XR650L oil capacity???

[malevolent73]

Has anyone else noticed that the owners manual is just GROSSLY WRONG...when it comes to oil capacity? I just bought an '07 650L and the book says 2.06 qts. but I had to put in about 2 3/4 qts to get near the fill line... plus once you ride it it goes down quite a bit!!! My friend just got a new road star warrior, and he is having the same issue!!!! Also the torque spec is WAAAYYYY to much! if you torque to spec on the oil filter cover bolts, YOU WILL RIP THE BOLTS RIGHT OUT OF THE CASE!!! I have also had this problem on my R... I don't care what the DAMN book says, it pulls the threads out at 9 ft lbs!!! Why can't Honda pull their head outta their A$$ and come up with a REAL number for the oil capacity... and correct torque spec! Instead of printing that crap they print in all their owners manuals?????

[Huffa 2]

Explain in detail how your checking the oil.

The torque specs are for a dry bolt, which you might know already?

For the two drain bolts, sort of hard to put them in dry when the threads on bike are all oiled up though ?

I always do mine by hand though as I have a good feel for how tight most small bolts should be.

[COAL RUN]

My 04 XR650L take 2.06 qt. But I just put 2qt in it & call it good. Never had a problem

[McQueen278]

I have a 07 XR650L and just noticed the oil capacity issue. It takes closer to three quarts to fill to the top line when changing the oil filter. I check the oil level by letting the engine run for 3 to 5 minutes, than shut it down and wait for ten minutes before checking the dip stick. Is this not the correct procedure?

[goblin127]

The oil capacity of these motors have been of issue but it is only 2.06 qt since the start. Just get used to where this mark is on the stick and go with that.

[Huffa 2]

I have a 07 XR650L and just noticed the oil capacity issue. It takes closer to three quarts to fill to the top line when changing the oil filter. I check the oil level by letting the engine run for 3 to 5 minutes, than shut it down and wait for ten minutes before checking the dip stick. Is this not the correct procedure?

Yep, sounds correct to me.

Only thing to add to it is have the bike kickstand on a block of wood so it's level. You can of course just rest the bike against you too but I prefer the block of wood method.

[txmedic]

Mine '07 manual says 2.0 quarts without a filter change, 2.06 with a fresh filter and 2.4 after an engine rebuild or something to that effect.

[Beyond The Pale]

I have a 07 XR650L and just noticed the oil capacity issue. It takes closer to three quarts to fill to the top line when changing the oil filter. I check the oil level by letting the engine run for 3 to 5 minutes, than shut it down and wait for ten minutes before checking the dip stick. Is this not the correct procedure?

I never get a correct reading this way on my XR600. It will always show low. In order to get a true reading the bike needs to be running for a little longer. The best way is to ride it for at least 5 if not 10 minutes. Shut down and check the oil level within 1 minute of shutdown. The best is to check it after a ride.

[Huffa 2]

I never get a correct reading this way on my XR600. It will always show low. In order to get a true reading the bike needs to be running for a little longer. The best way is to ride it for at least 5 if not 10 minutes. Shut down and check the oil level within 1 minute of shutdown. The best is to check it after a ride.

The way your doing it is reading the EXPANDED HOT reading, so naturally yours will read low when the oil is on the cold side of running it just a few minutes.

Honda says : "The oil level can not be checked accurately immeadiatly after the engine has been run at high speed ".

So according to the above satement, your running yours a bit low in oil all the time. (probably still well with in the range though?)

[XR650L_Dave]

Don't wait 10 minutes to check the oil, check it immed. after shutdown, except for the "just ran it at high speed" case.

The 'right' way would be to check with the engine running, but that'd be messy.

Dave

[Denn10]

These arent Porche's but i wish i could squeeze a motor in my XRL that would be sweet LOL and oil doesnt really expand that much when its hot to make a huge difference. Ive had mine a tad over the full mark and it didnt do anything no overflow nothing and it is NOT better to have less oil with an air cooled engine keep it to the full mark whenever possible!!

[malevolent73]

I checked and re-checked! I checked after just letting the bike idle for 3-5 min... and after an 18mi. ride. I also found that it needs close to 3 qts. after 3-5 min it was a little low, but after the long ride it was right at the top mark. This all started due to me taking a ride last sunday, and blasting down a country road TOP speed... and when I got to my buddy's house I checked the oil after letting the bike sit for 10 min or so, and NOTHING on the stick!!! I had to put a qt in to get it just above the half mark!!! I just bought the bike 2 wks earlier, and the guy I bought it from was FANATICAL about bike maintenance, and sounded like he really knew his stuff. it had 675 mi. on it when I got it, and he had changed the oil once... so now it had about 1500, and I was checking for the first time, and it was WAY low!!! kinda scared me! so I changed the oil the next day, and I did measure how much I got out of it... 2 qts! and that included what I put in the day before. So this got me to wondering, could the book be WRONG? I am sure the guy I bought the bike from went by the owners manual... so why was it so low??? my buddy just got a brand new road star warrior, and is having the same issue... he called yamaha, and they told him the book is DEFINATELY WRONG!!! so I call honda, they said no their book is right! so why is the oil so low????

[Bibleman]

My bike came from the factory with the oil at the top mark when warm. When i drained it I measured it and it was 2 and 1/3 quarts. I put the two quarts the manual says back in and it was low. I ended up putting the extra 1/3 "extra" in and it's now at the top notch again.

