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Buell Motorcycle Forum » XBoard » Buell XBoard Archives » Archive through July 07, 2006 » Metal flakes on the oil plug? « Previous Next »

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Dooley
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 02:01 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Ok, I know that this has been discussed before but I think my situation is too much. I just changed the oil in my xb9r today and again there was a lot of metal flakes on the magnetic plug. I've done the oil on my bike about 7 or 8 times and theres always metal flakes on that plug..what gives??? I ride hard, try to stunt, hit the rev limit a lot, you know the fun stuff but is this normal???? i've got about 26k on the bike and try to keep it well maintained...am I going to need an engine rebuild soon??? I getting paranoid.
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Vaneo1
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 02:14 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I would say to stop using the bike for stunts, and just ride it.
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Pwnzor
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 02:28 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I don't ride very hard at all and I change my oil every 2500-3000 miles. I always have some metal shavings on the plug. I'm right around 27k miles right now.
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Ride365
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 03:26 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I'm curious, does the amount of material you see collecting seem to have lessened over the mileage?
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Pwnzor
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 12:08 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Yes it seems a little less each time. Some of it is probably already stuck to the floor of the oil pan and breaks free as I ride. I doubt whether much of the loose material is new. I never find any in my oil filter, I cut it open after I remove it just to see whats happening in there.
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Beachbuell
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 12:19 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Metal shavings on the magnetic plug is normal wear and tear.
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Spatten1
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 01:02 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Yeah, it is absolutely scary how much metal is on those drain plugs. I heard it is from the primary chain, which makes sense.

I found pieces of primary chain links on mine.

Vaneo1: I'm of the opinion that if you buy a "sport bike", you should be able to beat the crap out of it without hurting the powerplant and drive train. Industry standard has been bullet proof products for the last 20 years.
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Percyco
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 04:12 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Isnt the primary drive and engine oil completely separate ? I think so.....there would be no way that primary chain pieces would make it into the engine oil.
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Vaneo1
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 05:17 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Spatten, yes I agree "bulletproof" after all the guy at the dealer let me shoot the tranny with a 40 cal before letting me buy it. Tranny is not stunt proof, if you want one wheel on the ground go buy a unicycle
In all honesty and common-sense, if you beat the crap out of your bike then OF COURSE IT WONT WORK, "dee dee dee"
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Indy_bueller
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 05:31 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Flakes of metal on the plug are normal, I think. the amount of metal on mine steadily decreased for the first 5k miles or so, then pretty much leveled off. I would be concerned if I saw a sudden INCREASE though.

BTW Dooley, if you are riding the bike that hard all the time, you might want to change the oil more often. Maybe even put some of those magnets on the oil filter to catch the stuff in there as well.

(Message edited by indy_bueller on July 05, 2006)
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Spatten1
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 05:37 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

"In all honesty and common-sense, if you beat the crap out of your bike then OF COURSE IT WONT WORK"

Uhhh, I can promise you that I know four brands you can beat the crap out of that work just fine. I did it for 20 years, and so did my riding buddies.
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Spatten1
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 06:04 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

I'm a bit disgruntled right now, as I am having the first 4-stroke base gasket leak of my life, my belt has cracks all the way down the left side, and my primary chain is losing pieces. I am not riding this bike any harder than any other that I have ever owned.
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Dooley
Posted on Wednesday, July 05, 2006 - 11:16 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Ok so if it is a hard riding issue, then is the metal shavings from bearings I would guess? but if it is normal wear and tear ( I was told this before) wouldn't the bearings slowly diminish into nothing? I don't know what else the flakes can be coming from, everything else is aluminum (I think)

P.S its the engine oil that Im talking about.....
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Spatten1
Posted on Thursday, July 06, 2006 - 09:44 am:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

Wow, it is from the engine oil? The metal is on the swingarm drain plug?

I assumed you were talking about the shavings in the tranny oil, which are probably from the primary chain and not a big deal.

Yeah, some of this HD stuff is beyond me. I've worried about things that are not OK on Japanese bikes, only to find out it's not a big deal for a Harley engine.

Still does not sound good.
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Static
Posted on Thursday, July 06, 2006 - 07:39 pm:   Edit Post Delete Post View Post/Check IP Print Post    Move Post (Custodian/Admin Only)

you might want to wipe the debris off the drain plug, next time, on a white cloth. If the shavings are shiny, and thin (more like flakes than shavings) you may have bearing issues. If the debris is granular and the color a dark grey you probably have parts of the oil pump on your drain plug. Also does your old oil have a yellow tint on the surface when you drain it? or are there any tiny very shiny yellow flakes in the filter? That may indicate brass bushings that are failing. Sorry but this one is from experience. I'm on my second motor.
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