Overfilled oil tank/draining suggestions

danman2015 · Dec 5, 2016

Hi there.
Believe it or not, my dealer's garage overfilled my st1300's oil tank (you can't see through the viewer, oil fills it all).
Would anyone suggest any draining procedures to get rid of the extra oil?

Thanks so much.

ST1300?2008

Kevcules · Dec 5, 2016

My guess is that you have to crack open the oil drain bolt and drain a little oil out at a time to get the right level. You could always drain out a cup full , then add more if necessary. Good luck....

Grabcon · Dec 5, 2016

Personally I would bring it back to the dealer and have them resolve the issue at No Charge.

Tdinova · Dec 5, 2016

Make sure the bike is level before checking. Usually a gas bar has a perfectly level surface. Put the bike on the center stand, fill the tank with gas, then check the sight glass.

wjbertrand · Dec 5, 2016

If the oil level falls below the window with the bike on the side stand, it's not high enough to worry about. Go Ride. BTW, the ST1300 is a wet sump engine so technically does not have an oil tank. The oil is carried in the crankcase.

SMSW · Dec 5, 2016

There is a procedure to check the oil level. Start the bike, let it idle for three to five minutes, shut it off, wait two to three minutes, and check the oil level with the bike on a level surface. The manual says nothing at all about the center stand or side stand, but the latter would give a false reading, I think, and if you don't use the former, the bike will fall on its side while you are looking. I'd guess that there is not much difference in the oil level between the bike being on two wheels or on the center stand, so I use the CS.

I find Honda's directions interesting. Is the oil level so critical that the amount of oil that stays up in the engine after a two minute drain down is important? Other Honda engines are simply checked with a dip stick - none of this 'fire her up to idle, then drain down for two to three min and NOW check the oil level.

Kevin_56 · Dec 5, 2016

SMSW said:
The manual says nothing at all about the center stand or side stand, but the latter would give a false reading, I think,

Per the 2003 manual View attachment oil level.pdf.

.

RaYzerman · Dec 5, 2016

If you check per the procedure, and after the 2-3 minutes the oil has slowly crept up to the top of the sight glass, call it good, ride it worry less.

SMSW · Dec 5, 2016

Kevin_56 said:
Per the 2003 manual View attachment oil level.pdf.

.

Honda changed it in the 03 to 2011 manual. They have the same diagram and pictures of the inspection window but no mention of stands beyond "support the motorcycle on a level surface". I still have not figured out how to hold the bike upright and bend over so I can see the two lines and oil level. I'll use the 03 method....

etalors · Dec 5, 2016

danman2015 said:
Hi there.
Believe it or not, my dealer's garage overfilled my st1300's oil tank (you can't see through the viewer, oil fills it all).
Would anyone suggest any draining procedures to get rid of the extra oil?

My dealer did the same thing on me. Since then I have changed the oil myself. If the oil level is high, you can loosen the drain bolt and allow some oil to leak out. Keep an upward pressure on the drain bolt as you are loosening it. This will require 100% focus on your part. Do not move the drain bolt away from the crankcase, keep it touching the hole so that you can screw it back in quickly, instead of trying to look for the hole. It wont take much to bring it back to the right level. you will only have to release 25-50cc of oil for it to come back in range. I cant imagine that the dealer would overfill by more than that. Make sure there is an empty pan under it so that if there is a mishap, you wont have oil all over the floor.

But the best thing is to take it back to the dealer and make them aware of their sloppy work.

danman2015 · Dec 6, 2016

Well guys, thanks for your remarks.
As some of you suggest, nobody can imagine why they did so badly. Believe me, they did. As I said, both before and after letting engine run for 4/5 minutes, you can see nothing but oil all over the inspection window. Hey, most of us have been riding for over 20 years, haven't we?, so I'm afraid we tend to know our 'strong ladies' better than some mechanics do.
Thank you Etalors for sharing your experience. Same damned thing. And no, I won't go back to that F dealer again. I'll follow your advice and do it myself.
PS: I took it to the dealer once, removed almost 100cc oil, and at present my eyes still see what they see. You see why there's a long oily patch on each black side of the fairing?

dwalby · Dec 6, 2016

I've never taken a bike to a dealer, but I have this same problem with dealer oil changes on my cars. I think its too much time/trouble for them to check the dipstick/sight glass and adjust, so they just dump in a prescribed amount of oil and never look at the level. When you're working for "book time" working extra fast pays off for the mechanic, so its in their best interest, but unfortunately not yours.

Bigmak96 · Dec 6, 2016

Get a syringe from a farm store, add a length of small tube to it and draw the oil out with that. Good luck.

danman2015 · Dec 6, 2016

Thank you man!
The issue is finding space to let the tube go in...I'll try with a thinner one.
:06biker:

Bigmak96 · Dec 6, 2016

Is the fill hole blocked with baffles on the 1300? 1/4 OD hose would fit I would hope but I am guessing.

T_C · Dec 6, 2016

Bigmak96 said:
Is the fill hole blocked with baffles on the 1300? 1/4 OD hose would fit I would hope but I am guessing.

Fill hole is top of cylinder heads, between cams. Drains down through oil passages.

silverbub · Dec 6, 2016

Just a thought:...rather than backing out the drain plug...which does not get much oil dripping out until the bolt is just about completely backed out...& as mentioned above...likely to suddenly cause some panic to stop the flow if drain bolt drops away from hole...Why not just back off the filter until the desirable dripping occurs?...the filter stays onto the filter bolt threads for easy re-tightening after the appropriate drainage occurs...that is what i think would be more "fail-safe" and would easily be controlling the "decant"...drip into momma's measuring cup to determine how much was drawn out...then funnel back in what is necessary for acceptable sight glass line...(just be sure to super-clean "momma's" measuring cup!!)

...Thinking about the re-seating/re-sealing of the filter gasket...since the assumption that the filter gasket has not been "heat-hardened" much due to timely notice of dealer's "error of commision"...I would think the filter gasket would still be sufficiently pliable so as to easily re-seat to a leak-free seal again...

punder · Dec 6, 2016

Personally, just do another oil change minus the filter.

SMSW · Dec 6, 2016

T_C said:
Fill hole is top of cylinder heads, between cams. Drains down through oil passages.

I would guess that trying to get a hose down one of these oil passages (esp since I have not seen how large/small they are) to the bottom of the crankcase would be nigh on impossible. Might be easier just to take the filler cap off, and turn the bike upside down until your 100cc's or so flow out.

Seriously, wipe the bottom of the bike clean, use a clean oil pan and if too much flows out when you loosen the drain plug you can always add some of this oil back.

Blrfl · Dec 6, 2016

I can guarantee that you won't get a hose anywhere near the oil sump from the filler hole and it would probably be obnoxious even if the cylinder head cover is removed.

No need to make it any more complex than this: put the bike on the center stand, pull the drain plug, have somebody watch the sight glass for the level to drop below the upper mark and plug the drain. Do the usual check procedure (run, wait, check) and top it off if needed. Latex gloves make the drain bolt easier to hold onto.

--Mark

Overfilled oil tank/draining suggestions

danman2015

Kevcules

Grabcon

Tdinova

wjbertrand

Ventura Highway

SMSW

Kevin_56

RaYzerman

SMSW

etalors

danman2015

dwalby

Bigmak96

R.I.P. - 2021/08/07

danman2015

Bigmak96

R.I.P. - 2021/08/07

T_C

silverbub

punder

SMSW

Blrfl

Natural Rider Enhancement