| Author | Message | ||
     Brumbear |
I have found my xb12ss is using about 1 qt of oil about every 700 miles I have no smoke and no leak at all is this about the norm. I have hd synthetics in her now just wondering what you guys are running | ||
| Ducxl |
You're the second guy this week to make that remark.I've been watching my own consumption and it's nil in 1000 miles.On both my X1+XB12r. The type makes little difference though i use Mobil1 15w-50.I wonder why some do and some do not consume oil?  | ||
| M_singer |
My XB12R uses maybe an once or 2 per 1k miles. | ||
| Austinuu |
Using Mobile1 15w-50 and I topped up 4oz during 5k miles. | ||
| Old_man |
Make sure you are not overfilling the oil. Check it when the motor is hot. Check it on the side stand, not upright. It seemed that if I put in too much oil it would lose it quickly, then stabilize at the correct amount. | ||
| Tpoppa |
I change the oil in my XB9S at 5,000 miles. I have not had to add ANY oil between changes since it had about 1,500 miles on the clock (now it has over 22k). BTW way I use Mobil 1 15w50. | ||
| Snowscum |
I ran syn3 at the 1k and used quite a bit. Ran for 500 and changed back to regular hd oil. I put Mobil 1 in at 7.5k and uses just a little bit since(now at 8.8k). XB12X (Message edited by snowscum on August 26, 2007) | ||
| Cixyx_pilot |
Running Screaming Eagle Syn in my 06 City X. Never have to top it up  | ||
| 984gasm |
Mine def consumes oil, but like many said, if overfill it will correct itself. The correct level on *my* bike is pretty far down the dipstick. Seems to be happy there. | ||
| Brumbear |
Thanks I will keep an eye not to overfill and check it only when hot | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
Here's my philosophy on the dipstick. If you check your oil and there is no oil showing on the dipstick you should add some. If you see none on the dipstick there is no way of knowing how much is in the engine. If you see any oil on the dipstick you are fine. The lack 2 or 4 ounces is not going to kill your engine. The dipstick is a very crude oil level estimation device. I'm not saying that you should ignore apparently excessive oil consumption. I am saying that one should not be obsessive about oil levels. | ||
| Brent_crossbronkos |
"I'm not saying that you should ignore apparently excessive oil consumption. I am saying that one should not be obsessive about oil levels." So very true!! | ||
| Brumbear |
No doubt but while the machine is still under warrentee why not make sure everything is ok at their expense if you think there might be a problem, even if there is not it will be documented as a concern. | ||
| Pso |
Mine is mostly at the third diamond up from the bottom of the stick. When I fill her up to the add mark it just settles back down to the third little diamond and stays there. I agree with the two above posts, I check regulary because it is easy to do but do not need to add oil between changes. | ||
| Sgthigg |
you are over filling it. Do an oil/filter change. Add 2.5 qts exactly. Run til hot then immediately recheck it. Note where it is at on the stick. THIS IS YOUR PROPER FULL LEVEL. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I think some of the oil consumption has to do with rider style/habits. If you run harder a lot, it will use a little. If you engine brake, more oil will be sucked past the rings. If your bike runs hotter, expansion will occur and may allow more usage. I think some usage is due to the vaporization tendencies of different oils. I believe part of my usage is due to my bike, when full of oil is on the very low end of the stick. I use between 4 and 8 OZ between oil changes. | ||
| Paul_in_japan |
Brumbear, Im in the same boat, a bottle of Syn 3 (1 quart) per 1000 to 2000km.No smoke and it runs fine. Ive noticed too that trying to keep it in the "FULL" zone on the dipstick is impossible. Next oil change i will do what Sgt.Higg suggests as I suspect the actual full make is lower than what the dipstick says. | ||
| Brumbear |
Roger out | ||
| Slamber777 |
Usually, you need a few thousand miles on the engine before you start using the synthetic. If you start too soon with syn the rings may not seat onto the cylinders and oil consumption will occur. Unless an engine specifies syn from the start, waiting 5 or 6k to switch to is a good rule of thumb. You might try switching back to petroleum oil for a while and see if that eventually cures the thirst. | ||
| Jkkj |
I was on a trip at deal's gap, and checked my oil while the bike was hot. There was no oil on the dipstick. I rode to the harley dealer across the way. The fan was on when I stopped. Checked it again same result. I was freeking out only around 2500 miles on the bike. I bought a quart of oil added most of it to make the level correct. Brought the bike home to Ohio, and rode it to work once. When I got home I checked the oil again and it was running out the hole. So I removed a good bit before it was right. Danmdest thing. No crazy issues since. You might want to watch and make sure it is using oil. | ||
| Ironhead1977 |
If you are using a poor quality fuel, carbon can build up on the piston and get into the ring grooves not allowing them to seat properly. If this is the case start using a premium grade fuel from a major supplier along with a good grade of fuel additive. Over time this should cleanup the piston if it is not to bad. | ||
| Reepicheep |
The type of oil can have a huge influence as well. When I use Castrol Syntec 5w50, my 9sx drinks oil like crazy. Put in Castrol Syntec 20w50, and consumption goes to a nice comfortable rate. I would not be surprised to see it change between brands as well. | ||
| Southsidebuellone |
" Using Mobile1 15w-50 and I topped up 4oz during 5k miles." Buell doesn't recommend using non H-D/Buell oil in their bikes. | ||
| Mikej |
They also don't recommend against using non-branded lubes (or to put it a different way, they also don't say to don't use other brands). They simply recommend their branded lubes, then list the specs to comply with in the manuals if an owner decides to use something else. | ||
| Djkaplan |
You're one of those guys that never removes those 'DO NOT REMOVE' tags, aren't you? | ||
| Reepicheep |
I think you meant:
But they did support the XBRR, so it's not totally one sided. On the other hand, I had an oil consumption "problem" and it would not have occurred had I used the Harley oil. I was using Castrol Syntec 5w50 (got a bunch cheap). In theory it should have been the same hot, but better when it gets really cold, but in practice the bike drinks it like nobodies business. Switching back to a true 20w50 full synthetic solved the problem... and I am still not using the Harley oil. So there *are* other options. Ditto for the primary oil... there is reasonable cause to believe the Mobil 1 gear oil may be hurting stators. The factory stuff would not have. So there are perfectly good (and possibly superior) alternatives to the factory stuff, but if you go down that road you become your own R&D department... | ||
| Jmemmert |
Im using Rotella 15W40 in my 04 12R. I have to add 4oz at 1000 miles and I typically change it at 2000 miles. |
