Oil leakage during level control

[Vizir]

Hello the team,
Some of my friends of my french guzzi forum have already received their V100S.
Already, they notice a problem , when checking the oil on the side stand : a big oil leakage at the filling hole.
In fact, the filling hole is too low , regarding the normal oil level .
If you want avoid this issue, you must have the central stand , incredible, and typically guzzi
(Do you remember the norge 2V where we had to remove a part of the fairing to check the oil level )
Todd, I think that you are going to have to do a modification kit to raise the fill level and make a longer dipstick .
And, moreover, they removed the control window , which they had initially put on the preseries mods .?
However, this device could be very usefull .

 

[Dave.N]

If you want avoid this issue, you must have the central stand

Or you could use a piece of wood under the side stand to raise the bike to almost vertical. I used to do this with the V9 for oil level checks before fitting a centre stand.

 

[V700Steve]

Mount a wheel chock on a piece of plywood, pull in bike. You can even tilt over a bit.

 

[Mackers]

Let it leak out...it'll find its own level.

 

[TigerGA]

Not unusual for a manufacturer to require a bike to be upright to check the oil. My Indians and Ducati have to upright for an oil check.

 

[Raven]

It would be nice to be informed of this by the dealer, when you pick up your shiny new V100, before it spills oil all over.

 

[Jan Cermak]

I think it is enough to read the user manual ;-) the second step in oil level check is to keep the motorcycle in vertical position ;-)



Tenere il veicolo in posizione verticale con le due ruote appoggiate al suolo

english translation

Keep the vehicle upright with both wheels on the ground

 

[Speciality]

Yes, RTFM….That said, I’m a bit surprised that the oil gushes out with the bike on its sidestand. I don’t believe that happens on other modern Guzzis…

 

[Jan Cermak]

Yes, RTFM….That said, I’m a bit surprised that the oil gushes out with the bike on its sidestand. I don’t believe that happens on other modern Guzzis…

Yes, I think they were testing optimal oil levels and the first prototypes even had oil check control window. But I think they realized during testing, that the oil level at the window is (probably) too low so they blinded the window and switched to dipstick check. The higher oil level is reason, why it leaks out when the bike is on the sidestand.
I think this is probable story behind it and to be honest I prefer to have correct oil level and well lubricated engine even when I need to use paddock stand for checks. Maybe next revision of the engine will have higher placed oil check window and/or higher placed filler hole on the left side. As long as I ordered my V100 S Avanguardia Grey now I can live with the state as it is ;-)

 

[Speciality]

Thanks for the info. The local dealer who supplied my V7 850 Special has two V100s in stock, one of which has the OEM mainstand and panniers. I have to say that I'd have the main stand fitted, as I did with my V7. Problem solved......

 

[SFZX54]

I don't think out of the 54 different motorcycles I've had in a lifetime I can ever remember one bike setting oil level on its side stand. Always have had a front wheel chock in the garage just for that and maintenance procedures on bikes with no center stand. Now have a really fantastic stand made by ABBA, that is the way to go for sure when doing maintenance work, most stable situation ever and beats a paddock stand hands down for one man use. Thinking on it only one of five I have now has a center stand. It just becomes routine after awhile

 

[scottmastrocinque]

I’m with V700Steve on this one. A $55 Harbor Freight Wheel Chock bolted to a half sheet of plywood.

Rock solid and works on any motorcycle with no special adapters needed.

 

[Alessandro]

Yes, I think they were testing optimal oil levels and the first prototypes even had oil check control window. But I think they realized during testing, that the oil level at the window is (probably) too low so

That's the point!
The prototype bikes started running with 3,5 liters, then they added a little more, little more......
The bike oil capacity is now 4,9 liters.
So the sight glass was too low to have a real oil level and the moved to dipstick.

 

[V700Steve]

Sounds pretty nice to me, fill er up till it spills out, cap it & ride. I would more worry what warranty will cover when it fails.

 

[lemans850i]

The part that gets me is when I’m on tour with my California 3 and we do 400+ miles a day and sometimes in between when we have a rest stop I’ll check the oil... (and what else I think doesn’t feel or sound right) no problem.. I think on a (sport) tourer there should be a center stand! I don’t wanna mess around with a piece of wood somewhere in No-where-land with a fully packed bike!
Makes it easier to load the bike up, check tires and air, any oil levels...
I do that a few times on a 2 week trip...

If it’s just used as a bike for day trips and it ends up back in the garage I’m sure it’s fine with just a side stand!
And I guess that’s what most of them are used for and why Guzzi decided to make it an accessory.

 

[Nordicnorm]

I don't think out of the 54 different motorcycles I've had in a lifetime I can ever remember one bike setting oil level on its side stand. Always have had a front wheel chock in the garage just for that and maintenance procedures on bikes with no center stand. Now have a really fantastic stand made by ABBA, that is the way to go for sure when doing maintenance work, most stable situation ever and beats a paddock stand hands down for one man use. Thinking on it only one of five I have now has a center stand. It just becomes routine after awhile

I have only ever found one: my Buell XB with the oil res in the swing arm has a dip stick calibrated for the side stand. Very cool as it would be hard to fit a centerstand under the engine where the muffler is mounted. Of course nothing ever left Milwaukee with a center stand (way too practical ). I do have the Harbor Freight chock for servicing. A great deal IMO.
Before I fitted a center stand to my Jackal, I filled it to the correct oil level upright, then marked the dip stick where the level reached when it rested on the side stand. Not sure I will have to figure anything out for the V-100 in the future, but it is fun to watch the excitement building around a whole new generation from Guzzi.