| Author | Message | ||
     Moondust |
Hi , Only had my buell xb9sx a few months - only 300 miles on the clock so far - Just wondering what oil checks I should be doing, and when ? Whats the procedure ? It only feels like yesterday when the dealer dropped it off & told me all the jargon - but I was so excited - it went in one ear & out the other ..I feel I should be thinking about maintenance - any tips people ? Cheers | ||
| Reepicheep |
It's all in your manual. I would check it after every tank of gas until you get well beyond break in. Maybe at 5000 miles change to just checking the oil after every third tank or so (but no further IMHO). If I run my 9sx with 5w50 oil and ride it hard, I can blow through 1/4 quart of oil (top line to bottom line on the dipstick) in 3 tanks of gas. If I run it with 15w50, it's maybe 6 to 10 tanks of gas to go from the top line to the bottom one. If I run real 20w50 (Castrol Syntec 20w50 just showed back up at my wal mart... yay!) It eats oil slower then that. I would recommend an oil change at 500 or 1000 miles anyway, just to get all the engine break in junk out of the motor. | ||
| Midknyte |
Just as you don't want to have too little oil - don't over fill either. The engine will seem to be using it (it'll end up un your airbox, etc.) and you'll be want to add more and the cycle starts over... | ||
| Cheesebeast |
It is very easy to overfill your ride with oil. The dipstick "add" mark on my XB is actually too high and oil blows out the breather tube onto my air filter. The safest route is to get the bike warm. Drain the oil and replace the filter. Fill the bike up with the EXACT amount of oil that is listed in your service/owners manual. Start the bike up again, get her warm, kill the ignition, wait a moment, and then check the dipstick. Cut a nick into the dipstick at that point. You will probably find that it is at or below the "Add" mark. Hope this helps. I know it involves an oil change, but it was the only way for me to get a handle on the oil level. | ||
| Jkhawaii |
Dose buell still recomend the 500 mile oil change and inspection? my 04 did. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I usually check it twice per ride. After I let it warm up, I shut it down and check the oil (on kickstand per manual). I am basically just making sure that there hasn't been some sort of catastrophic loss of oil forcing it below the add line. When I pull back in from the ride, I shut it down and take off my gear. By the time I have gotten helmet, gloves and jacket off, the oil has settled into the tank, but the engine is still HOT. I check it again. If it's above the add line, I don't add any. If it's at the add line, I add until it reaches midway between the add and full line (cold oil will expand). I have zero airbox spooge and zero idiot light flicker. I add less than 1/8 of a quart per 2,500 miles. (Message edited by ft_bstrd on February 27, 2007) | ||
| Teeps |
Check the oil as often as it gives you the warm and fuzzies. Just make sure the bike is on level ground, on the side stand, is at operating temperature, and with in one minute of engine shut down. Do not check the oil when the bike is cold. The oil level WILL be lower, due to it draining back into the engine. | ||
| Elff |
CHECK IT CHECK IT CHECK IT I traded in my CityX with 5000 miles on it. [no worries, I bought a 2006 XB12R  ] When I brought my 12R in to swap tires about 2 months later, I found out that the person who bought my CityX never checked the oil and seized the engine V-twins Eat Oil. That's just a fact of life. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Will they sieze before the oil pressure light comes on? Or did he never check the oil, and proceed to ignore the oil light? | ||
| Tpoppa |
My XB9S (18,000 miles) consumes little to no oil. I have not needed to add oil between changes since the break in period. | ||
| Moondust |
which oil is good ? Im in the UK btw | ||
| Ridrx |
Tpoppa, I,m with you, my 06 12R hasn't needed any between changes yet, only 5000 mi. on the clock though. | ||
| Crnrstr8nr |
Moondust, I like the mobil 1 syn for v-twins. It gets hot where i'm at so i use 20/50. on a side note ive been told that the mobil 1 is what the Harley brand syn oil is. | ||
| Elff |
I have no idea what the person did The engine seized and there was no oil in it It was fine while I had it. | ||
| Mtch |
It was fine while I had it. now how many times has that been said? (joke btw) | ||
| Tpoppa |
BTW, I use Mobile 1 full syn 15w50 and I change the oil at 5,000 miles. | ||
| Brad_buell |
I check my oil after every ride. I'm just in the habit now, so it's no big deal for me to do. I do have to add some oil every so often. It was worse during the break-in period, though. During that time I was adding quite a bit more oil. I'd say it really leveled out for oil consumption at, or around, 2500 miles. Better to check often than to be Really sorry later. | ||
| Ds_tiger |
I'm with Tpoppa I add exacty that is called for between 1500 miles or so. I have not had to add anything between, now have 6K miles. | ||
| Typeone |
M1 15W50 here too. i check the level before almost every ride, and almost every time i need to top off a bit, never to the top line, seems to puke more when i do that. usually do ~200mi+ runs each time i'm on it. i'm kind of a freek about changing the oil, feels like I'm always doing it.  | ||
| Kootenay |
V-twins Eat Oil. That's just a fact of life. Mine doesn't. | ||
| Elff |
Just a matter of time | ||
| Moondust |
Ok - well this is all great btw Obviously my 9sx has oil in it - what if I top it up with a different manufacturer then what came from the dealer - is that OK ? The oils you recommend - just seem so damn particular  http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ categorydisplay_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_cate goryId_53252_langId_-1_topCategoryId_33958_parentc ategoryrn_33958_crumb_33958_topcategory_33958 this is my local store - which of these do you recommend - I dont see any of the ones mentioned above on this link ie: 15w50 ? I see 15w40 - I read some people using diesel oil ??? also ?  | ||
| Tpoppa |
Consuming oil has to do with how tightly the rings are sealed. The rings on a new motor are not 'broken in' and are not tightly sealed...so oil, air, & combusted gasses can blow by them (blowback). The oil will get dirty faster and oil will be consumed. As the motor breaks in the rings seal, oil consumption should be greatly reduced and oil will stay cleaner longer. People break in motors different ways and some rings seal better than others. Poorly sealed rings will also reduce engine performance. I broke in my XB9S strictly by the book, it consumes virtually NO oil, and after 5,000 miles the oil is still pretty clean. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Get any full synthetic 20w50 and change it at 3500 to 4500 mile intervals, and you will be good. If you can't get that, look for any full synthetic 15w50 and change it at 3500 to 4500 mile intervals. You will burn a little more oil, but not much, not a big deal. Failing that, look for a non synthetic 20w50, but I would change it every 2500 miles or so. No, scratch that, I would not buy it, I would go back to step one or two above and keep looking. I think Shell makes Rotella oil in the UK that is 15w50 and full synthetic. Supposed to be very good stuff. Ping Rocket and ask him, he can be an tedious when he is in his passive aggressive tweak anony mode, but he will give you good advice on oil. |
