Hey all, Ive got a 2010 Blade and was just wondering if any of you heard about 08 - 09 fireblades burning alot of engine oil. Well ive done just over 2500 miles on mine. It had a service at 450 miles. And since then i have used 1 liter of engine oil. I checked yesterday after a ride out to see that its getting close to the minimum mark. Through out the time from the 1st service to now i have checked and kept her topped up with 10w 30 Castrol power 1 as shown on the bike. Ive heard that some bikes drink it and some dont drink oil. And that some do it to start with then suddley stop drinking it. Anyone off here got the same issue. Should i be worried? is this normal? Hope anyone can help.
Keep a check of the mileage and oil usage for a few weeks! Honda are being very cagey, about this issue! From what I have been told, (I have an RR5 btw, just my interest in all things blades here!) that 1000m 1/2-1Litre of oil is acceptable, however, I do know personally of 2 cases, where Honda have replaced the engines due to excessive oil consumption. and that was 1 ltr for less than 1k miles. Inform Honda, and also get as much info as possible! take photo's of your oil filling, levels in the window, receipts for said oil, mileage and date stamp everything! You need to prove that there is excessive oil useage, and then if Honda do not play ball, you have the info to take to the weights and measures! My RR5 has done 12k, and uses a lot more oil than my previous Blade, but not excessive, just the design of this engine, although the RR8 was known to have had issues! which by all accounts have been rectified! Good luck, and FGS, don't let it run dry!
Yep, they all burn oil. It just relates to how hard you ride it. I burn a litre every 800-1000 miles. If you do trackdays, you HAVE to top up or change oil very regularly. Dont be worried, its very normal. Its a highly strung engine and sh!t happens. What ever you do, dont let it drop below minimum and take it in for a service - they will void your warranty.
I've now done just over 1 k on my blade since I had it in March. Not used a drop but I did have the 600 mile first service last wed with 575 miles on it. Done 1060 when I got home yesterday. Must check it out this week before my next trip
I must admit to being a little bit bemused by the oil issue with the blade, if this was happening on a sports car there would be an outcry, but on a bike it appears acceptable. I know that the usual sportsbike rider often has their bike for sunny sundays and only then for a few months of the year, so covering 2,000 miles a year may mean 2 litres of oil a year.... sounds ok. But what about those of us who ride to work every day, all year, and cover 10,000 miles a year plus. Taking the 1 litre of oil every 1,000 miles, that's 10 litres of oil a year... plus the 4 litres of oil you use on the annual service............... 14 litres of oil a year !!!! Excuse me. Bloody hell i bet a Scania HGV does not use that much. If this was a routine thing that happened to '' thoroughbred sportsbikes'' then why don't all of the older blades do it, why don't all of the RR8/9/10 more modern blades do it, why don't the R1's or GSXR's do it ? It's just too random for my liking. Honda should really have got this sorted straight after the issues with the first RR8's were known. If you put '' oil consumption (insert bike name) '' into Google you will only find the odd post for Gixxers, R1's, older Blades etc, but for the new blade it's like an avalanche. This is worrying to me as a prospective RR10 owner who will be covering a decent amount of miles in a year, all that oil should not be travelling through the engine, i'm no mechanic but it can not be doing the internals of the engine any bloody good at all.
Hudson - if you think the 08+ Fireblade is the only vehicle that uses some oil, you are mistaken. IMO there are far worse issues out there affecting other bikes, but droning on and on about them on the internet would be really boring.
I think its a small price to pay for the best litre bike out there. All engines burn oil, its just the way this one is set up - i'd prefer that then 10hp less...
An opinion i guess, but if your covering the miles some of us do then it matters a little bit more than the '' sunday brigade ''. The issue though is affecting prices of the RR8's, some of the older RR7's are going for either the same or more than an equal RR8. Think of it like the Skoda issue of decades ago, even though VAG took over Skoda over 10 years ago, if you mention the name to most not so enlightened people they still offer a snigger when you say you are buying one. Don't expect in years to come for used prices of RR8's not to be affected in the same way, right or wrong, a reputation for reliability is soon lost and can often be impossible to get back. I know a lot of cars and bikes use '' some '' oil, but the amounts talked about here just seem a little steep.
Mate, I rode my Blade into Soho every day on a 50 mile round trip - so you have to check the oil every few weeks, I dont find it a problem. In fact, its actually kinda good fun. I dont think Honda will loose its rep over this issue. It still remains the best motorcycle manufacturer in the world. How many miles do you do?
My Blade was bought new in Jan. I've done 2346 miles and i've put 250ml of power race to top it up. Not bad i think.
An example is Triumph Daytona 675 which has similar oil consumption. From what I have read some are worse than others & I was lead to believe that Honda had looked in to the issue after lots of negative feedback and some warranty work on a few engines. I do not believe all the engines will use 1litre/1000 miles that is a figure that Honda have come up with to gauge if the engine needs work under warranty if it is at or above that level. But I agree its not the best if you want to do some long trips to keep checking it/topping it up. Will depend how the bike is ridden i.e. cruising along the motorway will use less than when doing a few laps of the Nurburgring I expect? Anyone on here using lots of oil? More than 5ooml/1000miles? Heard of a few in UK but mainly in the US.
The way Honda have described how to check the level on this bike is kinda weird , I have checked mine virtually before every ride but from cold on the paddock stand , Checked it yesterday from cold about a half way up , checked it the Honda way not showing on the dip stick at all , topped it up with about 300ml , not bad really its the first its had in it since 600 mile service , at 2235 miles now , its a 2010 model
In a year i cover about 10-11k, i know a blade may not be the best bike for this work commute, but just because i commute i still want a '' desirable '' bike, the usual commuter fodder are just so bloody dull.
I'm covering miles and am not one of the sunday brigade. I'll mention again that it's not just the RR8 model. I think your point about reputation is way off the mark as is the affect on used prices point. Completely pointless discussion which will no doubt come up in Google searches and that's the point - it's just white noise. Oil usage itself doesn't cause any problems, only if you let it run dry, which is why every vehichle needs it's oil level checked regularly.
I've got an '08 and in almost 7,000 miles its used about 200 ml in total and the includes trackdays and drag racing.
Well i have just seen all the responses. It does appears that there is a variation. Some have it some dont. Well ive used 1 liter in just over 2000 miles so thats 500ml in 1k miles. I wonder if this issue affects overall engine perforance in any way? Ive done bout 200 mile since i topped up at the weekend and its still on the maxium mark. Ill just have to pay attession and make sure i keep track. Ill mention this when i have my next service. Only 1200 miles away.
Guys how are you checking the oil? Dealer told me to get a mate to hold the bike upright on a level surface , unscrew the dip stick and check the oil with out screwing it in. reading on here , some people are saying they are checking oil on the rear paddock stand ? The bike will not be level like this giving a false reading ? What is the correct position for checking the oil level ?
