oil level question

I changed my oil and the level is about 1/8 inch above the top line. I know it's not good to over fill the oil but will it matter if it's just a little over? Also what is the easiest way to remove a small amount of oil?

Chris

I personally use a small syringe and small diameter plastic tubing.

x

bigbird wrote:

cjuzda wrote:

I changed my oil and the level is about 1/8 inch above the top line. I know it's not good to over fill the oil but will it matter if it's just a little over? Also what is the easiest way to remove a small amount of oil?
Chris

Hi Chris.
A little bit of overfill will not harm anything. A lot of overfill will cause oil aerating and with it troubles. As the crankpins and counterweights rotate, the turbulent air will suck up oil out of the sump, creating drag on the crank and interfering with oil flowing back into the sump. This is called windage, and it's a bad thing. How much excess oil will cause windage? It depends on the sump size and rpm of the engine. I would say 0.5L overfill may give you problems on a Swing.

Your wife's turkey baster does an excellent job of sucking up excess liquids. I'm sure she'll appreciate that afterwards.

Thanks! Should I tell her I'm sure the turkey will test better too?

x.

I always thought there were reliability issues with dry sump engines with
the oil supply farther away from the bearing and crankshaft. If an an oil
line broke or clogged you'd have major damage.

x

Remember to not screw the dipstick in when checking the oil. Doing so will make it seem like there is more oil. Don't ask how I know.

bigbird wrote:

surlybiker58 wrote:

I always thought there were reliability issues with dry sump engines with
the oil supply farther away from the bearing and crankshaft. If an an oil
line broke or clogged you'd have major damage.

Makes sense. The more that can go wrong, will go wrong.

You have to remember that engines of that caliber, and type are only run for a matter of hours before being broken down and serviced. I get a year, maybe 2 years on my track bikes, and they get broken down and serviced every month or so, and a complete set of tires in a day or 2. Formula 1 powerplants spend all there time out of the cars for the most part. Being tested measured, rebuilt, and updated, except for the few hours of racing, and road testing.

Some of the Harleys have a dry sump system and them seem to work good. I have seen some with over 100000 miles.

x

surlybiker58 wrote:

I always thought there were reliability issues with dry sump engines with
the oil supply farther away from the bearing and crankshaft. If an an oil
line broke or clogged you'd have major damage.

The original Honda SOHC 750, which redefined performance and reliability for all motorcycling in 1969, is a dry-sump design. I personally put over 110,000 miles on a 1977 model before it needed a top-end refresh; the bottom end was still fine. It, like all Hondas, just needed religious oil changes to stay reliable. It had more problems with the small internal oil passages to the cam bearings than with the oil pump, tank, or external lines.

The main advantage to a dry sump is that it allows the engine to be mounted lower in the frame, thus reducing the center of gravity -- that was a big deal on a tall and heavy four-cylinder motor. Wasn't necessary on the Silver Wing.