How To Check The Engine Oil Level On Your Motorcycle
June 27, 2010 by Darren Alff
In order for your motorcycle’s engine, transmission, and clutch to operate properly, it is important that you maintain your bike’s engine oil at it’s proper level.
To determine your motorcycle’s current oil level, start by first running the bike for several minutes at idle speed. This helps to fill the oil filter with oil. Then, stop the engine and wait a few minutes for the oil to settle.
To check the engine oil level, look through the engine oil gauge located on the lower-right side of your motorcycle (Note: I am demonstrating this on a 2009 Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycle, so the process of checking the oil levels on your bike may be slightly different).
The clear circle located just above and to the left of the “2.5L” in the image below is the oil level gauge.
With the motorcycle leaning on it’s side stand, it looks as though there is almost no oil in the engine at all. When inspecting your motorcycle’s engine oil, you want the oil level to be between the two level lines next to the gauge. In this case, the oil is below the lowest level line, but…
…you need to remember to hold your motorcycle level when checking your engine oil.
The photo below shows the engine oil level now that the bike is being held level. As you can see, the oil level is exactly where it should be – centered right between the two oil level lines. In the case of this particular motorcycle, the oil level is perfect and nothing more needs to be done at this point.
If, however, the oil level is too low, you will need to add more oil until the correct level has been achieved. And if the oil level is too high, you can remove the excess oil through the oil filter using a syringe or some other suitable device.
Sign up for the free Motorcycle Touring Pro email newsletter and discover:
i have a 150 cc bike suzuki gs 150 r bike i have kept the engine oil right upto the maximum mark is it harmful to the bike i mean should i keep the oil upto the maximum mark or between the minimum and maximum mark plzz reply your help will be highly apprciated thankss and ya my bike is 4 stroke bike
I’m not an expert on these things, so maybe someone else can respond better than I can, but I personally try and keep the engine oil at the 3/4 filled mark. This way the oil isn’t overflowing inside the engine, nor is it running dry. I don’t think filling the engine oil to the point that it is level with the full mark is going to do any damage to your bike, but you want to make sure you aren’t putting TOO MUCH oil in there. And once you hit that full mark, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if you are at the full mark… or if you are totally overflowing.
Do you always have to let the motorcycle idle for a couple of minutes to get an acurate read or can you just level the motorcycle without having it idle first?
I think that the reason for running the motor is to simply mix up the oil and distribute it throughout the motor area. Otherwise, the oil just sits at the bottom of the tray and doesn’t give a very accurate reading as to how much oil you actually have in there to LUBRICATE the parts.
Thanks for the article! I’m a bit confused on how exactly to tell if the oil is at the right spot though. So the motorcycle should be held centered (like a two wheel bike without a stand) and the oil leve should be above half in the circle, right? Do all motorcycles have this glass with the circle, and what exactly do you mean by “oil leve lines.”
I’m a beginner trying to learn all I can, so please excuse my ignorance.
Yes, you have to hold the bicycle level. You don’t want it to be leaning over to one side, like it normally would be when it is resting on its kickstand.
No, not all motorcycles have this clear piece of glass where you can see into the engine to know how much oil is in there. Your motorcycle, depending on what kind it is, may be very different.
Yes, you want to oil level to be in the middle of the clear glass circle. The oil level lines are simply the little notches above and below the glass circle in the photos of this article. The lower two notches make up the lower oil level line… and the two top notches make up the upper oil level line. You want your oil to sit between these two lines… or somewhere in the middle of the circular piece of glass.