| Author | Message | ||
     Ezblast |
Yes the 15/50 is a great oil for both primary and engine. EZ | ||
| Gbaz |
just changed the oil, and used a K&N oil filter. the book says it should take 1.5 quarts of oil? mine took 2. does the oil filter change the ammount of oil neded? or did i misread the ammount required? | ||
| Ezblast |
You might want to loose 2 to 3 oz's of that - its close to 2 qts but not quite. EZ | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Concur! Have you checked it when its hot yet? I'll bet its overfull (unless you drained the crankcase too). | ||
| Gbaz |
its below the top line, but not by much.... lol ill check it again monday | ||
| Uggy76 |
Hi everyone. So, I did my first oil change today. A fairly reputable biker in my area recommended Lucas synthetic oil. I was curious and tried it out. Has anyone tried this stuff yet? I didn't even know they made oil until he told me. I thought they just did additives and such. | ||
| Ezblast |
Is it 15/50 wt? | ||
| Uggy76 |
Nope. I got the 20w50. It seemed people here like 15 and 20 wt. They didn't have the 15 at the store so I went with the 20. | ||
| Ezblast |
Still good! EZ | ||
| Reuel |
I get 15W50 when I don't see 20W50. They're close enough that I don't think they make any difference. 15 flows a little better when cold, that's all. | ||
| Gbaz |
yep, the oil is just above the top line with the bike all warmed up. maybe ill get some tube and pull a little out. | ||
| Zane |
Ok, I've got a question about how to check the oil on a Blast. 1. Get the the engine to operating temp 2. Get on level ground 3. Pull the dip stick out and wipe it off Now for the question. When measuring the oil level, do you screw it all the way back in and then remove to view the oil level on the stick or do you just set the stick assembly down on the top of the treaded area? Stupid question I know but I just want to make sure I'm taking good care of my baby. | ||
| Ezblast |
Screw it! | ||
| Zane |
LOL... I knew I could depend on you Ez!!! | ||
| Dummkauf |
Ok, for some unknown reason I got bored and decided to go check the oil, air filter, brake fluid... and noticed some oil in my plastic casing around my air filter. I am assuming I must have over filled it when I did the last oil change which caused this however could something else be causing this too? There wasn't much oil, just a film across the plastic so should I just clean it out, drain some of the oil from the bike and recheck the levels and be ok? This also got me a little worried so I pulled the gas tank off to get a better look at the engine and noticed some oil on the top of the motor as well, does anyone know what could be causing this?? Pic of some of the oil pooling at the bottom of the air box  Air Filter's a bit dirty  Carb, little bit of oil around the intake although you can't see it too well in the pic  This is a shot of the top of the motor directory underneath the gas tank. The area of concern is around the hole between the rubber hose and the braided cable. There's oil around it.  Any thoughts, recommendations, advice would be greatly appreciated! (Message edited by dummkauf on May 18, 2008) | ||
| Reuel |
One picture up from the bottom: See that hose opening pointing at your carburetor? That's oil coming from the PCV connection. Oil normally comes from there in small quantities. Since it is pointed at your carburetor, a lot of it is pulled into your engine and burned. Oil, somewhat in vapors, ends up all over the inside of your air box. It is normal. | ||
| Slowhand96 |
As long as you have the tank off replace that rubber grommet that goes into the top of the cover. It will help keep the top of the head oil free and clean. I replaced mine last summer, it was very brittle and came out in pieces so be watchful that no hunks fall into the head. | ||
| Luckyduck |
OK, I'm back with more oil use questions. Last winter I was complaining about a quart every 800 miles and the advice was "Wait till 5K miles on the bike and it will get better" Now that I am at 5k miles it has changed, but not for the better. It is burning a bit over a cup of oil (about half the dip stick) with every tank full of gas. I find it unacceptable to always have to carry a funnel and oil, not to mention the catch can isn't big enough to make it for a 2 hour ride without filling up. So, other than my plan of cylinder honing and new piston rings, is there anything I should do in the head to try and tighten things up a bit? It doesn't smoke out the exhaust, it pretty much seems to be going out the PCV. Thanks. Paul | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Run heavier oil. (I'm assuming that the PCV is in no way connected to the carb/air box). | ||
| Luckyduck |
Erik, The PCV is not connected to air box. It goes to a catch can with a breather filter. I forgot to mention. There is also gas smelling water in the catch can. About the same amount as there is oil. I am running 20W50 oil in it now and the temps I have been riding in are high 60's to low 70's. I have never seen anything thicker that is motor oil, where would a person find it? Thanks again. Paul | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
1/2 oil, 1/2 gas/water? Both are normal, but if you have an 8oz catch can your getting 4oz of each? Auto parts stores will have the heavier stuff but it will be single weight (30w,40w,50,60w). 70 weight is available from Kendall but thats a bit heavy unless its really hot or your bike is very worn/high mileage. Redline (synthetic) is available in heavier grades, but most are 'race only' meaning no detergents added (you could mix 50/50). Harley should carry heavier grades too but Valvoline and Kendall were always much cheaper so I havent bought it at HD in years. I dont know if any other synthetics come heavier that 20w-50. | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
Just remembered Redline comes in a 20w-60 just for Harleys! I've seen it at one HD dealer, but you might have to order it online. | ||
| Luckyduck |
