Hey,
So I've been slammed with stuff and have kept forgetting to check my oil. Well it finally bit me. Started the bike at school, oil light extinguished, and then oil light kicked back on. I'm out of oil.
The second the oil light kicked on I shut off the bike. Thankfully it happened in the middle of warming up. It ran for less than 1 minute without oil. If I had to guess, I'd say 30 seconds or less.
I got the bike towed home and now I'm faced with two things.
1. How much damage did I do? It didn't make any noises, and it didn't indicate it was low (hard to shift, noisy, etc). Shifting it into neutral was smooth so if I had to guess I'd say the gearbox is still lubricated.
2. If I top off the oil back to full and start the bike, how f%&ked will I be? Do I need to prime the cylinders with drops of oil or do I just start it and cross my fingers?
I'm looking for help so try not to give me shaZam! for forgetting to check my oil. I'm kicking myself in the ass right now and I really don't need any help doing it. I just need to know how f%&ked I am and if I can just fill her up with oil and move on with my life. I'm not going to buy a new engine for a 500 and will probably end up parting out the bike if I totally screwed the engine.
Thanks for the help guys.
That short time and since the oil light went off then on, I'd say you are OK. You were smart to shut it off.
Put oil in and I bet you're OK - because you were smart enough to shut it off right away.
Everyone forgets things here and there, good thing you paid attention and hopefully saved your bike. I came across my lawn and my baby slipped out from under me. Strained my leg to catch and keep it off the ground. My oil light came on and I killed the engine before pulling it back up. Thank god it turned off soon after.
But I agree with adidasguy, you caught it almost instantly from what you say. I'd add oil and start her up. Just do as you would for any engine, listen for anything different and all. Least that's what I'd do. Good luck.
So where did the oil go would be my question? I know after many miles these bikes burn oil but where did yours go?
Every time I've broke down its been because I've been to lazy to check some thing I should of.....today didn't break down but ruined a nice trip due to not checking my chain adjustment, a few days ago took time out of a nice trip due to air pressure......
I would really look into where it went and check for any leaks, also I really dont think you would of done any damage in 30 seconds, I've seen some car motors run for quite some time with out oil so you should be some what safe.....
Quote from: robfriedenberger on March 11, 2014, 11:46:20 PM
So where did the oil go would be my question? I know after many miles these bikes burn oil but where did yours go?
Every time I've broke down its been because I've been to lazy to check some thing I should of.....today didn't break down but ruined a nice trip due to not checking my chain adjustment, a few days ago took time out of a nice trip due to air pressure......
I would really look into where it went and check for any leaks, also I really dont think you would of done any damage in 30 seconds, I've seen some car motors run for quite some time with out oil so you should be some what safe.....
It goes the same place as all the left socks that vanish from the dryer.
No, I'm sorry, I disagree with the above posts. You ran for a long time with "little" or "no" oil.
You didn't just run the last few seconds with no oil (unless it's on the ground under the bike). You rode to school that day...and where ever you went for the past week or two.
Drain what ever oil is left through a cloth. If there is any metal in it you are in trouble....if not ....you may have dodged a bullet.
After you refill the oil (assuming no metal in the old oil) start the engine and listen very carefully for any odd noises. Take it on a few easy rides keeping the rpms low.
If it passes that test you are good to go.
Do hope that you didn't do any damage.
QuoteNo, I'm sorry, I disagree with the above posts. You ran for a long time with "little" or "no" oil.
You didn't just run the last few seconds with no oil (unless it's on the ground under the bike). You rode to school that day...and where ever you went for the past week or two.
Drain what ever oil is left through a cloth. If there is any metal in it you are in trouble....if not ....you may have dodged a bullet.
After you refill the oil (assuming no metal in the old oil) start the engine and listen very carefully for any odd noises. Take it on a few easy rides keeping the rpms low.
If it passes that test you are good to go.
Do hope that you didn't do any damage.
QuoteThe second the oil light kicked on I shut off the bike. Thankfully it happened in the middle of warming up. It ran for less than 1 minute without oil. If I had to guess, I'd say 30 seconds or less.
