I noticed my bike was making clackety clack noises. I checked the oil 500 miles ago, and it was still full (after ~500 miles or so) so I figured it wasn't using oil at an appreciable rate.
I was wrong. I was over half a quart low, but I don't know where it went. It should be belching blue smoke if it's burning it, and there should be a clean, oily streak if it's leaking it. I can't find either. I'm going to take it to the car wash and clean the motor off to see if I can find a leak, but I'm really confused....
when are you coming to otown? oh btw I'm back on IRC :2guns: :cheers:
hehe . as i know . with it being an air cooled motor its going to eat the oil . your not going to see the blue somke or the leaking oil . thats just how it is .. kinda of like a new car :) if they eat oil and first its ok . cuz its in the brake in time . ( i know your bike is not new ) but its sould not be an issue. i dont really know though . i have an 05 and dont have that issue .. that may be the reason for the oil cooler ?
Quote from: tussey on August 28, 2006, 04:24:38 PM
when are you coming to otown? oh btw I'm back on IRC :2guns: :cheers:
Not for a while, it looks like. The parentals are coming here next weekend (when I was thinking of coming down), so it'll probably be October.
Quote from: FearedGS500 on August 28, 2006, 04:25:17 PM
hehe . as i know . with it being an air cooled motor its going to eat the oil . your not going to see the blue somke or the leaking oil . thats just how it is .. kinda of like a new car :) if they eat oil and first its ok . cuz its in the brake in time . ( i know your bike is not new ) but its sould not be an issue. i dont really know though . i have an 05 and dont have that issue .. that may be the reason for the oil cooler ?
The oil cooler was due to the fairings. However, I just don't understand how my bike could use so much oil. The compression is good (tested cold it still was within the normal "hot" range), so I don't know why it would consume so much. I suspect a leak somewhere that I can't see....
I've noticed that the bike will tend to use more oil when stuck in traffic for a while and the bike and the oil get really hot, or if you beat on it for a while. You should check it at every gas stop or at least every other one. That being said, I don't think that being 1/2 quart low alone would cause cause that noise, it's most likely a loose cam chain, possibly caused by a stuck or defective tensioner.
If you are burning 1/2 quart in 500 miles, it might not smoke noticably, but it's also possible that it's blown out of the breather (located on top of the valve cover) which will dump into the airbox. There is a hose with a cap on it that goes from the bottom of the airbox to just below the right footpeg. pull the cap off of the hose to see if any oil drains out. Also pull the air filter to see if there is oil in the airbox. If there is no oil in the airbox, you're probally burning it. If it's really hot out and/or you get stuck in traffic a lot, you may want to try a heavier oil to reduce the consumption.
Good luck, and don't freak out, it dosen't sound like your motor is shot.
I put a filter on the breather to discourage the oil being blown out the airbox. It's just a metal mesh filter (shown in the valve cover fiche), but I'm sure it's better than nothing.
I don't think the motor is bad, but that much oil consumption is disturbing. But at least I won't have to change the oil as often....
Edit: the "clackety clack noises" went away. I know the sound of low oil, and it was making that sound. I still have valve tick (right exhaust is a bit tight) and what I believe is cam play, but this was a different noise....
So I went to the car wash and Super Cleaned the engine. Strangely enough, after that the oil light came on. I think I shorted something with the water because it was very dim. Doesn't take much current to illuminate an LED. Still freaked me out though. :)
Final verdict: the engine was about 22 oz low on oil. I definitely don't hear piston slap now. Definitely going to keep a closer eye on it now.
if your really woryed about a leak go to an auto store and get you some oil die. it will change the color of the oil and make it more visable . they use it at dealers to find leakes .. the stuff they used at ford turned it green :)
If you ever rev near redline, you're burning oil for sure...
You should check your oil at least once a week or every fill-up, whichever is shorter. Technically, you should check the oil every day.
I drove shitty, oil leaking, oil burning cars for so long that checking oil is something I MUST do... My old bug used a quart or more per tank of gas... And sometimes it would randomly dump a bunch of oil... So, I generally check it every morning.
Its uses oil several ways ...
Its sprays it on hot surfaces, and there oil evaporates - atleast partially. It also leaks past the guides and gets sprayed out as a liquid in the exhaust stream. There is also oil getting past the rings and burning ... I think the temperature is high enough that it will run OK till you finally break down and decide to rebuild it. BTW oil cooler makes no difference. I have had oil cooled bikes use oil, and I've had water cooled bikes use oil too.
Cool.
Srinath.
Thanks guys. I now have something to look for, as well as a near-foolproof way to determine if it's leaking. I'm going to recheck the compression one of these days and see what it gives me.
Air cooled engines will burn oil, typically worse at high power.
Look at the WWII radials, oil consumption rates were part of the engine documentation, in gallons/hour.
Mine is new an rarely uses any oil. I went 610 miles on one day with 200 miles of 30 mph headwind running in 5th gear to pull 70 mph, Temp was 104.
Had to add a half quart, the only time I needed to add oil other than scheduled changes for 8000 miles.