Wilsons Sandbox

On Nov 11, 2009, at 9:58 AM, transalp 1 wrote: > "The 2.5L cast into the engine case represents the total designed > capacity of the lubrication system, not just the sump capacity." > > Then why would the manual that came with my 2009 KLR650 lists the > following recommended engine oil capacity at oil change time as this: > > (The manual says add oil to the upper level line then lists >) > > 2.2 L (2.3 US qt) > When the filter is not removed. > 2.5 L (2.6 US qt.) > (when the filter is removed) > > ? > > There's a contradiction going on within the manual's instructions. > Even adding the minimum amount of 2.2 liters to an engine that did > have the filter changed (mine) resulted in a full sight glass. > I didn't just eyeball the amount added, either. I used a ratio-rite > graduated cup & measured it carefully. > > I've worked on many modern Japanese motorcycles where the oil > capacity is marked on the side of the engine. The KLR650 is the 1st > bike I can recall seeing where adding the case marked capacity after > an "it's stopped dripping, the bike was leaned left & right" > draining resulted in anything other than the oil going to approx. > 1/2 - 3/4 way from the bottom to the top of the sight glass. > > eddie [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> > Im curious, I can understand the benefits of maintaining a constant > temperature in the engine, metal expands and contracts with the temperature > variance and can cause additional wear and tear on the engine. By providing > a stable running temperature you are also able to provide a more constant > power curve. But what I don't understand is why it wasn't built this way from > the factory? It seems that there are a lot of very bright engineers at > Kawasaki who have PHD's in mechanical engineering and would understand the > benefits of this. > > The only thing I can think of is that Kawasaki engineered it this way to > intentionally shorten the life of the engine but somehow I doubt that. So > it makes me question my understanding of engine temperature and its > pros/cons of providing a constant temperature. Ive read all the information > on the thermo-bob and generally agree with everything being stated in all > the reviews/write-ups, but still don't understand how the factory could miss > such an obvious issue unless it really isn't an issue. > > Can someone help me out before I plunk down $120 (which is a lot for me) to > correct something the factory doesn't seem to think is an issue. > > Thanks! >

> > Hi Eddie et al, > > This is really odd. I have now returned home and checked my service > manual ('08 - ), which I wasn't able to do before my previous post. I > see the same info in it that you presented from the owner's manual, > with the addition of "2.5L (2.6 US qt) (when engine is completely > dry)". So apparently these engines are are designed such that removing > the oil drain plug & oil filter cap will completely evacuate every > last drop of oil, including the film on all the internals touched by > oil, yielding a completely dry engine. Either that or something is > really wacked in Kawasaki's engineering or tech pubs department. ??? > > While pondering this, and seeing the .3 L or .3 qt (obviously rounded) > difference in refill amount with or w/o a filter change, I was having > trouble visualizing the filter cavity holding 300ml. So I measured a > new oil filter element and, using generous dimensions, I calculated > the volume of a cylinder of those dimensions (in mm), which yielded . > 170 L. That's with no allowance for the volume displaced by the mass > of the filter cartridge or its pipe. So, maybe another amount of oil > .13 L is released and free to drain just by removing the filter > cavity cap. ??? > > Anyway, considering that my KLX250S seems to get on fine with only > about 1.5 quarts of engine/trans oil and that it is certainly working > harder than the KLR650 engine, I think I will just continue to fill to > the upper mark, as I always have, without too much regard for the > actual quantity added. I do know that overfilling can have undesirable > consequences. > > Lastly, to clarify for the newbs and the uninitiated of the list, what > is often (mistakenly, I think) referred to as the "bubble" seen in the > oil fill sight glass is actually the upper surface of the oil in the > sump of the engine. It resemble a bubble when that oil surface level > nears the top of the sight glass aperture; this is due to the > formation of a meniscus in the cavity behind the sight class. Remember > in high school chem lab how you were taught to ignore the meniscus > when reading the amount of liquid in a graduated cylinder? Same > applies here. > > Cheers, > > Dennis > Scottsdale, AZ > > '09 KLR650 black > '09 KLX250S red > '08 Versys red > '06 KLR650 red > '06 DL1000 V-Strom grey/black > '04 Triumph Daytona 955i miss me yellow > '00 Triumph Sprint RS 955i miss me yellow > '99 KLR650 nasty green > > P.S. Just checked a KLR600 service manual; it showed oil capacity at > 2.0 L. The supplement to it for the newer old (up to '07) KLR650's > showed 2.5 L, with no qualifiers. I'm inclined to think that the 2.5 L > for a dry engine is correct and the amounts for change refills are off > a bit to the plus side. I have to believe the 2.5 L value for a dry > engine was verified. >