I just did my first oil change for myself on my 05' and I have one question. The manual says the capacity is 4.3 quarts. I removed both drain plugs as well as replaced the filter, ran it about 30 seconds with a couple of quarts in first and after topping off, running for about an hour and rechecking, 4 quarts seems to be all it needs. I've heard overfilling is not a good thing but I certainly don't want to come up short either. According to the instructions I have, they say to check the oil level with the dipstick sitting on top of the threads and not screwed in. Is that correct? I can only assume since I'm in the good range on the stick all is well but I am just trying to understand why 4 quarts filled it up. I drained it real good and it was sitting flat when I did. The only difference is I used a K&N filter instead of a Yamaha OEM so I thought maybe it was smaller and held less oil but it doesn't look like it. Any ideas?

Try letting it sit for a while(20 min) before you check it.

According to the instructions I have, they say to check the oil level with the dipstick sitting on top of the threads and not screwed in. Is that correct?

Yes.

As long as it's in the hatched area you're OK. No need to fill to the top.

You can't drain all the oil out of the engine. There are a number of nooks and crannies where the oil gets trapped.

I've always meant to put the oil back into an empty oil container to see how much I can recover but I never seem to think of it when doing the change.

Doc

Thanks for the info guys. As it sits, I'm at the top end of the range now which is why I didn't want to add any more. I'll check it again before my next ride just to make sure. One other thing, I put in AMSoil synthetic and was wondering if I can get any more mileage from that between changes.

It's not just the oil. It's the filter also. Even if the oil lasts longer the filter needs to be changed. Amsoil says if you use their oil AND filter you can double the interval. I never tried it. I ran their oil and filter but changed it at recommended intervals. I think oil is too important to mess with. Especially in an air cooled motor. That's my 2 cents.

I agree in that oil is certainly inexpensive enough not to take a risk with. The book says to change it every 4000 miles. I was going to go with 3000 originally to be safe, but I was thinking I should be more than safe going to 4000 using the synthetic. Thoughts?

I think if you use good quality oil, dino or syn and a good filter that you can easily go what the book says. With synthetic I wouldn't worry at all. I've always followed the book on whatever bike I had and haven't had any trouble. Now that's under normal circumstances. If I road the bike into a lake I might change the oil before the the book says

Musky,

I can only hope that you are not talking from experience about the bike in the lake thing!

No comment.

Musky wrote:
No comment.

Bet you got one of those portable fishin rods
in your saddlebags EH Musky