I am wondering if I have not checked my oil and it happens to be low, will I somehow see that condition through my oil pressure gauge? In other words ,will the gauge needle be pointing lower ( more to the left) than from where it usually is when the oil level is good?

Thanks in advance for the responses

 

Technically, no! but if you are super familiar with your gauge you might notice a SLIGHT drop in oil pressure when the bike is hot. But usually at that point, the oil level should have been checked long before, or the oil leak causing the oil loss should have been fixed!

 

Not unless it's drastically / dangerously low. In general the pressure gauge is not an indicator of Oil level. You're best bet is just to get into the habit of manually checking the level routinely. Your oil level could be low or even very low but as long as it's high enough for the oil pump to pick up, you will have oil pressure and will not be able to tell by the pressure gauge.

 

Low oil level - no
no oil - yes (right before the motor locks up though)

 

NO! You should check your oil level often if you suspect you are using or losing oil.

 

+1 on that. If you see the pressure guage drop off, you have very little time to shut off the engine before it welds itself into one piece. As you coast to the curb with your engine off and the clutch in, you can hope it is a bad pressure sensor.

There is no good excuse for not checking your oil level, tire condition, drive belt, lights, etc. regularly.

 

All good advice. Oil pressure will drop when the motor is really getting HOT though, so this is something to watch for. On a blazing hot day in summer climbing a long grade for example or when stuck in stop n go traffic on a blazing hot day you'll notice the oil pressure drop below normal readings even when oil level is full. Get to know how your gauges read under normal circumstances then you'll know when something isn't right.

Check your oil before every ride is the safest habit to get into.

 

With Oil Pressure, there are too many variables. Heat, RPMs, Oil Type etc, so it's best to use the gauge for what it was intended.

Just make sure you have oil pressure and like the above poster stated, get to know what is normal on your gauge in different conditions so you can spot when something could be amiss. Manually check you oil level before each days ride, more often if you use or consume oil..

 

As inaccurate as this guage is I wouldn't make any firm predictions based on its info.
My gauge reads almost zero at idle and then 32+ when at speed.

I only trust it enough to tell me we do have pressure at all.

 

If your guage suddenly drops off I'm afraid it's already too late and you'll probably be hearing bad noises before you can get her shut down.
It's just too easy to check the oil level EVERY time you ride. Just pull the dipstick before you turn the switch and you'll know it at least had enough oil in it when you started her up. An easy habit to get into - an employer I had years ago made it mandatory to check the oil on anything he owned before using it. I made this same rule when I had my own business and it was very effective.