I am hoping it's nothing serious but I thought I'd ask before I take the bike to the garage & look like a total numpty girl.

I topped the bike up with engine oil last night as it was running a bit low, I put the whole 1ltr in. Riding into work this morning as soon as I pull in to the bike bay there is a trail of oil where I have been.

It seems to be dripping out of the chain area (closest to the engine) & gear stick (I know its not called that but I can't remember the bike term) closest to the engine. Small droplets. Is this becuase I've put too much engine oil in & it's just getting rid of the excess or have I got a more serious problem.

Thanks guys.

Get the correct method sorted and then check the level again.  If you have too much, it is easy to drain out about a litre and then start again, slowly and in small amounts, until it is right.  Just for illustration:

XT is a dry sump system and must be run for 5-10 minutes, the engine stopped, left for 5 minutes and then checked with the bike vertical.  Anything else gives a false reading.  It took me ages to get this right.  The Pan is a wet sump engine and has a sight glass on the crankcase.  With this, you must run the engine until warm, switch off, wait 5 minutes and then check the level with the bike on the centre stand.  It's far easier to do all of this on the road (for example after filling up) than it is to faff about on a Sunday morning at home.  Remember that new oil can take a while to drain through the engine from where you put it in to where you take a reading, so always add a bit and wait until the level has stabilised.  Patience is a virtue here.  When you get it sorted, if the bike runs rough or uses a lot of petrol, change the air filter as it will be contaminated with the excess oil.

If you remind me exactly what bike it is I will find out the correct method for you (but you can do this yourself, natch).

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2003 ST1300 Pan Euro
1995 Yam XT600E
http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

Yeah I have got a viewer but I didn't bother to check it, I just filled her up. I'll change the air filter, lesson lernt.

It's the GN250, I'll have a look to see if I can find destructions on how to drain the excess I've put in.

Even though the bike seems to be running OK, I would still drain a bit out and get the level right.  Excess oil can lead to things like blown crankcase seals and the like, which could be £££ if it all goes wrong.  The drain plug is underneath the engine in the middle, and the total capacity for an oil change is 1.3 litres - if you put 1 litre in, that's way too much.  There's a copy of the owner's manual here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/5321965/GN250-Manual if you haven't already got one.

Take it steady on the way home, and don't over-rev it.  You should be fine.  And get into the habit of checking your oil level every week.  With only 1.3 litres, it wouldn't take long for it to get dangerously low.

This reminds me of when my wife (long ago) filled her car engine with oil.  She had been told where to put it, but not how much, and she filled it up to the neck of the oil filler.  When it finally started, it farted and banged and belched smoke everywhere, but it got her a couple of miles to the garage, where they drained it out and refilled it with tears in their eyes.  The car survived, but the mechanics still talk about that day.

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2003 ST1300 Pan Euro
1995 Yam XT600E
http://goingfastgettingnowhere.blogspot.com/

Had to do it today as I am in Worthing tomorrow morning for a meeting so my lovely boss (he really is a nice chap) let me do it.

The bike is just settling but I think it's just right now, I think I was running low but didn't need a whole liters worth. I don't know why I did that as I've never slap dash filled the bike before.

The worst thing was I couldn't acess the link you gave me BD but I downloaded another (it's on my laptop at work & a hard copy at work), as well as my manual at home. So I hope the bike will be ok now. If I tell you I've fluffed up the bike next week you'll all know why

I hope the bikes ok now.

Thanks for your help BD, I owe you the biggest pint on earth!