[OUTERLIMITS]

I have a 07 XR650L and just noticed the oil capacity issue. It takes closer to three quarts to fill to the top line when changing the oil filter. I check the oil level by letting the engine run for 3 to 5 minutes, than shut it down and wait for ten minutes before checking the dip stick. Is this not the correct procedure?

I have an R so am not sure if it is the same procedure, but as it carries oil in the frame like the L, it should be. My manuel says to run at idle for a few minutes, shut off the bike, then check the dip stick immediately (no wait time), and only set the dipstick in the hole, do not screw it down. On the R it is supposed to be 1.7 quarts with a filter change and doing it this way is almost spot on every time.

[janner]

Has anyone else noticed that the owners manual is just GROSSLY WRONG...when it comes to oil capacity? I just bought an '07 650L and the book says 2.06 qts. but I had to put in about 2 3/4 qts to get near the fill line... plus once you ride it it goes down quite a bit!!! :

I have an 07 650L with 250 miles on and just completed an oil and filter change.After the engine was warmed up to operating temp, I let it sit and drain completely for about 30 mins...till no more drips.

Ran one quart thru the engine for a few minutes then added the second quart.....The oil was not showing on the dip stick..I added the recommended 0.06 quart ..then ran the engine on idle a few minutes..oil was showing at the half way level on the dipstick when screwed in which I intialy thought was too low......I was considering adding a bit more to bring the level up ? , but took it for a 10 mile warm up run first to give the oil a chance to recirculate and warm up.

When I got back, bike on a level surface and upright, waited a few minutes and checked the oil....Oil had risen and was now exactly at the top of the full mark on the dip stick (not screwed in)

It seems to me that the recommended 2.06 quarts to me is spot on. I would not like to over fill it by any more.

[Huffa 2]

I have an 07 650L with 250 miles on and just completed an oil and filter change.After the engine was warmed up to operating temp, I let it sit and drain completely for about 30 mins...till no more drips.

Ran one quart thru the engine for a few minutes then added the second quart.....The oil was not showing on the dip stick..I added the recommended 0.06 quart ..then ran the engine on idle a few minutes..oil was showing at the half way level on the dipstick when screwed in which I intialy thought was too low......I was considering adding a bit more to bring the level up ? , but took it for a 10 mile warm up run first to give the oil a chance to recirculate and warm up.

When I got back, bike on a level surface and upright, waited a few minutes and checked the oil....Oil had risen and was now exactly at the top of the full mark on the dip stick (not screwed in)

It seems to me that the recommended 2.06 quarts to me is spot on. I would not like to over fill it by any more.

If you let the engine idle for 3 minutes or so from cold and wait a few minutes after shut down, where is the level at then?

[janner]

If you let the engine idle for 3 minutes or so from cold and wait a few minutes after shut down, where is the level at then?

I have just checked the oil level cold (no idle)...not screwing the dip stick in...it reads exactly half way up the dip stick, between the high and low mark.

Now, here is the strange part.....I ran the engine on idle for 3 mins.....then waited one minute to check the oil level.....guess what.....it was barely on the lower mark...just above the bottom hole!!!!!..........

Maybe this is where the misunderstanding is....I know I put exactly 2.06 quarts in and I have had three different readings on the dip stick level at different temperatures..........but I now know where my bench mark is.....on a cold engine it should read on the midway mark.

[janner]

There may be another method to see if there is too much oil in the engine.

On the right hand side of the crankcase almost level to the foot brake pedal, is the 'oil check bolt'.....a 10mm bolt with a zinc or copper washer.

Quote from the 93 - 2007 Honda XR650L service manual....

The crankcase oil level check bolt is useful when checking the lubrication system: the oil pump adjusts the oil level so that the crankcase is always kept at the proper level. If the check is otherwise, some portion of the lubrication system is not working properly.

"Do not check oil level immediately after the engine has been opeated at high speeds. Make sure the motorcycle is standing upright on firm level ground while idling. Allow the engine to idle fo a few minutes to stabilize oil levels'

'The crankcase oil level is correct if the oil is flush with the bottom of the check bolt hole.'

I am reading this to mean that providing the oil adjustment pump is operating correctly, it should mean that with the right amount of oil, the level should be just below the bolt hole, and any exces would spill out.

To check this theory, I have just been and overfilled the engine oil by 100ml which is about 0.1 quart........ran the engine on idle for a few minutes . Bike was upright and level. Waited a minute for the oil to settle down then removed the 'oil check bolt' and held a measure jug underneath........0.1 of a quart over spilled out the hole then stopped..the exact same amount that I overfilled with.

:

[XR650L_Dave]

If you overfill it slightly, I don't think it will spit the extra out the crancase check-bolt. I think that was co-incidence.

Speaking generaly, when you run the engine, the most oil that is ever going to be in the upper resevoir will be up there, and as soon as you shut the engine off it will slowly drain down to the crancase sump.

Dave

[murgatroid42]

If you overfill it, the excess will blow out your crankcase vent hose and into your airbox.

I put 2.06 quarts in mine after an oil change. To check it, I go for a 6 mile ride, and check it immediately afterward. I stop the bike, still sitting on it to keep the bike level, wait about a minute, unscrew the dipstick, and put it back in the hole without screwing it down, then pull it out to check the level. I get consistent measurements this way.