Oil consumption

[djslowmo]

Just took a trip over to KC (400 miles round trip).  Before I left I thought about changing oil but it still looked good and only had 1900 miles on it.  It was a hair low, so i added another half quart **(first time I've had to do that since the last oil change)***.

I decided to check it when I got back.  The dip stick was oily but when I whipped it and put it back in it came out bone dry, screwed it in and it still came out bone dry.  I had to add almost 2 quarts to get it half way up the hash marks.  Oil light never came on during trip and it always started right up so I don't think I damaged anything but where did all that oil go!  I was cruising at 70mph+ at around 6-7k rpm for 100 miles at a stretch.  Would a healthy engine eat that much oil up?

On the way there I did about 40 minutes of stop and go through a construction zone, only getting up to a walking speed usually (90-ish degrees out).  Could that have done it?  There's a little oil grime from the oil filter plate and it's spread back down one side of the lower case, but no oil around bottom plug or other joints and it's never leaked anything in my drive way.  Also all three bolts were torqued to spec and still hold firm.

I hope that's enough info for someone to sooth my nerves.  I'll definitely be keeping a very close eye on it for a while but I just wanted to see if that amount of oil consumption is reasonable, a bit excessive, or the sign of a major problem.  Or did my oil filter gasket simply give out?

*** Just ordered another oil filter/gasket.  I'll just see if the previous gasket cracked.  But if it didn't crack and the bolts were tightened enough, that means that somehow pressure built up in the crank case and pushed the oil past the seal?  I'll look at the vent up top too to see if its blocked up?  If anybody has any other theories let me know.  I definitely don't want to get surprised like this again.***

[Paulcet]

My bike also uses a lot of oil on long highway runs. I don't think it is 2 qt in 400 miles.  I have leaking valve guides, but no noticeable oil burning on start up.

[vinny]

If it went from half full of oil to a bone dry dipstick in 400miles, you have a problem. Hopefully a simple one (Leaking gasket for example).

My GS goes form the FULL mark to the LOW one in about 500miles.. But having a dry dipstick is alot of oil gone.

Pull your spark plugs, are they fouled with oil? If not, then your probably not burning it, so its a leak.

[djslowmo]

Checked both spark plugs.  Definitely not oil fouled, and both have the exact same light dusty brown color.  Bike hasn't ran, but has been sitting with a full belly for two days now and hasn't leaked a drop on the ground.  I'm gonna take him out for a brisk ride, maybe an hour, and see how that goes.  Tomorrow the oil filter comes in and I'll swap the gasket, and will take see if the case breather is blocked up.

I'm starting to feel like this might have been an isolated incident.  Has this kind of oil dump happened to anybody else? (during hot weather, prolonged idling, prolonged high rpm highway cruising)?

[burning1]

What oil are you running? I've found that the type of oil can make a huge difference on burn rates in air cooled engines.

[Bluesmudge]

Maybe you checked the oil with the bike on the side stand? Don't be embarrassed if you did, I have made the same mistake and freaked out that I was low on oil!

[djslowmo]

I've used Valvoline Premium Conventional 10W-40 the whole time I've had the bike, which is February.  The guy I bought the bike from recommended conventional oil because he thought it performed better on bikes with a wet clutch.

I checked on the side stand.  You get a higher oil level on the center stand verses side stand where it's leaning away from the dipstick?

Also I just took a 10 min ride down the highway and back and there was no fresh oil on the case and no drop in oil level.  In fact it was a bit higher but I'll chalk that up to still being hot.

***shameless edit because I sounded like an idiot***

[DominicW]

You should be checking on the center stand, or that's atleast what makes sense to me

[djslowmo]

Well, I feel a little dumb for that.  Either way, 2 quarts doesn't disappear while on it's side stand.  No idea how I read your comment so wrong Bluesmudge...my bad

[k.rollin]

Dominic, you're absolutely right that the oil level should be checked while the bike is on the centerstand (or otherwise held level). Reading the dipstick while the bike is on the sidestand will result in a low reading, and topping off based on the erroneous reading results in overfilling, which also has the potential to cause damage.

http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=41989.20
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=11547.msg96564#msg96564

[Tombstones81]

neither stand is correct.

u want the bike straight and not on any stands.

