engine oil light comes on

[aspen60]

Okay first warm day here in central Il. and I take the bike to work for the first time this year. Everything seems great, bike is running good, sun is out, 68 degrees, driving in slow traffic so I end up first at the stop light, light turns green and I give the big v-4 all she's got taking off from the stop (you know, just to show everybody how cool I am) zip thru 1st gear then 2nd, get to 3rd and I gaze down to see how fast I'm going and I notice the oil light is on. It flickered for a few seconds then went out. Just to make sure I wasn't seeing things, I repeated again at the next stop. There it was again. Anybody got any ideas whats happening? I put in Mobil 1 20w50 last change right before I put it to bed for the winter. Checked the sight glass and it's right below the top of the window with the bike standing up straight. Also replace the filter every change. Any thoughts?

[OB-1]

The light that flickers is the oil level light, not oil pressure. This can happen during full throttle acceleration and is not a problem.

[Yammer Dan]

My 1st Gen done that when I ran it up to 10,000 RPM's.

[V7Goose]

Normal. It is documented in your owner's manual.

Goose

[mm482]

Check engine oil level

 

Earl

[Kirby]

My Vmax does it from time to time if the oil level get's just a little bit low. Someone said it was a "poor man's shift light". No worries. If it comes on and stays on, that's a different matter!

[Seaking]

Best thing to do is to repeat the process over and over again until you get used to it and then you won't notice that light coming on. Its all part and parcel of dropping the hammer on this bike.. Scary and unsettling at first, but that's what happens in the engine.. tis all good.

 

You shouldn't be looking down anyway..

[Chiro]

How far was your front tire off the ground? That angle gives a false low oil reading.

 

All kidding a side, the acceleration angle (up in the front) is what gives a false reading. If it stays on, you need to check the oil.

[SilvrT]

geeeez... mine hasn't done that and I thought I was cranking it on... guess there's more to these bikes than I thought.... gonna hafta try this .... so what is really happenin by the sounds of it is ... if the oil light (aka power indicator) doesn't come on, you're not crankin it hard enuf...

[Pappa Bear]

It freaked me out the first time it happened to me! It was very nice to hear from people on here that know about these motors it was normal.

[Seaking]

I had to put earplugs in to get past the feeling the engine would detonate going up that high.. I couldn't "hear" the rev limiter but could feel it kicking in..

 

For what ever reason, I couldn't force myself to screech the engine that high.. so ear plugs in and drop the hammer.. then I could do it with full audio, so to speak.. and now I tend to ride high revs when out to have fun.. however, lower revs for fuel economy

 

Fun fun and more fun

[brainfart]

mine quit doing that after installing the leveling links......

[Monty]

Acceleration sloshes the oil to the rear of the bike, and away from the oil level sensor, so the sensor temporarily sees no oil. As soon as you shift, and the forward weight transfer sloshes the oil back toward the front, the sensor is once again covered, and the light goes out. No worries.

[aspen60]

Thanks all, I guess I won't worry any more, I'll focus eyes up/hammer down! Yea it's good to get out and ride after the long winter.

[Chiro]

I think it also works as a "Large passenger indicator"... If your passenger gets on and the light comes on, well perhaps you should ___________ ___ _______!

[SilvrT]

I think it also works as a "Large passenger indicator"... If your passenger gets on and the light comes on, well perhaps you should ___________ ___ _______!

 

 

...or... if the front wheel comes up and you aren't even moving yet .....

[remmertb]

I have a hot rodded Vmax that does it all the time, and a 2nd gen RSV that hasn't done it yet. The oil level sensor is in the front of the oil pan, the oil pick up is in the back. When you get on it hard, the oil moves away from the sensor causing the light to come on, but it's all in the back where the pick up is, so don't worry. It just means your bike runs good!