| Author | Message | ||
     Sgthigg |
In the past I have noticed my bike consumes oil. I wasnt worried because this is somewhat normal. Well I have noticed Its started to increase. I put synthetic Mobile one extended life 15/50 in it at 2000 hoping it was maybe the Harley oil from the 1000 mile service that was a problem. Well at 2300 miles on the bike I was below the fill mark. It took 6ozs to bring it up to the fill. My wife and I went on about a 25 mile ride together on Friday then I rode for 80 miles today. The temp outside is around 65ish and I rode around 80mph when I was alone and of course slower with the wife. I got home and now its just below the bottom fill mark. No smoke no excess oil in the airbox nothing its disapearing. I dont get it. 100 miles and it used atleast 4 ozs. I dont think this is good by any standard. I called A dealership where they service Buells and I trust them so far. The guy said the auto synthetic oils will get used up in the motor very quickly sometimes. I dunno because alot of people run this exact oil. Nevertheless he said bring it in and they will take care of it. Should I try a different oil before I make the 120 mile one way trip to the dealership? I could try Amsoil vtwin specific. Is it worth my time to do another oil change? Any suggestions as to what can cause this. I did the break in by the book. Thanks | ||
| Dtx |
Jason, Don't worry too much yet. I had a similar experience on my bike. I just kept monitoring it and adding a little bit of oil every now and then. Now, at nearly 9000 miles I don't see it using nearly as much oil as it used to. Another guy in our group had the same thing happen to him. It doesn't sound too uncommon. | ||
| Sgthigg |
Tonight I took off the Airbox and looked into it again to make sure the oils wasnt hiding in there. I started it up and noticed that one of the breather lines wasnt "puffing" air back into the box at all like the other i mean absolutely nothing. I am wondering if having one of the breather lines not allowing PC ventaliation might cause this? I also noticed this too. The breather lines look way higher in the box as compared to the pic in the manual. I also could of swore I read somewhere that they should never be higher than the AIT sensor. Does this look ok?  Any suggestions ? Or am I paranoid chasing ghosts? I just love my bike and want to make sure she is taken care of. (Message edited by sgthigg on January 15, 2006) | ||
| Lovematt |
Those look a little high to me. My service manual also says not to have them higher than the air sensor between them. My are about 1/2" up or about to the base of where the air sensor mounts to the airbox base. I have an R which is a little different than your bike but I think this setup still applies. Mine also used up oil until about 4000-5000 miles and since then it has slowed way down in the 17,000 miles since. Now I just check the oil before going for a ride to make sure it is at about the halfway mark (I checked to make sure it was full after a ride and before the next ride found it at the mid-mark when cold so I know where it should be both cold and warm). | ||
| Truk |
Do you let the bike warm up sufficiently so everything gets nice and hot and expanded, making for good seals, before you take off? | ||
| Dragonbuell12r |
I have an 05 XB12R. I thought that the oil consumption was a bit much also. I kept track between the 1k service and 5k service. I do my own maintainence. The bike used 48 ounces of Mobil 1 15w50. Most techs at the dealer I talked to said that was normal. I flogged the heck out of my FZ1 with only using about an ounce between changes. I did get to talk to the service manager and he said that they had an updated valve seal they were installing just for that reason. He told me to check my plugs and if they looked ok that it could be the seals. My bike runs great, doesn't smoke or anything. I went back to checking the oil only at fill-ups for fuel. I have put 1500 miles on the bike since then and it seems to have slowed, but still uses oil. I guess if I go on a trip I better pack a quart of oil to take with me. | ||
| Diablobrian |
At least it isn't like the old shovels and brit bikes leaving a trail of oil. | ||
| Crusty |
My old Shovelhead never leaked a drop in over 72,000 miles of use. I took great pride in that fact. It did use a quart of oil every 500 miles, but that was normal for Shovels. Putting valve guide seals in helped that quite a bit, but that was considered acceptable oil consumption when the engine debuted in 1966. That bike, a '78 FXE was more reliable than my Honda CB 750 had been. Nobody wants to believe that an AMF Harley gave me fewer problems than a Honda Four, but it's true. | ||
| Diablobrian |
just as there are always troublesome bikes produced on a production line there are always gems too. congrats | ||
| Dana P. |
Why do you say Congrats to him?? | ||
| Sgthigg |
So the breather hoses to high? Do they both need to be "hissing when its running? If not what happens then? | ||
| Diablobrian |
congrats on getting one of the gems | ||
| Odinbueller |
That doesn't sound like excessive oil consumption. Air cooled motors tend to eat oil more than liquid cooled motors, especially during break-in periods. Be sure to properly warm up your bike before whomping on it. Also be sure your static timing is OK, as I've seen them out of whack at the first service. Just keep an eye on your dipstick at every fill up, and be sure to top off when needed. If you do that along with the recommended service, you should have a bike for life. Breather hose placement may affect combustion due to hot vent gasses affecting IAT readings, but I wouldn't fret over fractions of an inch. Follow what your service manual suggests, and you can not go wrong. Chris | ||
| Blake |
Both breathers are venting the crankcase. It is natural for one to offer a slightly lower flow resistance and thus the other not exhibit perceptible function. So the answer to your question is that your engine's breathers behavior is okay.  Don't top up the oil unless it gets down to or below the fill line. You are running synthetic oil and have an oil cooler. No worries. |
