Howdy guys, I finally picked up my 2007 Ninja yesterday, but at the end of the today I had an issue; it seems the previous owner had over filled the oil by like a quart! I only discovered this because the bike just shut off while I was in a parking lot and the oil light came on. When I checked the oil in the little window there was no bubble to speak of, So we trailered the bike home were I began to siphon out the extra oil. After I got the oil back down to where it belonged the bike started no problem. Are there any long term effects I should be looking out for? (Bike has 2910 miles)


Tiffany

if you haven't had any mechanical issues i wouldn't worry much.

the biggest two things i can think of:

1 was the oil foamy or cloudy? this would indicate that the crank was hitting the oil while it was spinning and entrained air in it. if this is the case the air should raise to the top and "leave". i might change it anyway.

2 any smoke out of the tailpipe? if this is the case oil may have been forceed past the rings on the down stroke......

how old was this oil?

Originally Posted by Short-one

Howdy guys, I finally picked up my 2007 Ninja yesterday, but at the end of the today I had an issue; it seems the previous owner had over filled the oil by like a quart! I only discovered this because the bike just shut off while I was in a parking lot and the oil light came on. When I checked the oil in the little window there was no bubble to speak of, So we trailered the bike home were I began to siphon out the extra oil. After I got the oil back down to where it belonged the bike started no problem. Are there any long term effects I should be looking out for? (Bike has 2910 miles)


Tiffany

The oil light will come on when the key is in the ON position, but the bike is not running. Are you positive you're checking your oil level correctly?

At almost 3000 miles on the bike I would recommend you go ahead and change the oil and filter.

Also, being that it is a 2007, you should go ahead and change the coolant and the brake fluids if you want to keep up with the maintenance on the bike.

Originally Posted by lmj301

if you haven't had any mechanical issues i wouldn't worry much.

the biggest two things i can think of:

1 was the oil foamy or cloudy? this would indicate that the crank was hitting the oil while it was spinning and entrained air in it. if this is the case the air should raise to the top and "leave". i might change it anyway.

2 any smoke out of the tailpipe? if this is the case oil may have been forceed past the rings on the down stroke......

how old was this oil?

Seapage on gaskets\seals\o-rings is what I would be watching out for.

P.S. #1 is called cavitation.

Originally Posted by Short-one

Howdy guys, I finally picked up my 2007 Ninja yesterday, but at the end of the today I had an issue; it seems the previous owner had over filled the oil by like a quart! I only discovered this because the bike just shut off while I was in a parking lot and the oil light came on. When I checked the oil in the little window there was no bubble to speak of, So we trailered the bike home were I began to siphon out the extra oil. After I got the oil back down to where it belonged the bike started no problem. Are there any long term effects I should be looking out for? (Bike has 2910 miles)


Tiffany

slow down.... seriously...

the oil light will always be on if the key is ON and the engine is not running. This is because there is no oil pressure. (since... the engine is not running)

The "OIL LIGHT" only alerts you if there is low oil pressure. That's all.

The window to check the oil is designed to be used when the engine is off and it's been sitting for a few minutes. You have to hold the bike upright to check the level. The level should be clearly visible, you're not looking for a "bubble"

Originally Posted by lmj301

if you haven't had any mechanical issues i wouldn't worry much.

the biggest two things i can think of:

1 was the oil foamy or cloudy? this would indicate that the crank was hitting the oil while it was spinning and entrained air in it. if this is the case the air should raise to the top and "leave". i might change it anyway.

2 any smoke out of the tailpipe? if this is the case oil may have been forceed past the rings on the down stroke......

how old was this oil?

The oil is old I'm sure because the bike has been sitting so I'm are going to change it. When I siphoned out the oil it was kinda dark, no foam or cloudiness. I'm not sure about the smoke though.

Originally Posted by avenger

slow down.... seriously...

the oil light will always be on if the key is ON and the engine is not running. This is because there is no oil pressure. (since... the engine is not running)

The "OIL LIGHT" only alerts you if there is low oil pressure. That's all.

The window to check the oil is designed to be used when the engine is off and it's been sitting for a few minutes. You have to hold the bike upright to check the level. The level should be clearly visible, you're not looking for a "bubble"

The bike was running and I had ridden it for over an hour before the bike just shut off with me on it and then the oil light came on. I'm not an idiot, and I did check the oil when the bike was off and upright!! By bubble I was referring to the little window. I know that the oil level should be between the two marks, but the little window was completely dark, way over the top line. Hope this clears things up for you.

I don't think that anybody was implying that anyone else was an 'idiot'. When information is missing, folks ask for clarification and sometimes provide some basic information. They have no idea how much you know or if you are a complete newbie to riding or a newbie to your present bike. They are just trying to help, is all.