Me, I just unscrew the dipstick.
Grab my cloth.
Sit on the bike with it being straight, reach down and check the stick.

I loosen it first because I dont wanna be monkeying around while sitting on the bike and leaned over.
Especially if its hot.

[bombsquad83]

Haynes and factory manual specify the center stand with the dipstick not threaded in.  I wouldn't check any other way.  No stands and sitting straight up is fine, but I wouldn't attempt it by myself because I wouldn't want to risk dropping it.

[jestercinti]

Haynes and factory manual specify the center stand with the dipstick not threaded in.  I wouldn't check any other way.  No stands and sitting straight up is fine, but I wouldn't attempt it by myself because I wouldn't want to risk dropping it.

From the owner's manual:

1. Place the motorcycle on level ground on the centerstand.
2. Start the engine and allow it to idle for a few minutes.
3. Stop the engine and wait approximately  one minute.
4. Check the oil level.  The oil filler cap threads should not be run in but
    just touching the filler hole upper edge.

[Formori]

The Haynes and Clymer manuals both state to put the bike on the centerstand and then place the dipstick in without threading it in, but the factory manual says to do it without the centerstand, and to check the oil every time you ride

I wonder if there's a noticable difference in oil level between centerstand and not?

I think I'll stick to my centerstand oil check, since that's what I've been doing and hasn't been bad yet!

[Tombstones81]

Did not know all of that.

I've only gone by and said what I've read thats been posted on here Many times.

[jestercinti]

The Haynes and Clymer manuals both state to put the bike on the centerstand and then place the dipstick in without threading it in, but the factory manual says to do it without the centerstand, and to check the oil every time you ride

I wonder if there's a noticable difference in oil level between centerstand and not?

I think I'll stick to my centerstand oil check, since that's what I've been doing and hasn't been bad yet!

The difference between centerstand and vertical wheels is negligible.  See this thread --> http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=11547.msg96564#msg96564

[gsJack]

My way copied from an old post of mine:

I've been checking my oil in 4 Hondas and 2 GS500s the same way for 28 years and 400k miles.  I check it in the morning cold after it has sat on the centerstand overnight.  I just unscrew and pull the dipstick and check it.  If it's low I top it up before heading out to ride.

Way back years ago when my CB750K began to use a lot of oil I became annoyed with the conventional method of checking it hot, it was very hot to handle and as it sat there if you would check it at different times after shutting it down you would get different results.  If I checked it after 4 minutes it would show more oil than after 2 minutes for example, hardly an accurate way of doing things.  So when I got home I pulled it in, shut it down, and checked it hot on the centerstand after a few minutes and then left it until morning and checked it again in the morning cold.  The hot reading was done wiping the dipstick off and putting it in without screwing it in and the cold morning reading was just unscrewing it and pulling and reading it.  Seemed to me the amount it screwed in was about equal to the difference between the hot and cold oil volume.  Got the same reading close enough that way repeated times.  What could be easier.

Checking the oil level on a GS500 is not rocket science, it's closer to tractor science.

[Bluesmudge]

Djslowmo, you should probably remove some of the oil from your bike. If you set the oil level to "full" when the bike was on its side stand then you have far to much oil in the bike. A small difference in the lean of the bike could easily account for the perceived loss of 2 quarts. To simplify things you could just do an oil change and set the oil level as the manual suggests.

[djslowmo]

Yeah.  I think you guys got it straight.  I think I was mixing reading methods without thinking about it.  Oil filter will be in tomorrow.  I'll still change the filter but i bet I was combining normal oil loss with mixing side stand and center stand and ended up with what looked like an almost dry crank case.  (especially considering that picture comparing the different reading outcomes)

Thanks a lot for the help.  Definitely learned something.  I'll also try to measure out how much oil I get out of my bike, give you guys a good laugh.

[djslowmo]

Drum Roll!!!!

almost 4 quarts.  So with an oil+ filter change needing 2.7, that means I had 1.2ish quarts extra because I did my filling on the side stand instead of the center stand.  That's a pretty good brain fart.