2011 V650. Owners manual says 2.0quarts required when changing oil and filter. When I do an oil & filter change I need something like 2.4 quarts to bring the oil level up to the full mark. 2.0 quarts barely reaches the low oil mark. Bike is level on paddock stand.
Is this common?
Your motorcycle’s oil level is not subjective / nor a personal preference. It is determined by the manufacturer of your particular bike and must be adhered to unless you want to tempt the” Gods of Motorcycle Engine Failure”.
Obviously if the oil level drops too low, there is less oil to pump, less oil to carry away engine heat and the possibility of oil pump cavitation (little or no oil flow at all). Add oil to between the “Low” and “Full” marks on the sight glass / dipstick. As many have said already with the bike level, vertical and on both wheels (not a swing arm stand).
Yet very few of us consider the opposite scenario: too much oil in the sump – what could possibly go wrong? If 2 quarts of oil is required why not 2-1/2 or 3? More is better, right? A bit more probably won’t hurt but how much is too much? A ¼ to ½ quart may be alright but beyond that you may be setting your engine up for failure. Without being able to see inside the engine the oil level has to be low enough during normal operation so that the spinning crankshaft
never comes into contact with the oil in the sump! Two reasons for this. First it will create excess drag as the crankshaft splashes through the viscous oil reducing HP and efficiency. Second, and far more importantly, it will “whip” the oil into a frothy liquid (just like a blender). This is disaster and will cause the oil to become entrained with air. Air entrained oil will not be anywhere nearly viscous enough to protect spinning / sliding parts properly, will not carry away nearly enough engine heat, cause the oil pump to cavitate severely reducing oil flow – all of these factors leading to engine failure.
So, it may seem like a good idea to add a bit more oil than what the manufacturer recommends but just don’t add too much (whatever that might be). The better approach would be to check the oil with the bike vertical, level and with both wheels on the ground after the engine has been shut down for a few minutes to allow the oil to drain into the sump. If you just have to add more oil, no more than say ¼ quart above the “full” line on the sight glass or dipstick.