How Do You Check Oil Level With No Stand?

I can't believe I haven"t seen a thread on this yet.

How are you supposed to check the oil level when you have no centerstand?

At what angle does the bike need to be to duplicate it being on the stand?

Would rolling the back tire onto a 2" tall piece of wood be pretty close?

Thanks

 

You don't need to simulate a center stand. Have a friend hold it vertical or sit on the bike and lean down to the dipstick. Level is checked with the dipstick touching the threads, not screwed all the way in.

 

But that will not be accurate. The front to rear angle of the bike is important. The back of the bike has to be elevated to a certain degree. I just need to know how much angle.

Maybe someone with a center stand can compare the 2? For instance, it the dipstick shows "full" on the center stand, what will it read when the bike is off the center stand?

It can't read at the exact same spot can it?

 

I would think the opposite, surely on its wheels is the most accurate. That's the way the bike is when its being ridden. Unless if you wanted to get really picky you could say that the weight shifts during braking cornering ect would also affect it? I know I'm being a smart-ass, don't really think it's THAT serious, just make sure there's oil in it.

 

This was the same for my 90 CB1.
The 89 came with a factory center stand. The 90 did not. The process to check the oil level was the same. If you did not have the center stand you just sat on the bike upright and checked. This whole thing with getting the back of the bike up to simulate it is unnecessary.

 

Keep in mind that the factory can calibrate the dipstick based on whatever criteria they want. A bike who's oil level is checked while on the center stand might have a different length dipstick that a bike that's checked while on it's wheels.

Reading the oil level can be tricky. If you measure while on it's wheels, you also have to make sure the front wheel is straight. If it's full lock left or right, then it changes the center of gravity and the bike will be leaning to one side when perfectly balanced and it throws off the oil level a good inch or more in height.

So I'm just trying to make sure my bike's oil level is accurate.

 

Your way over thinking this.

 

Yup, Have someone sit on the damn thing, hold it straight, and check the sight glass. Don't forget that there is about a half quart tolerance level too as indicated by the minimum and maximum lines on the side of the sight glass.

On a side note, are you and engineer?

 

no joke!!!

im not familiar with the earlier (1&2 gens) but i know my 90 didnt come with a centerstand from honda, it was an option. so how could they require you to get it on a centerstand to check the level?

if it was a big deal honda would have outlined the alternate method in the manual. we are probably talking about a shot glass difference in oil here. just think of all the people that screw in their dipstick to measure their oil... OH MY GOD!!!

thats why the dipstick has a range as opposed to a set mark. you arent supposed to go above or below the range, not fill it to a mark exactly to the teaspoon.

as others have said as well there are so many variables while riding that effect proper oil level (leaning braking accelerating) i cant see how a few degrees of angle on the bike while filling is going to make a bit of difference...

 

beat me to it...

and i'm curious if hes an engineer, i bet he is....

 

I enjoy a good debate.
So with that, I checked bike bandit for the dipstick part # for both the 89 and 90. It is the same. Now I know these are two different bikes (apples and oranges somewhat) but the principle is the same.
And measuring the oil level is not tricky. It is not difficult to sit on the bike with the front wheel straight and take the cleaned dip stick, put it in without threading it, take it back off and observe the oil level.
Like TC said, you're WAY overthinking this.

 

My previous bike used a sight glass and I noticed that the levels would go way up and down. It got me scratching my head, that's when I noticed that steering angle was causing the fluctuation.

Now in the VFR owners manual it says to run the engine a little while, turn it off, let it set a few minutes, put it on the center stand, then measure. That seemed pretty specific to me.

Just to see if it made a difference, I checked the level with both wheels on the ground and then with the back wheel on a 2" board (to simulate a center stand) and it read exactly the same. So I guess I'm good to go. Just keep the wheel straight when you measure.

My other bike was a cruiser so I bet it had more rake and a different amount of trail on the forks. The VFRs might not even need the wheel straight. Eh, I don't feel like testing. Good enough. Thanks all.

 

It occurs to me, the real reason Honda might say to check it on the center stand is make sure the bike is not leaning left to right and nothing to do with it leaning front to back.

 

mine has a little red light on the dash that tells me when it needs some

 

Drain all the oil out. Vacuum it all out, every drop. Then fill it with PRECISELY the correct amount of oil recommended by Honda using a graduated cylinder. Check dipstick. Mark level using a metal etcher.

Well that may be over doing it a bit.

 

pull the engine and put it in a specially made jig that holds the engine in the exact same position as it would be in the frame while on the center stand, fill to the correct level and reinstall the engine, it's all very simple really....

This thread has actually been able to have less relevance than anything ever puked up by Badbilly, that in itself is impressive.




.

 

Oh my! More dipstick fantasies from norkleboy? Sorry dude, no me intereso.

 

Play the Trump Cards!

There is no sight glass on an '86.

The '86 FSM doesn't mention anything about using a centerstand, just to support it in an upright position on level ground.

The FSM trumps the OM. The Honda CSM trumps everything.

 

This isn't a precision thing like setting the clearances on your valves. Even if it is overfilled (above the cross hatch by a few mm) or underfilled (bottom the crosshatch) you won't have an issue. Honda considers this tollerance when they design the beast.

You would have to overfill it by quite a bit before you would run into issues with crank interference or oil pumping out the breather and it would have to be well below the dipstick before you have any cavitation issues or high oil temps.

I would suggest that if you really wanted to be accurate and consistent, buy yourself a rear stand, always check the oil level cold and run it at three quarters of the cross hatch. You can't go wrong.

 

dont forget tire pressure................a low tire can cause a inch or so difference and throw the whole process out of whack!!!! lol