| Author | Message | ||
     Radioelasais |
Folks I own a MY07 XB12. Apparently the oil is gone after 1000mls: the level is below "add 150ml". This is the first time I hot check the oil and the bike has 2200mls on it. It has been serviced at 1100mls as prescribed. I have no experience with Buells so I am wondering if that is "normal" or not. I'll get some oil tomorrow at the HD dealer (just to use the very same they used). Ciao Gianluca | ||
| Froggy |
Some bikes burn oil, if yours is a burner, up to a quart between the 5000 mile services is normal. Also if your bike has a little too much oil, it will spit it out into the air filter and airbox. | ||
| Speedfreaks101 |
I agree with Froggy some bikes do some don't but I think it is related to the rider. Our bikes are air/oil cooled & we do not have a lot of oil capacity. The reason I bring this up is that there is quite a bit of expansion and contraction going on in these little engines and they seem to need a little more time to get the rings seated and may use some oil in the mean time. Also consider the following argument for a catch can.. The crank case pressure vent that leads to the air box can actually lead to oil consumption if you ride balls to the wall all the time. My experience shows that keeping the rpm elevated for extended periods of time will increase the vacuum in the vent and lead to oil consumption. And check your oil level when you are done riding and the bike is hot when you park it. This prevents overfilling and gives you a more accurate reading. | ||
| Radioelasais |
Thanks for the hints. Most of the time I ride 3000 to 4000rpm and up to 6000rpm in lower gears and I do use lots of engine brake. I guess this makes the bike thirsty for oil. I am wondering how long I ran it with low level. I'll check it every 150mls ... ie every time I need gas. Read that manual: its written quite clearly. BTW this is a damn ****ing funny bike, I am putting 50-100 mls every single day on it. As we know the level is below the oilstick, how much should I add to avoid the overfill? 200ml? 500ml? Thanks Gianluca | ||
| Froggy |
Honestly as long as the stick is wet I don't care. Some people are anal about the level, checking it so much that they lose oil by cleaning the dipstick so much. Check it once a while and ride the piss out of it.  | ||
| Court |
+1 | ||
| Radioelasais |
added 600ml. apparently my bike needs 500ml every 1000miles. gianluca | ||
| Roysbuell |
I am getting ready to get an XB12scg and wondering if proper break-in has anything to do with the bike being a burner or non-burner. | ||
| 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. | ||
| Nickh |
I have an 09 xb12scg and I noticed it burns about 150ml of oil every 1500 miles. I did everything the manual said for the break-in period as well. It doesn't bother me a bit.... -Nick- | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
My bike doesnt seem to burn oil at all. I often wind up to redline as Im running through the gears but rarely engine brake. I dont know if it has anything to do with it or not but I also change my oil every 2500 miles. It has 22K on it so I assume its broken in by now. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
I do use lots of engine brake. This makes a HUGE difference. Engine braking will suck oil past the rings. Additionally, your preload settings will change the oil level on the dip stick causing the level to change. The higher you crank the preload, the greater the swing arm deflection downward. The greater the downward deflection, the lower the oil level will appear. Since we check the oil level while not standing on the bike, a heavier rider with higher preloads will tend to add more oil than a lighter rider with a lower preload. Taken in conjunction, you can both be losing excess oil via vaporization and intake or you can be losing it from engine braking. | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Dont you check the oil on the stand? Isnt the bike fully unloaded at that point? | ||
| Nickh |
Ft_Bstrd.... Thank you for reminding me about the pre-load setting. I did update mine after I did my break-in service, so that may be the cause of my dip in oil. -Nick- | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Dont you check the oil on the stand? Isnt the bike fully unloaded at that point? Yep. If you want to see the degree of deflection, crank the preload from zero to full. It's pretty significant. | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Yep. If you want to see the degree of deflection, crank the preload from zero to full. It's pretty significant. Im slightly embarassed to say this but I have no idea what your talking about. How my suspension setups are is the way I bought it. Do you mean adjusting the coil up and down, the shock settings or something entirely different? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