Erik, I empty the can/tube every 30-50 miles, plus the seal isn't great on the PCV valve, so there are drops of oil running down the front of the engine and dripping of the oil filter if I go slow, or splattering all over the bike if I go fast. Thanks for the oil info. My old Jap bikes just ran 10W40 and didn't use any, so this oil thing is all new.  Going to my KTM dealer today to see if they have a new Duke 690 ( www.ktm690duke.com ) That would cure all my Blast problems. It is pretty much what my wish list for a super single from Buell was. Paul | ||
| Berkshire |
Paul, the KTM dealer here has the 990, but not the 690 - they are both awesome, but expen$ive! I carry oil in plastic 7oz bottles - one bottle raises the level from just off the bottom tip of the dipstick back up to just below the top mark. I was using a LOT of oil when I first got the bike w/4200 miles - not as much as yours is, but pretty close. Plugging the airbox connection and routing to a breather may have helped a little, but what made the biggest difference was waiting until it was hot before checking the oil - not "warmed up" like idling a few minutes and a short ride around the neighborhood, but HOT hot, like riding 50+ miles. It seems to use oil much faster when overfilled, and gets overfilled unless checked only when hot. Also, avoid the temptation to keep it "topped off" - I can't ever keep mine FULL, but the level seems to stay more steady when it gets to the lower part of the stick. Now it's down to 7oz about every 3rd or 4th fill-up, and that's with a lot of WOT country riding. I assume all of the missing oil is going into the catch can, not oozing out of the engine somewhere, or just disappearing? The water is puzzling, since there is no place to "add water" on a Blast - where could it be coming from? Does the bike get rained on or washed frequently? Or could it actually be gasoline, not water? If I were you and the above advice did no good, I'd probably pull off the top end and look at the valve seals, guides, cylinder bore, piston and rings - considering how new your bike is, somethin' ain't right! | ||
| Fast1075 |
Water is a natural byproduct of combustion...the vent vapors will have water in them...if you are running fuel with ethanol in it...it makes more water vapor than regular gasoline..(I try to avoid it at all possible costs)...since there is no PCV system..all of the vapor gets trapped in the catch can... I STILL think a cylinder leakdown test is in order...poor cylinder seal would account for ALL of the issues of blow-by and oil usage...I believe the cylinder/rings either never bedded in (and instead got glazed) from a too easy break-in OR from premature use of synthetic oil.. or have been scuffed and damaged... | ||
| Gearheaderiko |
While I'm sure piston and rings will cure your problem (or just rings and hone if the piston is fitted well), I have to say that since there seems to be a tendency lately to keep jetting richer and richer, that running too rich will increase oil consumption. Not only does it wash the hone off the cylinder walls, but also dilutes the oil. That can range from using a lot of oil, to just replacing the oil with gas (oil consumption may actually seem to be less) to actually filling the crankcase with gas (on the extreme side). Try using the Reline 20w-60 or going to 40w dino and see how it does. Then maybe 50. I think if the rings havent seated by now, then thats as good as its going to get. You'll get no argument from me on the leakdown test, I just dont think its going to happen! | ||
| Reuel |
Have you been doing a lot of WOT? It seems my oil consumption has gone down over the years. I'm guessing that if your rings never seated well that a lot of WOT even with lots of miles seems to help. It took me about 15,000 miles to get to where I was going WOT a lot, with a new exhaust, a new intake, then bigger cams. I've noticed that this year and last year my oil consumption has gone down, and I'm almost at 33K. (Message edited by reuel on June 03, 2008) | ||
| Luckyduck |
Thanks, I am taking it into the stealership for a little testing to figure out where to go. If it all checks as normal, I'll go thicker oil. The service guy said that over a quart per 1000 is when they actually look for something wrong. I do run it WOT about 50% of the miles I put on it. Most of my riding is either 3 mile trips around town or 50-300 mile trips at 70-75mph (WOT with the stock exhaust, with the Jardine it was not quite WOT). Actually, since I don't really trust it to get me back home until it is sorted out better, I don't go much over 50 miles at a time. I usually check the oil after about a 10 mile highway section on the way home that is as fast as the Blast will go. There is steam coming out the dip stick hole, so I am assuming that is warm enough. When there is nothing on the stick, I add a cup. I'll post an update after getting it checked. Paul | ||
| Reuel |
Find an off-brand motorcycle shop to do the checks. It'll save you lots of bucks. Had my tire mounted and balanced for $10 at a little place off a side road... | ||
| Blasst |
Speaking of stealerships... I just took my blast to my local one to have it checked out (just got it about a month ago, 2003). They charged $90 to take a look at it and 1hr later they told me that the engine was leaking oil under the gas tank and out the drain pipes in the swingarm. Also because of the swing arm leak, oil was getting in the rear brake causing the brake to be slick. I have noticed the swing arm leak cause it drips on my kick stand when it's parked. Should I be very concerned with this? I figure that I just need to replace the clamps on the drain pipes and that would fix it. They also explained that with all the oil in that rear brake, they would need to rebuild it. Is that true? On top of that, they're telling me $380 to replace both my tires w/mounting and balancing. The tank leak I have never noticed before. In total, to find why it's leaking, rebuilding the rear breaks and mounting, balancing and the new front and rear tires...you guys ready for this...$1280!!! Are there any alternatives to the stealership? Are they pulling the wool over my eyes cause I'm a newbie? I have no idea what to think right now... |
