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Unread 10-02-2009, 07:37 AM
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Smithers Smithers is offline
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Now people say you have to go warm up the engine and check the oil again. I have found this to not be enough! You need to really ride the bike for like 10 minutes and get the thing hot to get the proper level, in my experience. I filled the bike up after warming it up for a couple miles. Then I came back and put some more oil in it and then REALLY rode it. Well I checked my oil level again about 15 minutes down the road and it was over the top oil line by quite a bit! How annoying! I had to turn around and drain some of the oil out and give it another run.

So I recommend just what I said above about filling the Aprilia's engine oil. It's easy to overfill and a pain in the butt to take oil out so take your time. I also recommend checking your oil overfill tube which comes off the throttle body on the other side of the bike. It involves just taking off your right side mid-cover and checking it to make sure it's not filled with oil. Of course, the oil comes up through the intake box and drains into this oil tube if it's overfilled or you lay it over or something.

Here is what I like to see, any higher and you'll be seeing oil in the throttle body overflow hose:


THEN you can put your bodywork back on. Mission accomplished. I hope this helps some people. Keep it nice and clean and your bike will be much more fun and easier to work on. Do you ever see any dirty racebikes? Nope cause dirt and grime slows mechanics down, causes damage and premature wear. A clean bike allows you to visually determine if there are any leaks and wear they are coming from. I have residue around the engine and I can easily see that it's from the coolant hoses. It's just enough to predict that I will have to change all the coolant hoses soon. They are good looking hoses and I know they are all tight.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the extra cooling additive might be causing some of the leakage but I want to install a set of the Samco silicone hoses anyways. They are a little expensive but have you seen the prices for the REGULAR Aprilia/ Rotax hoses? They are crazy! So you might as well just buy the Samco hoses in the spiffy colors and never have to worry about the coolant hoses again. It's only money right!? :P
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