Help a noob <!> - How do I check the oil level?

[SeattleCard]

Hi fellow M50 owners: 3 questions...

1. I just picked up a used M50 tonight, and upon riding home the oil temp indicator warning light came on. I had only been riding for 10 minutes, and the temp outside in Seattle was only around 55 degrees or so. What are the usual culprits when this comes on?

2. I believe that this may be related to #1. How do I check what is the proper amount of oil to be in the bike? When standing the bike upright (straight up and down), my wife told me that she sees oil only half way up the little circular window. Is that enough, or should that window be completely full of oil?

3. What kind of oil does this bike take?

Yes, you can tell I don't have an owners manual. ANY help you all can hook me up with ASAP, I'd be thankful - I'm hoping to ride this bike 200 miles tomorrow but probably won't if I've got oil temp problems.

[DragonRider]

Originally Posted by SeattleCard

Hi fellow M50 owners: 3 questions...

1. I just picked up a used M50 tonight, and upon riding home the oil temp indicator warning light came on. I had only been riding for 10 minutes, and the temp outside in Seattle was only around 55 degrees or so. What are the usual culprits when this comes on?

There is no Oil Temp light,only a oil pressure light if it stays on I would get it checked before riding very far,you can damage the motor and transmission. Could be a bad oil pump. I'd be talking to who you bought it from and see if there was a problem.
If it is the water temp guage then you need to check your coolant level. It is in the big black round case directly below the left side cover.

2. I believe that this may be related to #1. How do I check what is the proper amount of oil to be in the bike? When standing the bike upright (straight up and down), my wife told me that she sees oil only half way up the little circular window. Is that enough, or should that window be completely full of oil?

Yes it should be half way there are marks next to the the window for upper and lower limits

3. What kind of oil does this bike take?

Suzuki recommends 10 w 14 SF or SG / or SH or SJ in API(American Oil Institue) classification with MA in JASO. Look on the label
I use suzuki motorcycle oil. you can pick it up at any dealer along with a filter.

Yes, you can tell I don't have an owners manual. ANY help you all can hook me up with ASAP, I'd be thankful - I'm hoping to ride this bike 200 miles tomorrow but probably won't if I've got oil temp problems.

[Clint]

Mercy, where's your owners manual, man?!

[SeattleCard]

Thanks DragonRider, appreciate it. Yeah, I need to find a place to buy an owners manual (anyone know where I could get one?).

So, the little thermometer sticking out of the wavy lines is the water temp gauge? Excellent, thanks for letting me know.

[intimid8er]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

Mercy, where's your owners manual, man?!

You know how it is Rowdy. You answer the ad for a used bike that states something along the lines of "impeccably maintained", "dealer serviced at the proper intervals", or "all services completed".

You get there, buy the bike, and ask the guy where the manual and the spare key is. All you get in return is some muttering, a shrugging of the shoulders, and a half-hearted poking around the garage looking for a manual he knows he won't find.

[DragonRider]

Originally Posted by SeattleCard

Thanks DragonRider, appreciate it. Yeah, I need to find a place to buy an owners manual (anyone know where I could get one?).

So, the little thermometer sticking out of the wavy lines is the water temp gauge? Excellent, thanks for letting me know.

I wouldn't buy n owners manual...do a search for a service manual for Suzuki M50 and buy one,they are $25 on Amazon. It is a hardcover and covers everything on the bike. The owners manual is not that detailed.

[Clint]

Originally Posted by intimid8er

You get there, buy the bike, and ask the guy where the manual and the spare key is. All you get in return is some muttering, a shrugging of the shoulders, and a half-hearted poking around the garage looking for a manual he knows he won't find.

LOL. Point taken. It's just that I'm so obsessive I actually buy service manuals before I get bikes. I bought the wrong one for a Kawasaki KDX200 I recently aquired. Anyone need a Kawasaki manual for '66-01 rotary valvers?

[intimid8er]

Originally Posted by RowdyRed94

Kawasaki KDX200

Nice bike! What year?

Back when I was a teen, my buddy bought one. I was always amazed at the power that bike had compared to mine. I had an '81 MX175 that was really, really, really tired out!!! (Shh...don't tell anyone, but in six years, nobody told me how to properly maintain a bike.... )

[919Hooligan]

Originally Posted by intimid8er

Nice bike! What year?

Back when I was a teen, my buddy bought one. I was always amazed at the power that bike had compared to mine. I had an '81 MX175 that was really, really, really tired out!!! (Shh...don't tell anyone, but in six years, nobody told me how to properly maintain a bike.... )

I used to ride the snot out of my buddies clapped out '79 MX175. If you put it on the kickstand and forgot to turn the gas off, the side of the engine that housed the magneto would fill with fuel. We'd keep an allen wrench handy so we could pull the cover and dry it out. Can anyone say bad crank seals???

[intimid8er]

Originally Posted by M50-Hooligan

I used to ride the snot out of my buddies clapped out '79 MX175. If you put it on the kickstand and forgot to turn the gas off, the side of the engine that housed the magneto would fill with fuel. We'd keep an allen wrench handy so we could pull the cover and dry it out. Can anyone say bad crank seals???

Hey dude! Welcome back!

You wouldn't believe the abuse I gave to my MX....I never had that problem with the fuel, and I forgot to turn the fuel off all the time.

I'd let it sit all winter, no fuel stablilizer, no nothing. Come spring, two kicks, and it'd fire up! I'd truck it somewhere, in the back of the truck bed on it's side. Hell....I didn't change the crankcase oil for five years!!! When I did, it was the color of paper!! Ran the knobbies bald. Spokes were broken on the wheels, sprockets were missing teeth, chain was stretched out.

Funny with the oil. It had that oil injection system on the side. I went to a buddies house and he was changing his oil. I pat my tank and say something to the effect of, "That must be a %%%%%. All I gotta do is add oil to the side here and I'm good to go."

He waited until I went in the house for something, and cracked the crankcase, I came back out to see this white fluid pouring out of the bottom of my bike.

Up until that point, I had no one that rode, no one to show me maintenance, or anything about bikes. I had to glean what I could during study hall in the library at school from copies of Motor Cyclist.

I thoroughly abused (I then realized), up until that point, and was summarily impressed at the quality of the bike.