The oil light is a simple pressure switch that is activated with as little as ~3 psi of pressure, these switches can be faulty, there could be bad wiring to the light. Right now we don't know.
QuoteI'm out of oil.
There isn't many people that check their oil the right way, and I'm positive that if he thought he ruined his bike he wasn't waiting until the bike sat there a good 5 minutes for the oil to settle, nor do we know how old the oil is. After 1000 miles on an oil change running castrol rt4 its is still very faint on the dip stick.
I'm Just saying don't assume the worst at this point!
Quote from: robfriedenberger on March 11, 2014, 11:46:20 PM
So where did the oil go would be my question? I know after many miles these bikes burn oil but where did yours go?
Every time I've broke down its been because I've been to lazy to check some thing I should of.....today didn't break down but ruined a nice trip due to not checking my chain adjustment, a few days ago took time out of a nice trip due to air pressure......
I would really look into where it went and check for any leaks, also I really dont think you would of done any damage in 30 seconds, I've seen some car motors run for quite some time with out oil so you should be some what safe.....
The same place it goes with every GS500 over 20k miles. It gets burned.
At any rate, I won't be buying any more bikes with outdated engine designs. That's for sure.
Quote from: Dr.McNinja on March 12, 2014, 07:15:26 AM
The same place it goes with every GS500 over 20k miles. It gets burned.
At any rate, I won't be buying any more bikes with outdated engine designs. That's for sure.
Yup, that way you can spend several 1000 replacing the engine when you run out of oil instead of a few 100 ...
They all "burn" oil. In many aspects its the fact that oil gets splashed on parts that are burning hot that makes it "disappear" and "burn" ...
Generally smaller bore bikes and bikes with lower stress motors use less oil. Of course tolerances also come in, and that's where the GS loses its shirt. Its got the worst ... with the exception of a few big bore cruisers ...
Cool.
Buddha.
Quote from: Dr.McNinja on March 12, 2014, 07:15:26 AM
At any rate, I won't be buying any more bikes with outdated engine designs. That's for sure.
The only outdated thing is carbs .vs. fuel injection. That has nothing to do with burning oil.
All motors have valves, pistons, piston rings, valve stem seals and the like. The only way to not get an "out dated" engine is go electric or turbine. And even they need oil.
Fuel injected motors can run out of oil, too. Happens all the time.
Its a low presure switch sensor just because it comes on doesnt mean you are completly bone dry !! Its thete to tell you your running low.
Yes you had the brain power to not ride it so id just top it up let it idle and check the light goes out and you should be good to go.
Its not there to tell you your engine is about to self destruct . Its there as a fail safe so you dont run it dry and lock the engine up
Quote from: Crasm on March 12, 2014, 10:58:06 AM
Its a low presure switch sensor just because it comes on doesnt mean you are completly bone dry !! Its thete to tell you your running low.
Yes you had the brain power to not ride it so id just top it up let it idle and check the light goes out and you should be good to go.
Its not there to tell you your engine is about to self destruct . Its there as a fail safe so you dont run it dry and lock the engine up
I agree with the general theme of this; it's likely fine. Change the oil and see what happens. However, I want to clear up the fact that the light does, indeed, tell you that the engine is no longer receiving proper lubrication. It's not an early warning or fail safe at all, but rather notification that there is a problem. I just don't think that this means that all hope is lost on the motor if you caught it within a few seconds. I wouldn't be excited that it happened, but I'd be betting that there was sufficient oil film in bearings, cam lobes, cylinder walls to last you those few seconds.
Change the oil and ride on.
Dan
Quote from: adidasguy on March 12, 2014, 10:48:05 AM
Quote from: Dr.McNinja on March 12, 2014, 07:15:26 AM
At any rate, I won't be buying any more bikes with outdated engine designs. That's for sure.
The only outdated thing is carbs .vs. fuel injection. That has nothing to do with burning oil.
All motors have valves, pistons, piston rings, valve stem seals and the like. The only way to not get an "out dated" engine is go electric or turbine. And even they need oil.