And yes, too much oil is bad for the seals in an engine. I'd do like you said you were going to do -- change the oil and filter and then keep an eye on it.

+1 on changing the oil. I'd also check your chain slack & tire pressures (if the oil is off, what else could be?) not trying to make you paranoid, just small things to check!

You should be fine if there was a little too much oil in there, Like the others said, check for cavitation, smokey exhaust, Seals leaking (oil-burning smell) shouldn't have any major problems!


Congrats on your new purchase!

Originally Posted by Gteg

I don't think that anybody was implying that anyone else was an 'idiot'. When information is missing, folks ask for clarification and sometimes provide some basic information. They have no idea how much you know or if you are a complete newbie to riding or a newbie to your present bike. They are just trying to help, is all.

That's true and I apologize for being a B!tch, I was upset at the time. Plus my use of improper terminology didn't help matters much and I apologize for that as well.

Originally Posted by Ninja650Shop_Bret

+1 on changing the oil. I'd also check your chain slack & tire pressures (if the oil is off, what else could be?) not trying to make you paranoid, just small things to check!

You should be fine if there was a little too much oil in there, Like the others said, check for cavitation, smokey exhaust, Seals leaking (oil-burning smell) shouldn't have any major problems!


Congrats on your new purchase!

Thanks! You make very good points and I've done all of these things today. Something else I noticed was that the front was not lowered to match the back! There is a Works shock on the bike that lowers the rear by two inches, but the front has been lowered about an inch or right up to the stock handle bars. Should I change the handle bars and finish lowering the front? If so, which bars can I use once its lowered the rest of the way?


Tiffany

If you are going to lower the front two inches you can probably go with over the top clamp clip ons. If you don't want to be leaned over that far you might be able to find some riser clipons like what the sport touring bikes use.

Do keep in mind that lowering the overall bike by two inches will affect cornering clearance.

Originally Posted by Ninja650Shop_Bret

+1 on changing the oil. I'd also check your chain slack & tire pressures (if the oil is off, what else could be?) not trying to make you paranoid, just small things to check!

You should be fine if there was a little too much oil in there, Like the others said, check for cavitation, smokey exhaust, Seals leaking (oil-burning smell) shouldn't have any major problems!


Congrats on your new purchase!

Cavitation won't matter if she is changing the oil.

Originally Posted by twowheeladdict

If you are going to lower the front two inches you can probably go with over the top clamp clip ons. If you don't want to be leaned over that far you might be able to find some riser clipons like what the sport touring bikes use.

Do keep in mind that lowering the overall bike by two inches will affect cornering clearance.

If the front of the bike is that much higher than the rear of the bike, the steering will be pretty slow. You need to be aware that your handling will change, pretty noticeably, if you drop your front end further. If you like the way the bike handles now, leave it be. If you didn't notice it until you happened to notice the shock was not stock, that means you probably didn't notice it just by the bikes looks alone; leave it be. Be careful when your altering the geometry of the bike, as well as moving the center of gravity. It is good that you noticed it though.

If you do decide to drop the front, before you go dumping money in to new bars, make sure you don't like where the stock bars are first. There is plenty of other places to spend money on our bikes

Oh ... yeah ... congrats on the new bike!

Originally Posted by twowheeladdict

At almost 3000 miles on the bike I would recommend you go ahead and change the oil and filter.

Also, being that it is a 2007, you should go ahead and change the coolant and the brake fluids if you want to keep up with the maintenance on the bike.

I agree with twowheeladdict here. It's not difficult to do yourself, if you are so inclined. I replaced the original antifreeze in my 2006 with Engine Ice. I don't know if it made a difference, but I have been riding all summer, sometimes in 100+ degree temperatures, with no problems.

Originally Posted by Addohm

Cavitation won't matter if she is changing the oil.




If the front of the bike is that much higher than the rear of the bike, the steering will be pretty slow. You need to be aware that your handling will change, pretty noticeably, if you drop your front end further. If you like the way the bike handles now, leave it be. If you didn't notice it until you happened to notice the shock was not stock, that means you probably didn't notice it just by the bikes looks alone; leave it be. Be careful when your altering the geometry of the bike, as well as moving the center of gravity. It is good that you noticed it though.

If you do decide to drop the front, before you go dumping money in to new bars, make sure you don't like where the stock bars are first. There is plenty of other places to spend money on our bikes

I knew the shock wasn't stock when I purchased the bike because it was one of my main reasons for purchasing this particular bike, however I was a little surprised that it wasn't as low as another Ninja 650 I got a chance to sit on. I had suspected that the front was not lowered to match the back because it had stock handlebars while the other lowered Ninja 650 had clip-ons from a CBR F3. My main reason for wanting to finish the lowering of the front has more to do with my height than anything else. I can barely reach the ground with the tips of my toes while wearing boots!!