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[hagis]

Thanks RATTLEBATTLE next time I am in the dealer showroom I will pay more attention to see if there's one with mph on the outside, I like to ride with my visor only half down so I can feel the wind in my face this does result in streaming eyes but that's the way I like it, I have overcome the problem by cutting thin strips of red insulating tape and sticking them on the speedo at 30/50/70 mph and even with streaming eyes a quick glance shows my speed, anyway the suns come out now and I feel another 100 miles coming on so on with my boots and away to burn rubber.

[papasmurf]

Jefrs as this is such a common problem I suspect someone will sort out just where a dip stick hole could be added.

Has no-one complained to the factory?

[Rattlebattle]

That might be tricky to do as, for example, the optimum place might be above the gears or somewhere else where a dipstick would interfere. The real culprit is the way the engine is compartmentalised; just placing a dipstick above where the sight glass is would solve nothing, as the oil level varies so much. Same applies to a level plug. It seems to me that weird piling systems are a trait of REs. In the Redditch days when just about everyone else with dry sump engines had a separate oil tank - and how easy was that to check the level, even without a dipstick - RE held oil in the crankcase. Great for warming up, not so good for cooling or oil tightness...only with the Interceptor Mk 2 was the storage of oil in the crankcase - sump in this case - sensible IMHO.

Re my C5 I now ignore the sight glass entirely. When changing the oil I spend a lot of time leaning the bike every which way in an attempt to drain the maximum amount out, then just add the 2.4 litres specified in the workshop manual. I then just check for any leaks but otherwise ignore it until next time. Like most probably, I change oil more often than specified anyway. I did the same on my BMW oilheads, which suffer from the same issue, in this case because of oil retention in the parallel galleries and oil cooler. FWIW the sight glass on my Triumph Thruxton is in a similar place as the RE yet is reliable because all the oil drains out through a single plug and the vertically mounted oil filter. Easy pest. Let's face it, the design of the EFI is a bit rubbish in this respect.

[nigelphoto]

Hagis, very interesting comments about running in your own Conti GT. Mine also has the large Kph around the outside of the speedo dial and the mph inside, tiny font and hardly visible even in the dark with the lights on. I've put a dot of white paint at 30,40,50 & 60 like you. I contacted MotoGB and it seems this was a model imported for a very short time at the end of 2014/early 2015 although mine was registered brand new on 15th April 2016 with 8 (test) miles on the clock. MotoGB also cast some doubt on the sight glass saying it gave an 'indication' which is why it was suggested I do an oil drop and measure 500 miles usage very carefully. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get out on the bike as I've had an inner wear infection and completely lost all sense of balance- now where did I put Watsonian's number??