I'm based in Cambodia where there's only 2 known examples of GS500.. I have the only GS500F (2007 H model, manufactured in Spain) and another is a GS500E.  I bought my GS500F 6 months ago and only known problems then were clutch plates, steering bearings and signal relay.  It's a low mileage model at around 4000miles (but the meter could have been changed).

I recently had the bike serviced and took it on 2 long rides (approximately 500km each).  I noticed the engine oil had depleted (from 2.7lit to less than 1lit).  I can't figured out why the engine oil had depleted or burnt off.  There is no visible leaks and there's no 'white smoke' to indicate problems with oil leaking into the pistons.

I brought it to a British mechanic that has experience with this bike and was told that the engine oil could have been burnt off during the long rides where I had at times revved it close to redline due to faulty pistons or valve.

Am not sure what he's telling me is correct as I am reluctant to have the engine taken apart since spare parts have to be mail-ordered.  I do not want to end up spending on parts that's not essential to be replaced.

Does anyone have similar experience with engine oil being burnt off during long distance riding (i.e. revving past 7,000 rpm for long periods and close to redline occasionally)?  What's the problem and what parts I need to replace?

Thank You and A Happy New Year.

Best thing to do on long drives is carry extra oil with you just in case. If you are not leaking externally then you are using internally. There is not much you can do about coming short of taking the engine out and replacing internal parts.

Lots of owners in here have suffered oil loss after a long run, for some its turned out be catastrophic. Fact is the engine design is decades old and it has huge clearances by todays standards. Oil loss will be inevitable even from a healthy engine.

not much experience with this, but it sounds like either your piston rings are bad, or your cylinders are scraped up causing oil to combust

Air cooled engines consume oil, period. Check your plugs and exhaust to see if there are signs that excessive oil is making it into the combustion chamber.

Even my BMW R bike burned oil, and it's a very modern air cooled engine.

Quote from: burning1 on January 04, 2013, 01:00:56 AM
Air cooled engines consume oil, period. Check your plugs and exhaust to see if there are signs that excessive oil is making it into the combustion chamber.

Even my BMW R bike burned oil, and it's a very modern air cooled engine.

Do you think its possible for a healthy engine to burn nearly 2 quarts of oil in around 600 miles? Just wondering, I have no clue.

2 quarts in 600 miles seems excessive.

Drove 600 miles in a weekend once, all highway, and burned 1/3 quart.

Depends on the engine, depends on the oil, depends on how you ride. My GS500 burned more than that. Low mile engine, best oil on the market. Just rode the shaZam! out of it (track use.)

Again, check for a few obvious things: Do your spark plugs look oil fouled? Is there oil residue in the exhaust pipe? Is there oil in your airbox? Are you sure there are no leaks?

Try changing the brand of oil. You'll tend to get lower burn rates with a Group IV synthetic, such as Amsoil. With the GS500, you should check the oil level every time you fill the gas tank, especially on a 500 mile trip. It doesn't hurt to bring an extra quart.

You either loose oil because the oil rings on the piston are not set correctly or the valve guides on the head are leaking oil down the valve stem into the cylinder and burning it.

Quote from: gsatterw on January 04, 2013, 01:22:17 AM

Quote from: burning1 on January 04, 2013, 01:00:56 AM
Air cooled engines consume oil, period. Check your plugs and exhaust to see if there are signs that excessive oil is making it into the combustion chamber.

Even my BMW R bike burned oil, and it's a very modern air cooled engine.

Do you think its possible for a healthy engine to burn nearly 2 quarts of oil in around 600 miles? Just wondering, I have no clue.

That equates to a pint every 150 miles and no its beyond acceptable. However If an engine really is using oil at that rate the signs will be obvious. The exhaust smoke will be blue, the pipe will be dripping black sludge from the can and maybe the header gaskets, the breather will be clogged and the plugs will probably be prone to fouling at low engine speed.

Acceptable consumption rate under normal conditions for a GS5, like all similar bikes is about 1litre per 1k miles. However long non stop runs under load at full throttle in a high ambient temp will see that figure increase. It increases under these conditions not because its burning off but because its evaporating. Its totally normal behaviour under these conditions even for a healthy engine and it is probably what has happened to the OP, especially if the cylinder compression readings are acceptable. (We can only assume the mechanic has considered the obvious and carried out a compression test).

My advice would be to use the best quality, motorcycle specific synthetic oil you can find, one with a low evaporation (or volatilization) rate. Mobil1 would be a good choice, then run with it and see if consumption improves before pulling the engine apart trying to find a fault that my not even exist.