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More to the point, @Randy, and his Coppa Italia, in their natural habitat:

On engines that I have trouble seeing the oil level. I hold the dipstick up against a small clean piece of paper towel,,, the oil shows up clearly to my old eyes fwiw

@docc This was an incredibly educational experience. There were a lot of positive learning from what happened. Primo: there were no more traffic lights. We all have experienced the occasional outage, but it is completely different when none of the traffic lights are working. To add to the challenge, it is not localized to a small area, but it is wide all around miles away. This is when you realize that many drivers do not understand what to do, or even if they do, they are anxious to do it. Complicating the task, the left and right turns from perpendicular intersections. Even more challenging, when driving in non-familiar neighborhoods, you do not know where the traffic lights are, so you have to pay attention and look out for them. Now, this is easy during the day. Picture it at night, when there are no lights.... Secondo: the amount of debris scattered on the roads, fallen trees, fallen medium voltage lines, twigs of any size and kind, signs... I always wondered why nobody seemed to maintain some of the trees which are not placed inside private properties. Some of these trees have diseases, and this became obvious during the storm. I saw trees uprooted, others broken at mid-trunk. It seemed to me, some of the damage could have been avoided if those trees had been removed. Not all the damage, but since I live here, I have never seen anything being done to those branches that protrude into the streets. They usually get removed by trucks, or they sometimes fall. Terzio: absolutely impossible to get an update on when power will be restored in your area. I realize priority goes to hospitals, government institutions, thereafter where it will benefit the most customers from the least possible effort. But it is difficult to accept that passed the day after, nobody can give you any clue on a date, other than power will be restored as fast as possible. Around my house, there are families with small children, many did not know what to do in the absence of clear indications. Sure, the city was quick to setup so-called "cooling centers" but those were only opened from 7:00 to 19:00. Where do you sleep kids in that kind of heat? last but not least: food! with your fridges and deep freezes out, cheap food maybe out of reach. As incredible as it seems in our times, we had families who struggled to feed themselves. Fortunately, some supermarket chains offered food to those who needed it. Quarto: No power = no network = lost in the world! since hertzien waves have been replaced by WiFi, being unable to keep in touch is incredibly frustrating. You can no longer communicate. My cell phone provider had no network, because all the repeaters were down too. No call, no text, nothing.... back in the days, you could switch on your radio, turn to local radio stations and get some updates. When the storm hit at about 18:15 that Thursday, we lost power at 18:30. Shortly after, we lost all means of communication too. I don't even know if 911 was accessible. That too was a new. We grew accustomed to get everything from Internet, without it, it seems impossible to go on. yes, it was really an eyes opening experience!

My new car doesn't even have a dipstick, stupidest thing ever. You take the car out and drive it for at least 30min then park the car on level ground and do an oil level check via the entertainment screen. It elevates the engine rpm to 1000 for about 30 seconds and does an oil level check and gives you the result. Like I said stupidest thing ever. Whats happened to German engineering? Millennials is what's happened. Phil

Just buy a Stelvio one and mark the stick appropriately.

I did not realize you were displaced from your home because of this storm, @p6x. So glad to hear you are back home, now! High heat index is dangerous, especially for those with heart conditions. And old-ish-ness types . . . like most of us?

It occurred to me to add, while the level can be checked in situ, the forks should be removed to change the oil. I have used a vacuum siphon to remove "most" of the oil for a pseudo-change, but is pretty shaved-ape, I admit . . .

Have you heard about what a Derecho is? this is a good example of what the deluge maybe. This happened unexpectedly in Houston on Thursday 16th of May 2024. I have been without power since. The storm was incredibly strong, I had never seen something as powerful as that before. My street was littered by fallen trees, fallen power lines. Being out on a motorcycle would have been terrifying. I had the warning to shelter at about the same time the Derecho hit, about 18:15. I lost power at 18:30. The storm subsided at 18:45, just about. According to those that predict the weather, a Derecho is unpredictable, since if forms spontaneously if and when the conditions are met. I am still off post, and our electricity company says power should be restored by Wednesday or before. I am currently at someone else's house, waiting to go back. The video below gives you a good idea of what happened. Notice at one point we see a motorcyclist. I would love to know how he did in that kind of fury.

Finally back home, after 5 days and 1/2 of power outage. This was an experience. Houston opened "cooling centers" for those without AC because the temperatures are close to 90 degF with the heat index around the 100 degF... It's impossible to not have AC in these conditions.

That link leads to a Yamaha for about 17 and a half thou. . Who wants a bloody Yamahahaha?

+ 1 on the SealMate! And the oil level can be checked with the forks mounted if you have a way to support the bike safely and let it down to fully compress the forks with the top caps off. This is by using the "air gap" method to determine fill level.

I copied Chuck's method so I wouldn't have to dig deeper into my wallet for the stuff that shows up better on the dipstick.

Good idea, another mod I've seen is to dimple the stick metal or plastic. Can't help think a flat metal stick would be better, like you used to get on older cars. I purchased the flashlight after losing 3 pints of oil when an oil cooler hose started to leak (you see now why I prefer to overfill). The subsequent Motorcycle Accident Invetigation Team report cited "user ineptitude" as the root cause of the failure. In accordance with the mandatory recommendations both lines were replaced. My main worry was too little oil, as if you're obeying the stick marks waaaaay overfilling isn't an issue with a "Roper Plate" installed One more thing the Australia with its solid belly pan, collects all the oil at the front which then blows rearwards and exits in the vicinity of the rear tyre. Coating the rear tyre with engine lube provides early fault warning, preventing premature engine failure by potentially trashing the whole bike insted.

I saw this guy live at The Tampa Theater about 1980-ish. What a captivating showman . . .