I purchased my XTR recently from a main Yamaha dealer. It had a service the day before I collected it. Having done about 1000 miles on it I just checked the oil for the second time. The first time was in a petrol station (my habit because the engine needs to be warm) and I wasn't getting a clear level reading.

So I just checked when cold and level and the oil level is near the top of the dipstick.

My old XT600 also a dry sump bike, needed checked when warm, and the oil level when cold was either very low or not showing on the dipstick at all.

What should I be seeing on a 2012 XTR? Unless it has a non return valve I'd expect the oil tank to be near empty when cold, and only show a high dipstick reading when warm and the oil sump evacuation pump has been running a while.

Thanks

Operators manual and Haynes both say the same thing:

1.Start the engine and let it warm up for 10 to 15 minutes then turn it off.
2. Support the bike upright on level ground. Allow it to stand for a few minutes for the oil level to stabilise.
3. Unscrew the cap and wipe the dipstick clean.
4. Insert the dipstick so that the cap contacts the threads but do not screw it in.
5. Remove the dipstick and the oil should be between the upper and lower level marks.
6. If the oil is on or below the lower line, top up the engine with recommended oil.

Granted this is info up to 2011 but not aware of any major changes that would affect this.

Thanks.

I've seen the checking procedure in the manual.

My question is this:

The oil level is near maximum when the bike is cold. Is my bike overfilled?

Yes!

Not unheard of for dealers to overfill. They did with mine at the free 600 mile service. Pi55ed out everywhere in the way home!

Never been back since.

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So much for full main dealer service history!! The tech monkey doesn't know what a dry sump is.

Thanks. Any idea approx how much I need to drain? Does your oil level show at all at the bottom of the dipstick when cold? What I used to do with the XT600 when I did an oil change was measure the amount of used oil I drained then put the same amount of fresh oil back in.

Does it have a tendancy to piss up the breather into the airbox when overfilled? If so I'll need to check that too now.

Well I'd beg to differ when checking the oil doing it cold is pointless it's dry sump you need to do it when warm and within minutes of stopping the motor because of drainage I have to do the same with my K1200r for exactly the same reason,the difference being the BM manual tells you that and why!!.

As for using a dealer never even took mine in for the 600 service.

Don't think anyone is remotely suggesting checking the oil when cold?

Take it out in stages, say 200ml at a time, then check level as per manual after starting the engine and revving it etc. Then see where you're at.

I don't recall ever looking to see?

Yes. The airbox is where all the excess will go over time. The drain tube will be full and likely to have backed-up into the airbox. Take the plug out of the airbox drain tube and leave it to run out over night.

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Some people really can't read can they? Maybe my OP was a bit verbose and it wasn't clear what I was asking at first, but nobody suggested the oil SHOULD be checked when cold. It was checked when cold to confirm my suspicion that I was over filled.

Anyway it was indeed overfilled.

Pissed out the dipstick under pressure when I unscrewed it and that was about a minute after I switched the engine off. After it stopped pouring down my radiator I syringed a further 150ml out using a plastic tube before the level dropped to something acceptable on the dipstick. Thought I'd better have a look at the air box and that was swimming in oil too.

Now I know there was a real problem I'll name the dealer, it was Motorcycle Mart in Kidderminster. Probably some 16 year old YTS monkey that doesn't know the difference between wet and dry sump, who filled it to the top of the dipstick whilst cold.

Thanks Pleiades for understanding what I was asking and your advice.

If I put the correct amount of oil in my bike as per the book doesn't show on the dipstick anytime.