1998 DR 250 Oil indicator Empty but bike full

[Wild Orange]

Hey everyone,

Just did my first oil change on my DR that I have had for around 10 months, yes thats right, I should have done a change earlier but I didnt!!

Anyway, I got through it, made a HUGE mess all over the garage floor, but didnt break anything mostly due to the wonderful threads on this forum with their little tips of information on what to do, and a very bewildered bike shop man. (i dont think they see many girls in that shop)

ANYWAY!

I have filled the bike up with fresh oil, around 1.4 litres i'd say, and ran it for around 4 minutes, then waited around 3 minutes with the bike vertical, and checked the oil level indicator and it was empty. Waited 20 mins and did the same thing again, nothing...

From memory, before I changed the oil the meter was empty as well, but I hadn't gone through the proper motions of running the bike and having it properly upright so I didnt think too much of it. (when i emptied the old oil there was nearly 2 litres in there, so the indicator was clearly not accurate)

I'm going riding in 2 days, so don't want to put myself or bike at risk of damage, but im fairly confident the indicator is just a bit dicky or something. Or maybe I need to run the bike for longer? It has been sitting idle for around3 weeks.

Any advice on things I may have forgotten to do or done wrong that would cause the indicator not to fill? One thing I forgot to double check was the famed o-ring in the oil filter case, I thought I saw it but after doing some reading afterwards I realised the thing that I thought was the o ring wasnt the o ring, so im not sure if its there or if its stuck somewhere or whatever,

im praying its not, but just wanted to describe the situation as best I could.

My plan is to leave it overnight and try running the bike again in the morning, and if its still not indicating anything, maybe ride it over to the bike shop which is just around the corner and get the boys to take a look at it for me.

I really dont want to pull the oil filter case off again causeof the mess it makes and the oil it wastes, but if thats where I might find the answer to my problem, then I'll do it!

Thanks in advance for any of your advice!

[mxrob]

Hey everyone,

Just did my first oil change on my DR that I have had for around 10 months, yes thats right, I should have done a change earlier but I didnt!!

Anyway, I got through it, made a HUGE mess all over the garage floor, but didnt break anything mostly due to the wonderful threads on this forum with their little tips of information on what to do, and a very bewildered bike shop man. (i dont think they see many girls in that shop)

ANYWAY!

I have filled the bike up with fresh oil, around 1.4 litres i'd say, and ran it for around 4 minutes, then waited around 3 minutes with the bike vertical, and checked the oil level indicator and it was empty. Waited 20 mins and did the same thing again, nothing...

From memory, before I changed the oil the meter was empty as well, but I hadn't gone through the proper motions of running the bike and having it properly upright so I didnt think too much of it. (when i emptied the old oil there was nearly 2 litres in there, so the indicator was clearly not accurate)

I'm going riding in 2 days, so don't want to put myself or bike at risk of damage, but im fairly confident the indicator is just a bit dicky or something. Or maybe I need to run the bike for longer? It has been sitting idle for around3 weeks.

Any advice on things I may have forgotten to do or done wrong that would cause the indicator not to fill? One thing I forgot to double check was the famed o-ring in the oil filter case, I thought I saw it but after doing some reading afterwards I realised the thing that I thought was the o ring wasnt the o ring, so im not sure if its there or if its stuck somewhere or whatever,

im praying its not, but just wanted to describe the situation as best I could.

My plan is to leave it overnight and try running the bike again in the morning, and if its still not indicating anything, maybe ride it over to the bike shop which is just around the corner and get the boys to take a look at it for me.

I really dont want to pull the oil filter case off again causeof the mess it makes and the oil it wastes, but if thats where I might find the answer to my problem, then I'll do it!

Thanks in advance for any of your advice!

I'm not sure what type of indicator the DR250 has but I'm going to assume its a sight glass? Are you sure the engine is not just over full? My DR650 has a sight glass as well. If I put the volume of oil in the bike that Suzuki wants me to during and oil change the engine is over full according to the sight glass. With clean oil its sometimes hard to tell if there is oil in the window without seeing the level for a contrast. Over filling your bike is harder on it than running it anywhere in the recommended oil level range. I'd drain the oil back out and watch the sight window as you fill it. The only other possible thing I can thing of is the window is extremely dirty and you are not able to see the reflective silver background of the window. Hope this helps and good luck!

[monthos]

I have a 1999 DR650 and a 1990 DR350. I do not believe the 250's have a sight glass, instead they have a dipstick like the way the 350 does that goes on the frame right behind the handle bars.

When I check my 350's oil I only wait about a minute after shutting the bike down before I check the level. I do not know off the top of my head how much oil the engine calls for, but if you are sure you put the right amount in, I would not worry too much. But first try checking the oil a little sooner and see if it reads.

[R_Little]

If you want to check the filter w/o loosing the oil, shut the gas off drain the carb and lay the bike on it's side then remove the filter cover.

BTW, if the big o-ring were missing it would leak oil all over the place. If it does not leak then the o-ring is okay.

Also 1.4 lt of oil is about .2-3 lts less than capacity.

[Wild Orange]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for your replies. Yes it was a little overfull at first, and I couldnt see the clean oil.

I ran the bike a bit more in the morning then got help holding it upright and sure enough, oil was there.

Had a brilliant ride at a park called Louee all weekend, bike went like a dream, although I went for a couple of swims in some giant puddles, other than that, its all goood!!

The 1998 Dr 250's do have a sight glass!