Low oil level 2016 L7

Hi all,

I changed the oil on my SV650 together with the filter. Checked the oil level and it was between high and low indicators.

Checked 1-2 days after as well and it was fine.

After few months, I checked again and the level was below the minimum. I park the motorcycle always in the same spot so I would have noticed a leakage (if happening when it's parked) and being a brand new bike bought few months ago I'm hoping it doesn't just burn oil somehow.

I topped it up and I am going to periodically check now to see if it drops again, but does anyone have any idea of what happened? Should I have checked more when I changed or done something differently?

I check under conditions of the manual (3min on, 3 min off then check). Although the one time I notice it was low, I had the bike running for a while, then waited 3 min and then checked (any chance I should have not let it run for a while before checking?)

This scares me a little bit so would be really grateful for some hypothesis/suggestions.

Thanks.

[Bibio]

always check your oil when the bike is cold e.g. before you ride it and every time. it takes seconds to pull the bike up and have a look.

low oil level will kill an SV as it starves the big ends of oil. same goes for wheelies.

V-Twins go through oil (the harder you ride them the more oil it will go through) which is ok just keep an eye on the oil level and top up when it gets to just above or half way on the sight glass.

when doing an oil change take the level to the full mark. BTW the oil quantity that is stated on the engine is for an oil change without changing the oil filter.

[Biker Biggles]

"After a few months I checked again"
Big fail.Check it often.

[R1ffR4ff]

As above and I use a small hand mirror and just reach down whilst sat on the bike upright on flat ground.My 1999 Curvy(19k miles) doesn't use a lot of oil even when ridden hard.

I keep an eye on the oil all the time as it takes little or no effort and know V-Twins.

Tip:I keep some spare engine oil in a cleaned out old Plastic Sauce bottle.They make great top-up devices because of the plastic nozzle.

Thanks for the replies; do you guys think it's normal that the level dropped from (probably middle) to below the minimum without leaking? (if so, any possible explanation?)

[R1ffR4ff]

Check your Airbox for oil residue.Mine gets a little oil in there as oil mist is part of the fuel system and is fed back.Depending on the road conditions you ride there can be more or less in there sometime I've found with mine.Urban traffic riding tends to get a little more in there.It's not a lot,just a smidge but it's there.
When I blow out my Air-filter I also wipe any little oil residue using a cloth with some Carb/Brake cleaner on it.Also check the security of the breather pipes coming from the Air-box.I had a little more oil use when I found I had not pushed a pipe all the way back on and the Pipe clip had not engaged properly so the pipe came off.No biggy but I spotted it as there was some oil mist on the engine which I don't normally get.

This is a really good reason to keep your engine clean,then you can spot if something is not right

[Adam Ef]

+1 for checking the air box. Mine had more than I expected last time I changed the air filter.

[Craig380]

Originally Posted by SVanchez

Thanks for the replies; do you guys think it's normal that the level dropped from (probably middle) to below the minimum without leaking? (if so, any possible explanation?)

How many miles did you ride in the few months between checks? The amount of oil needed to fill to the F mark from mid-way in the sight glass is only about 250ml, and I'd guess it's only about 250ml from midway to the L mark.

Even if you've only done about 1000 to 1500 miles between oil checks, some bikes can easily use 250ml in that time.

[Seeker]

I did an oil change on my AL7 yesterday. I filled the filter before fitting it (always fun), added oil until it was just below full mark, ran the engine for a couple of minutes, waited for a couple of minutes and no oil was visible on the sight glass.
I've also had the situation, previously, that when I checked it, it had apparently risen (gained oil) which was obviously not possible assuming I didn't have an internal coolant leak/blown head gasket.
I don't recall having similar issues with my curvies - but the AL7 seems very sensitive to being on a level surface (left/right and front/back) so make sure you check the oil level with the bike in the same place each time. Maybe they changed the sump shape? It says 2400 cc on the engine cases, do the curvies say the same, I don't remember.

[R1ffR4ff]

Originally Posted by Seeker

I did an oil change on my AL7 yesterday. I filled the filter before fitting it (always fun), added oil until it was just below full mark, ran the engine for a couple of minutes, waited for a couple of minutes and no oil was visible on the sight glass.
I've also had the situation, previously, that when I checked it, it had apparently risen (gained oil) which was obviously not possible assuming I didn't have an internal coolant leak/blown head gasket.
I don't recall having similar issues with my curvies - but the AL7 seems very sensitive to being on a level surface (left/right and front/back) so make sure you check the oil level with the bike in the same place each time. Maybe they changed the sump shape? It says 2400 cc on the engine cases, do the curvies say the same, I don't remember.

my 1999 it's 2,300 cc on the casing

I use a Plastic Kitchen measuring jug for oil changes.It's 500 CC/ml so I mark the 300cc level and then just use 4 full jugs and one 300cc.Makes it easy to fill correct for starters but always drain off the Oil filter if it's to be re-used.