On the Uly, there is a preload knob. On other bikes, there is a collar that you turn that adjusts the preload. What it does is it takes travel out of the shock to accommodate increased weight. It's the poor man's way to adjust ride height or sag once you place the rider on the bike. Otherwise, a 300lb rider would turn the bike into a low rider with no way to prevent it. The preload "stiffens" the shock preventing it's compression. The downside is that it reduces shock travel. If you haven't adjusted your suspension, I would HIGHLY recommend you break out the manual and adjust for your weight. You are taller and bigger than the stock settings (165-170lbs) and you would be AMAZED how much better your bike will handle with the correct settings. On your bike, there are preload, damping, and rebound settings for both front forks and rear shock. Stock rear preload is 1 or 2. You should be at 3 or 4. Running your preload too low will cause your rear to "droop" slowing turn in. There is a wrench in your tool bag (looks like a weird U shaped wrench) to adjust your rear preload. | ||
| Radioelasais |
I do use lots of engine brake. This makes a HUGE difference. Engine braking will suck oil past the rings Well ... riding a buell with no engine braking would be to me like drinking a beer with a straw. | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
With your pinky raised even.  Yeah, me too. I blip too. | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
So essentially I am compressing the coil more? | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Yes. For the average rider, the stock coil is fine, set for 165-185lbs. For larger riders, the coil is insufficient and is compressed. The shock must be "pre-loaded" to prevent the compression of the spring. You can buy progressive rate springs rated for your specific weight (hyperpro) allowing for the shock to be run with zero preload. | ||
| Jraice |
If its new give it time... My bike drank a lot of dino oil. I changed to synthetic at 1500 miles, it didnt stop. Gave it some more time, didnt stop even after around 7,000 miles. I took it in, they found 16 percent leakdown. Took it apart, rings were worn and valve intake seals were leaking. Had the rings replaced, cylinders honed and the seals replaced and now I have around 600 miles (forgot to check after riding today) on the setup and it hasnt burned a drop yet. Normally after 150-200 miles (one day) I'd be putting in like 200ml, it wouldnt be on the dipstick. Now I wont be going through so much oil . Just hope my rings are seating okay! Its so hard to "break in" a bike thats not new (new rings)... I took it easy for about 100 miles max, then I started romping on it like I usually do  . | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
i engine brake a lot.my xb9 doesnt use oil at all. rock solid reliable and never fails. | ||
| Jraice |
+1 since I got the intake valves redone, as I said, it doesnt burn at all. And I engine brake a LOT. Not just rolling off throttle while high in rev's, I do a lot of engine braking with shifting. | ||
| Radioelasais |
You know what? I checked again and it burned something like 150ml after 250ml as calculated a while ago. And the oil smells of gas which is somehow normal. But normal up to what extent? What do you gurus say? I'll dig into knowledge vault as well. Again, bike has got 2500mls on it. Thanks Gianluca | ||
| Jraice |
Just to prevent confusion... mi is the proper shorthand for miles... But yeah that sounds to be about what mine used to do but 2500 miles isnt that much. How was it broken in? Synthetic oil? When did you make the transition? Do you run it hard? I'd give it another 1000 miles or so, if it still seems like more then normal (quart between intervals, 5000 miles, some Harley guys say a quart every 1000 miles, I think that a bit to much) then I am sure your dealer will do a free leakdown compression test. Thats what mine did and they found both to be poor, which resulted in a motor tear down and them finding bad intake valve seals and worn rings. Not much change in power (still seating rings though I suppose) but not a drop of oil has been burnt sense. | ||
| Radioelasais |
OH! OK, mi not mls. I am about at eighth every 1000mi then as it needed 500ml (half a liter and being 964ml 1/4 of a gallon) which puts the bike on the top high. I am using HD oil 20W50 and I have not switched to synthetic yet. Break in was smooth and according to manual recommendations. I run it mostly on hills, I'd say 4-6000 rpm in lower gears and 4000 in 4 or 5th. I cannot say I abuse her. What about that smell? Thanks Gianluca (Message edited by radioelasais on August 31, 2009) | ||
| Jraice |
Warranty? Take it in... Idk about the smell and thats a good bit of oil. Still could need breaking in though, I abuse my bikes, I know damn well they are broken in. | ||
| Blake |
I'd stop topping it up so much, wait until it hits the "add" mark on the dipstick, then add just enough to bring the level up to halfway to the full mark. See if that helps. Also be sure to check oil in a hot engine immediately after engine shutdown and on a level surface with the bike on the kickstand. |