Fuel injected motors can run out of oil, too. Happens all the time.
uh, no, this engine is based on the gstwins from the 70's swap the countershaft and sproket, shift drum, and topend, and you can run the 450 bottom end. its lived this long with a few upgrades Because its a reliable design. even the flat slides are an upgrade.
I dumped some oil into it and fired her up. Oil light extinguished with no non-normal engine noises. So, I have got a leak somewhere. I'll probably end up doing a compression check here soon after I take it out for a test ride. I'm gonna let it rest for the rest of the week and on Saturday go ride around town to make sure I can still rev it normally without issue.
Quote from: Blueknyt on March 12, 2014, 07:37:30 PM
Quote from: adidasguy on March 12, 2014, 10:48:05 AM
Quote from: Dr.McNinja on March 12, 2014, 07:15:26 AM
At any rate, I won't be buying any more bikes with outdated engine designs. That's for sure.
The only outdated thing is carbs .vs. fuel injection. That has nothing to do with burning oil.
All motors have valves, pistons, piston rings, valve stem seals and the like. The only way to not get an "out dated" engine is go electric or turbine. And even they need oil.
Fuel injected motors can run out of oil, too. Happens all the time.
uh, no, this engine is based on the gstwins from the 70's swap the countershaft and sproket, shift drum, and topend, and you can run the 450 bottom end. its lived this long with a few upgrades Because its a reliable design. even the flat slides are an upgrade.
It's the only bike in it's class with shim-over-bucket valves. It's so uncommon no shop I've been to even thinks it's possible. Probably because they did away with shim over bucket years ago because throwing shims is a real concern and adds unnecessary amounts of weight to the bike. I wouldn't call that reliability.
I mean the nice thing about shim over bucket is it's easy and foolproof, but that's counter acted by the jungle gym you have to go through to get the job done and the fact it has to be done more often.
O.P. If you start to hear a metallic ringing sound, the engine is done.
Keep in mind: Oil is used for cooling. Less oil, less cooling. Lots of parts such as the transmission, are splash lubricated. Also remember that oil pressure is critical. Pressure can go low enough that the rods aren't being lubed without the oil indicator going on.
Finally: All air cooled bikes burn, even modern ones. All of your air cooled cruisers burn. BMW R series engines burn. You've got to check the oil weekly on these bikes. You CANNOT simply change the oil every 3K miles and expect it to be fine.
>The whole bike is designed to make maintenance a chore. On a 636 I could change the oil, replace the clutch cable, and adjust everything I need to in a fraction of the time it takes me on the GS500
You and I clearly don't own the same bike. The GS500E is one of the easiest bikes I've maintained. I've had other bikes that make a few procedures easier, but the result is that other procedures tend to be way harder.
BMW R1150R: Valve adjustment easy. Clutch literally requires disassembling the entire bike
Ninja 250: Air filter is simple. Carbs aren't.
Honda: Shock swap requires removing most of the swing-arm, exhaust system, and bodywork
BMW K1300GT: Almost everything is a pain in the ass
Suzuki GSX-R 600: Best modern I4 I've worked on. Still harder than the GS.
I hardly ever had to service my gs' . they were ridden often. quite bullet proof. although they hated to be ridden in slow speed formation. theyd get hot as hell lol
I know it's really off thread but Ducati still uses the same valve adjustment method as the GS on many of it's bikes.
AND on topic:
Man at least drain the oil from the bike and replace it with all new oil. If the engine overheated at all you have hurt the lubricating effect of the oil. Change the filter also as it's going to have gunk in it if there is any kind of a problem.
Quote from: Alan_nc on March 13, 2014, 01:29:54 AM
I know it's really off thread but Ducati still uses the same valve adjustment method as the GS on many of it's bikes.
AND on topic:
Man at least drain the oil from the bike and replace it with all new oil. If the engine overheated at all you have hurt the lubricating effect of the oil. Change the filter also as it's going to have gunk in it if there is any kind of a problem.
Ducati is desmo ... yes there is a whole slew of shims and this and that, but it is very different than a GS.
Cool.
Buddha.