Kawi ZL1000 Eliminator

[nusman68]

couldn't decide whether to put this posting here, or in Technical, since it's not an FJR..apologies to admins in advance...feel free to move posting if necessary....

My brother just picked up a primo '87 ZL1000 he'd been looking to add to his stable; while changing the oil & filter today, he added 3.7L as spec'd on the crankcase; and (after also changing the filter), ran the engine the usual couple of minutes to check for leaks, etc. and now (with the engine off, of course) the oil level window shows overfull, (with the bike level, centered) i.e. the window is completely covered, over the 'full' marks. What gives?? Service manual spec'd same quantity...

The one caveat: the local veteran bike tech he spoke with prior to the purchase did warn him that it is hard to get all the old oil out of those particular bikes even with the 2 drain plugs...

Anybody here had (or have) one of these/had this issue come up?

Thanks guys

 

[markjenn]

3.7 may be the bone dry spec and you can never get this much out with normal draining methods. If they differ, I'd go by what the OM says is capacity after an oil/filter change rather than what the crankcase says.

In any event, these sorts of discrepencies are very common with all bikes, including the FJR. If all you know is that it is above the sight window, you really don't have any idea how much over it is - it could be as little as a tenth of a liter which is inconsequential. Oil sight glass windows typically have a fairly narrow range from top to bottom, often 0.5 L or less.

I'd recommend draining small amounts until you are within the window. I suspect the amount you need to drain will be quite small.

- Mark

 

[Windjammer]

I had the same issue on my Concours, which had two drain plugs as well. IIRC, the Concours engine was basically a detuned version of the motor in the Eliminator 1000, which was based off the old Ninja 1000. Anyway, I gave up on trying to put in a measured amount when changing oil. After draining and replacing the filter, I'd put in enough to get the oil in the sight glass, usually about 2.5 - 3 quarts. Then I'd start the bike for a minute and let the oil pump fill the oil cooler and whatnot. Shut the bike down, let the oil drain back to the sump and then top off until the oil is back in the sight window again. Worked fine.

 

[escapefjrtist]

It's probably too late.... but instead of draining small amounts of oil and making the mess that's sure to come, try this.

Tip the bike slightly, so the oil level in the window shows. If the level is just at the top of the window don't worry about it. I typically use only 4 Qts in the FJR, and the oil always ends up in the top of the glass. Go Figure....

Good Luck !

--G

 

[etz]

added 3.7L as spec'd on the crankcase

3.7 may be the bone dry spec

in my experience, the value on the side of the crankcase is oil capacity assuming the filter is not changed.