Oil Level on Paddock Stand

Dumb question of the day, can you get a reasonably accurate read of the oil level whilst the bike is on the rear paddock stand?

Mine is showing on the lower mark and the bike has barely been used and done about 500 miles since the last service.

[utopia]

Personally I think yes, you can.
In fact I prefer to do it on a rear stand because it holds the bike level (and stable) from side to side.
In my opinion its quite difficult to do this manually.
Of course there will be a slight discrepancy from level fore and aft, but this will have minimal effect on the oil level in the window .. and anyway if you're concerned about that then its easy enough to restore things by placing a suitable thickness piece of wood under the front wheel. You'll find that this makes little discernible difference though.
Side to side level is much more important and I have been known to check this with a spirit level placed on the petrol filler cap. Perhaps a side to side leveling error could account for your low reading after so few miles ...??

Note that all the above is just my own opinion, based on experience of my 750.
I have heard other views expressed (but obviously, I think they're wrong .. ha, ha).

[slob]

It’ll be fine, it will go up a liitle when it comes of the stand, so the lower mark is not really a problem, you just want to avoid overfilling it.

[Dukedesmo]

What they said.

I always check/fill the oil on the paddock stand on both my Ducatis, the difference from on the stand to not is very small and you can always 'compensate' by slightly underfilling if you're worried.

Ah so the oil is level with the lower mark on the paddock stand then. Should I top it up a little? I am due an oil change but it's unlikely to happen anytime soon as I'm fairly busy with other stuff.

Any ideas why/how it's dropped to low with such little use?

[slob]

if it’s not on the floor (or in the bellypan) temperature is a possibility, if it’s been sat in a cold garage for three months. Remember it should be checked warm, the level rises a little as the oil heats up

[Mr Gazza]

Just to re-iterate what the others have wisely said.
Fore and aft declivity doesn't make very much difference, as the sight hole if fairly near the middle of the sump.
However as Utopia mentioned the athwartships angle makes a lot of difference.
It is well worth checking the bike for level across the beam, by using the filler cap as a datum.
I did this when my bike was on it's rear stand and corrected the pads on the stand with shims and taped them on once it was correct. I now know that she's level every time as I laid my workshop floor with a laser.

When I change oil, I always fill the new oil filter before fitting it and this saves a lot of filling through the little hole, but also ensures instant supply to the pump on re-start.

I always check the level again after a warm up run (and also that the oil light goes out!)
It very often settles and needs a little top up. I would probably do that on her wheels on the deck, squatting down by the sight glass and doing my best to balance the bike upright with the right handlebar... Try that and see how little movement makes the oil level shoot about.

A low level is not a bad thing if it's cold, as it will warm up quicker. High level at any time can cause high crankcase pressure, which in extreme case can lead to excessive breathing out of oil, oil leaks or even blowing the piston crowns off!!

Did you check the level properly after it's service? It could have been filled to the lower level anyway?

If you top up, make sure you use the same sort of oil as already in there.

It has been sat in a cold garage for a few months. I did start it for a few minutes and then let it settle before checking but perhaps not warm enough.

[manwithredbike]

Originally Posted by Mr Gazza

Fore and aft declivity

What a great phrase.

[slob]

“declivity”! what about “athwartships”?
he’s suddenly gone nautical on us, i’d have expected pitch and roll

[Mr Gazza]

That's a legacy of a Yacht and Boatbuilding apprenticeship and a career in Norfolk boatyards.
Although I have never had cause to use one, a declivity wedge is used with a spirit level to compensate for the slope if any work is done on a boat on a slipway.
"Declivity wedge" has a nice comic ring to it, so is often heard in various contexts on a boatyard, much like the Golden Rivet I suppose. Best not to ask to see the Golden Rivet if you don't know what it is! (They do exist though, I have fitted them.)
Declivity just means slope, or deviation from level.

I tried the spirit level on the fuel tank thing and the bike was definitely not level (left to right). I couldn't get it level on the stand so I dropped it down and tried to hold it level (that was fun), doing it this way the oil level was back to where it should be.

I may try it on the Abba stand and see what result that gives me

[Darren69]

Obviously they take 'declivity' very seriously in Norfolk!

I always check mine by kneeling and pulling the bike off the side stand towards me by the frame. You can tell when it's on it's balance point and near enough level. That way has always been close enough for Rock n Roll for me.

[slob]

Originally Posted by rac3r

... doing it this way the oil level was back to where it should be ...

Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.

[utopia]

Originally Posted by Darren69

Obviously they take 'declivity' very seriously in Norfolk!

Of course they do.
Anything that isn't dead flat and level sticks out like a sore thumb in Norfolk.

Originally Posted by Darren69

I always check mine by kneeling and pulling the bike off the side stand towards me by the frame. You can tell when it's on it's balance point and near enough level. That way has always been close enough for Rock n Roll for me.

Its never been close enough for me .. and I think there are three elements to this :-

1) When judging the level by feel, its quite easy to detect larger deviations but becomes progressively less easy the closer you get to dead level. In my opinion this band of uncertainty is sufficiently wide to cause significant error.

2) Its not very easy to hold the bike reliably steady once you do find the level position. This introduces a vagueness which is in turn exaggerated by the viscosity of the oil which produces a lag in settling to a true reading.
And as stated earlier, any side to side movements affect the indicated level in the window quite dramatically.

3) Even if you manage to overcome the above pitfalls and get the bike into an accurate and stable level condition, you're probably scrunched up against the side of the bike trying to hold it in position and your eyeline to the sight glass is therefore very acute and subject to parallax errors (if you can even see it clearly at all).


One way around all this might be to use a level on the filler cap to aid the selection of a suitable thickness block to fit under under the sidestand.
Obviously the bike will not stand securely on its own using such a block but it can easily be held against the sidestand/block and will thus be more reliably steady, giving a more stable reading and an easier view of the sight glass.