sore thumb" thread in Quick Board, where I caught the eye and lens of the local paper yesterday. They're fine to ride in the winter....just make sure to ride if you're gonna fire 'em up is all. My tubers tend to stay dormant-ish in winter, mainly because of salt (saw rust on the S2 frame the other day, gotta tend to that). The Uly...well, aluminum doesn't rust, and I ride it in enough rain that it gets rinsed off pretty often  | ||
| 88b |
Posted on Friday, December 25, 2009 - 11:00 pm: -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ I run synthetic and have had many a dealer snark when I wanted to buy a quart of synthetic in case it ever burned some. I've been told many a time that Harley riders who run synth hardly ever need to add any between 5k changes because new bikes rarely burn much at all. Really my Road glide burns at least a quart of Syn 3 in 500 miles, since I went to dino 20 /50 no oil consumption, and the RG is over 100 bhp 100 ft pounds of torque it's hardly stock. Sometimes my uly takes a long time for the oil light to go out at start up, you have to remember the oil has a fair way to get around the engine, possibly why they have twin rotor pumps. one other thought I've changed several oil pressure switches on Harley's, it could be a faulty switch  | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Okc99, I wouldn't worry about that light. Just change the oil and filter and forget about it. True story: At around 10,000 miles on the ULY I pumped all the oil out during an oil change using the starter button. After putting in 2.5 quarts and filling the oil filter before screwing it on, it took almost a minute for the oil light to go off. I worried like crazy that I'd really screwed the pooch but I've now got 24,000 miles on the ULY and it runs like a champ an doesn't use oil between changes. I don't recommend using the starter button to get the last drop of oil out after doing it that one time but my bike did not suffer from it one iota. Have a good night's sleep. | ||
| Xbimmer |
I check my oil level before and after every ride. In 63K I haven't yet worn out the dipstick. Personally I'd be nervous about riding over 1K without checking the oil on any vehicle. | ||
| Okc99 |
After 10k, is the next scheduled oil change at 15k? I no longer have my manual :/ | ||
| Froggy |
Links to the owners manuals are at the top of the BB&D  | ||
| Xbimmer |
Links to the owners manuals are at the top of the BB&D That's a really great feature, but please note that the 2006 and 2007 manuals STILL list the too-much torque values for the drain plugs. Snug with a new o-ring and sealant is plenty fine. | ||
| Trevd |
Snug with a new o-ring and sealant is plenty fine. Or you could do like my dealer did last time, and have a 3 year old girl tighten it - at least that's what it seemed like they did. I wondered for several hundred miles on a trip I was on why my oil level was dropping. I only later realized that oil was seeping out of the drain plug, running up along the bottom of the swing-arm, then disappearing... | ||
| Okc99 |
Yikes!! | ||
| Brucen |
This is why I safety wire the drain plugs. |
