[BlueFlash]

Hello all, as the title says I finally upgraded from my 96 gs500 to my new baby; 06 636. I bought it a couple weeks ago from the second owner with 8,033 miles. I noticed the oil overflow canister/pod? hanging by the overflow lines was full didn't think much of it, drained it and moved on. There was also a little bit of oil where that line comes out of the air box and around the seals where it connects to the throttle bodies. Just under 8,200 miles I took it into a certified Kawasaki dealership to do a once over and make sure everything looked good. I had the oil changed and coolant flushed and replaced. (never again will I pay for what I can do myself) It was more or less for the peace of mind to have a "professional" take care of it and for time sake. He said the wetness, running down the outside of the drain hose, was not a big deal even though every time I wiped it down it would come back after one ride. Well after I got home I noticed I was charged for 5 qts of oil. Yes 5. So I called back to verify this, and was told they put 4.2 in and rounded it up to 5, even though on the side it clearly says 3.6 qts for change and filter, 4.0 completely dry. Since then, now at 8,800 miles I've had to drain the overflow canister a total of 3 times, each completely full. So I decided to investigate, pulled it all apart only to find a slight wetness of oil inside the air box. It is still running just fine, has always been. Should I be concerned or is that just the bikes way of expelling the excess oil they put in?

 

[BlueFlash]

they never should have put 5 qts in. was this a real moto dealer/shop?

Yes it was. S&S Kawasaki Crystal City, MO

Thanks RedandBlack, I'll look a little deeper into that system and see what would cause something like this.

 

[BlueFlash]

If you bike is at the OEM height, get a 2X4 and set that under your side stand with the bike on level ground. that will put it close enough to vertical to make for a consistent measurement. If your oil is between the marks in the sight glass, you are golden.

If the window is completely full, it would be wise to drain off some of the excess oil. That's pretty simple to do. Wipe off the area around the drain plug so it's clean, drain the oil. Catch it in a clean container, in case you go too far and need to add some back in. Put the plug back in when you have drained off as much as you think you need to, and check the level. Repeat or don't as called for.

Some oil mist inside the air box is normal. it should all be 'behind' the air filter, because that's where the crankcase breather/PCV valve dumps the 'blow by' gasses from the lower end of the motor cases so it can be run through the engine and burned off.

If the little catch bottle is full, that likely means there has been some overfilling and the PCV has pumped some engine oil into the air box. The oil on the box sides doesn't hurt anything... it's actually likely to catch dirt that makes it past the air filter, so there's even a sort of 'plus' to it.

If you have a H-U-G-E amount of transfer (quart?) from the case to the air box, that could be bad. If you can suck enough oil into a cylinder to cause hydraulic lock, that can cost you a motor.

When I got it back and checked the sight glass just by leaning the bike, it was slightly above the line but the top was still visible. I'll check with the 2X4 when I get home today. My next question is whIle I've got it pulled apart this much would I benefit from doing the KLEEN Air mod or should I just leave it alone until I figure out what's actually going on?

 

[BlueFlash]

So i'm guessing this is not stock height..? Either way after draining a little oil it has since stopped filling the overflow tube. Thanks everyone for your input.