[woofhound]

I just finished the initial 300 mile break in period on my C5 bullet. After changing the oil and all O-rings I noted that the oil was between the full and low marks and ran the engine just long enough to get it warm. I then let the bike cool for a few minutes and checked the oil. It then showed below the low level... I waited til morning and checked it again. Still at the low level. I added enough oil to bring it between the two marks again. After running it this time the oil returned to normal operating level.
Today, after riding the bike for about 100 miles, I checked it again. Again, there is no oil showing on through the glass.

Am I losing oil?
Should I add more oil?
And is this common???

Also, my headlight points up at about a ten degree angle, so I get literally no illumination on the road. I moved the light adjustment screw as far as I could (before it bottomed out) and noticed nominal change in the projection of light. This makes it impossible to ride in the dark unless on a well lighted highway.

Has anyone come across this issue? If so, how did you remedy it?

Many thanks,
Woofhound

[Scotty Brown]

My headlight also points up and is at the limit of adjustment.  I never ride at night so haven't tried to fix the problem.  However I would appreciate info at to what others have done to solve the problem.  There may come I time when I will be forced to ride after dark and would certainly like to see where I am going.  There may be a simple solution.

[singhg5]

If the headlight is not pointing to the road, the holes in the rings may need to be slightly elongated so that the headlight can be rotated / turned downward.

How much oil did you add, total ? How much was drained ?

[Arizoni]

woofhound:

Back before I replaced my 5 3/4" sealed beam light with a 7 inch one I also had a hard time getting the light down out of the trees.

After removing the bottom screw in the front chrome ring and then removing the front ring, I found the cause of the problem.

With this front ring removed I found that the adjuster screw at the bottom of the assembly was fully tightened to the point that it had compressed the coil spring behind the light bulb mounting flange to its solid height.  That is, the springs coils had bottomed against each other, preventing further movement of the bulb flange.

By removing that bottom adjusting screw, the coil spring and a special washer could be removed.
Once I removed the spring and washer, I re-installed the adjusting screw and found that it would now move the light far enough to get the headlight beam on the road where it belongs.

I also noted that even without the offending coil spring in place, the three curved pieces that contact and center the metal bulb shell that holds the light bulb, provided enough forward pressure to keep the light from being loose.

Now, I realize that some lights might need the spring I removed to keep them from moving around so if you do remove that spring and notice the light keeps moving, take your old spring to a hardware store.
They usually have springs there so you should be able to find one the same diameter but much shorter.
If you can't get a shorter spring you can use some good wire cutting dykes to cut the length of the spring to make it shorter.
Using this shorter spring should solve the movement problem and still allow you to adjust the headlight down so it hits the road.

By the way, the adjusting screw on the right side (forward looking aft) also has the same spring and washer on it.  This adjusting screw adjusts the right/left direction the bulb is pointing.  It was coming close to bottoming out on my motorcycle.

(The coil spring has an outside diameter of .300 inches ( 7.62 mm ), inside diameter of .212 inches ( 5.38 mm ) and a free length of .70 inches (17.78 mm  ).

[crock]

The difficulty in reading the oil level is the most ridiculous things about this bike considering that the UCE is a new design. In order to get an accurate oil level reading you have to actually ride the bike around, ride into a perfectly level parking spot, keep the bike perfectly upright with the engine running and dismount, then put the bike up on the center stand, and then shut the engine off. The idea is that you need to run the bike and then never let in lean in any direction before you shut it off and read the oil level. You can keep your peace of mind because a very small change in the oil amount makes a big difference in the oil level reading. This means that you haven't screwed anything up and the bike will run just fine even if the oil level doesn't check out perfectly in the sight glass.

[Arizoni]

You don't need to keep the motorcycle level while your getting it up on the center stand.  As long engine is given a chance to pump the oil around after the bike is up on the stand and then shut down for a minute or so, so the oil can drain to where it's supposed to be, a pretty accurate level can be determined.

As you say, a small change can make a difference and I've found that if the oil level is between the bottom and the top of the window the engine will be quite happy.

[caricabasso]

We must remember that the  connecting rod chamber is closed to lubricate the best crankshaft and piston.
The oil is then catapulted from the crankshaft rear to the transmission gears.
From the picture you can see how much oil remains on the chamber connecting rod, that is, 900 c.c.!
This can cause errors in the reading level.

[woofhound]

If the headlight is not pointing to the road, the holes in the rings may need to be slightly elongated so that the headlight can be rotated / turned downward.

How much oil did you add, total ? How much was drained ?

I drained approximately 1.75 quarts and replaced about the same. Its hard to tell exactly how much went back in in total because i first over filled it (maybe... hard to tell.) then drained some (at which point it didnt register on the glass), then added some more... twice. I think I was just being paranoid since its new and i've never owned a bike before.

[mattsz]

Now that I've studied the inside of the engine, and the passages through which oil can drain, I've observed that the crankshaft chamber must hold a lot of oil, as caricabasso says.  The newer models have a forward drain plug, but I wonder, based on where it's installed, does it help to drain this chamber?  The only way oil moves from this chamber is by having the crank splash it out, back and up over the transmission.

If anyone wants to see some pics, I've got them...

So, what about draining the oil from the sump, so it won't continue to circulate, and then cycling the engine - just a few turns - maybe without the spark plug installed to encourage faster turning, to try to throw some of that oil out of that chamber?  Waste of time, or worth a try?

[woofhound]

Thank you Arizoni. I will  give this a try this weekend.

Oh, one more question: on a cool or cold start there is a ticking noise from the engine. It sounds to me like a lifter tick and has been present since day one. I bought the bike with 8 miles on it (brand new from a dealership). I'm a honda man when it comes to cars and all of the hondas i've owned have natural lifter ticks at idle, so i'm wondering if this is just a thing with enfields or the UCE in general.

[Craig McClure]

The difficulty in reading the oil level is the most ridiculous things about this bike considering that the UCE is a new design. In order to get an accurate oil level reading you have to actually ride the bike around, ride into a perfectly level parking spot, keep the bike perfectly upright with the engine running and dismount, then put the bike up on the center stand, and then shut the engine off. The idea is that you need to run the bike and then never let in lean in any direction before you shut it off and read the oil level. You can keep your peace of mind because a very small change in the oil amount makes a big difference in the oil level reading. This means that you haven't screwed anything up and the bike will run just fine even if the oil level doesn't check out perfectly in the sight glass.

This has been my biggest gripe with the bike. Other wet sump bikes I have owned ALL had dipsticks you could check(with the oil at rest) before using the bike. It is VERY HARD to get the oil level correct during an oil change. Put in to much & it will puke into the air cleaner box & foul your filter. My solution to both problems was to plug the crankcase breather nipple to my air box & re-route the breather hose out the rear of the bike. This also doubles as a self adjusting oil level control. if I put in to much - it blows it out its rear.

[crock]

The ticking sound is normal.

[gremlin]

Now that I've studied the inside of the engine, and the passages through which oil can drain, I've observed that the crankshaft chamber must hold a lot of oil, as caricabasso says.  ...........If anyone wants to see some pics, I've got them...

I'd like to see pics !   did it look like there was any possible way to add a drainplug to that forward chamber on a 2011 engine ?

[mattsz]

I'd like to see pics !   did it look like there was any possible way to add a drainplug to that forward chamber on a 2011 engine ?

Gremlin - to answer your question - I'm not quite sure.  I'll post some pics in another thread when I get the chance - visiting family for Easter...

[cstorckiii]

I posted an open case pic in the "What did you do to your Enfield" thread a couple days ago.