I am sure that one of the 87 comment has already provided this information, but I am going to say it anyway. I have the 2018-2019 Honda Service Manual for the Gold Wing. Page 3-11, under the MAINTENANCE Chapter, tells the service technicians how to check the oil level. It states as follows: "ENGINE OIL LEVEL CHECK - Centerstand model (apparently not all models of the Gold Wing come with a factory installed centerstand, but all of the Gold Wing Tour models come with the centerstand) "Place the motorcycle on its centerstand on a level surface." Start the engine and let it idle for 3 - 5 minutes. Stop the engine and wait for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove the dipstick and wipe the oil from the dipstick with a clean cloth. Insert the dipstick without screwing it in, remove it and check the oil level. If the oil level is below or near the lower level mark on the dipstick, remove the oil filler cap and add the recommended oil up to the upper level mark. I happen to have a 2020 Honda Gold Wing Tour DCT Airbag model, and Honda assures me that the 2018-2019 manual will remain unchanged for the 2020 models. So, if you have a 2018-2020 Honda Gold Wing with a factory centerstand, just follow the simple instructions. No need to find a second person to hold the bike upright, or perform some sort of trapeze act to check the oil level on a model that comes with a centerstand.
After I added your dipstick extension Max, I now keep a Kleenex/towel in the cubby. When I ride into the garage(level surface) I turn off he bike, and using my legs to balance, I reach down and easily unscrew the dipstick, wipe it, reinsert and pull it our with the proper, vertical, centered and balanced and look at the reading. I then screw in the dipstick, put the kickstand down, un-ass the bike, grab a cold beer, sit-down, and admire the completion of my latest maintenance task, damn Isweating. LOL.
I sit on the bike when I check it. Just stand it up strait, reach down and check it. I see your point though. It should be designed to be checked on the side stand like most bikes or have a sight glass.
Here's the solution. Have someone hold the bike up and check the oil. Insure that it is properly filled. Then put the bike on the centerstand. Note the difference between both measurements. Now you know what constitutes full when on the centerstand.
Just check it while sitting on motorcycle on level surface. Once its warm, sits for required minutes, loosen dipstick so you can sit and check while level.
As a new owner of a 2021 GW DCT Tour, this video both intrigued me and somewhat unnerved me. So I went and did my own experiment. I put the bike on its centerstand on my level and smooth concrete shop floor. I took an 8” torpedo level and ran it from front to back on the top of the engine cover. It was perfectly level from front to back. This area tapers off at a slight angle if you look at it from directly in front of or behind the engine. So it is not a proper place to check side to side level in my opinion. For the side to side movement, the area where the bottom of the instrument panel glass touches the silver moulding appears to be perfectly horizontal with the side to side axis of the bike. It was perfectly level. I did NOT chock the front wheel. I’m not making this comment to dispute any other viewpoint on this. But I do not feel that I could hold the bike any more level with it off of the stand, even if I had another person help me hold it up. The bubble doesn’t lie.
I performed the comparison between sitting on the bike and holding it upright to check the oil and checking the oil on the center stand. On the center stand my oil level read exactly between the upper and lower marks. Upright and off the stand it read 1/4 inch lower. So the punchline is that when checking the oil on the center stand it reads slightly higher than the actual Honda designated level. This was done on my new 2018 Gold Wing DCT.
My 21 GW has a "ride off" center stand, with this stand the bike is level Lt to Rt & Ft to Bk when parked on a level surface - to the extent that I am comfortable with the oil level readings I am getting.
A front wheel chock would hold the bike vertical, and raise the front end slightly to make the bike parallel with the ground. This is how I do the oil change on my bike that has no centrestand.
Geez! This makes checking the oil on 4 valve Guzzi's seem like a walk in the park. I picked up my DCT 4 days ago. Are glad iz didn't "check" the oil before watching this.
My Honda dearer said to level the bike with the stand that makes it level let it warm up a little bit check it and it will show the right amount of oil.
