Hey guys, So I'm not sure exactly what's going on with my bike, but I brought it over to a dealer to do valve clearance check (16k miles), and apparently they only found 1 liter of oil in the bike, and 2 liters missing. They topped it up, but no idea what the cause is, or if's damaged the bike. I should've definitely checked the oil, but I had no issues with the bike and last time the oil was done by another dealer. I also see no blue smoke coming out of my exhaust, but I'm pretty sure my previous dealer didn't put a new screw in during the oil change, I'm wondering if this could be the cause, or maybe it wasn't filled in properly last time, because the missing amount is incredible.
How many miles were done approximately between last time oil was changed and recent discovery of low oil? Type of riding? I havent had many bikes but not had one yet that doesn't use oil. Not to the point of smoking but I can do 200 miles on the blade and I know before the next ride the level will not be where it was previously. Doesn't take many of those before you have dropped below the Min line if not topped up. I always put this down to the type of riding. No doubt if I was to cover the same miles commuting I would be using far less oil.
Hey, yeah actually ridden almost every day I would say on average 30 km so probably did over 2500 km I would say. Maybe I should just keep my out on that, my GSXR 750 k5 would barely every burn any oil
I don't use mine much, however I check the oil around the time I fill it with fuel, so every 120 or so miles. If you are doing 30km per day, then I would guess a weekly check is in order (along with tyre pressures and chain lube/tension). Just my thoughts on this one.
The oil capacity is around 3.7 litres from completely empty. It’s very possible it was under filled by the previous dealer, but wouldn’t have thought by much. If there’s no obvious oil leaks then the engine has used it. All engines will use a bit of oil, some more than others. If the oil light didn’t come on when you were riding it then fingers crossed you’ve got away without any damage. If you’re using the bike regularly I’d be checking the oil at least once a week.
Can't find the post but pretty sure there is something on here saying that Honda say using 1 litre of oil per 1,000 miles (or possibly km) is normal.
Yeah fingers crossed it didn't completely damage the engine, I didn't have the light come up at all, which is weird. Hopefully all will be good, will be checking the oil regularly now.
I've never topped up oil on any bike I have ever had. Never really check the level, maybe once a year or something at best. Average about 4k a year and have been known to partake in track days in the past and still not used anything that you could spot. Using 2 litres is not normal in my book
A minor question, how do you guys properly check oil level? I read that after riding 5 mins to cool down and then check, but then some people check from called and looking that oil level is closer to max then mid level?
I always check on a warm engine. A couple of minutes after a ride or run the bike for 5 minutes, switch ignition off and let it cool for 2-3 minutes. And always on an upright bike. I have a little block of scrap wood which I put under the side stand to make it level. Don’t use a paddock stand. I get different readings between paddock stand/no paddock stand. Using 2 litres of oil in 2500km would ring alarm bells for me. When I used my blade for commuting I would do 4-500 miles a week. I’d check before every set of shifts. I got my 16k valve clearance done, PX’d it at just over 18k miles and I only topped up once during that time and it was no more than 200ml. You say the dealer who identified this whilst doing your valve clearance service just topped it up? 16k miles, as well as the valve clearance would be the regular service interval as well so you should be getting an oil and filter change as well and all the usual stuff you’d expect in a service.
Hey guys, I keep bringing this thread up, but I would like some second opinion. I was checking now the oil levels after a few rides, and seems to be sitting right where it should be, but in the long run, you recon I'm looking at a lot of issues in the future? As I have found some good offers on 2014 CBR 1000s and 600s, so I'm debating whether what I have is something that I should get rid off and get another one (used), or just keep my eye out for the next few weeks and see if the problem is somewhat sorted itself out after the last time dealer took a look at the bike and adjusted the valve clearances.
A couple of things:- Is this a possible excuse to get a new bike The last dealer said it had 2 litres to little when he drained it. Did he measure it or is he just guessing based on not as much as he expected came out? He could have 'over egged' the situation. Maybe it was just a bit shy and wasn't 2 litres shy in the first place. Next it may not have used any oil at all, it my have been filled lower than recommended from its previous service. Garages make mistakes !! Just keep an eye on it for next couple of hundred miles and if it stays pretty much level then forget about it. I doubt you have any stored up problems as if the engine had been starved of oil then the low oil pressure light would have told you , so it all sounds okay to me. If it had used the oil I'm pretty sure you would have seen and probably smelled some trace of blue smoke from exhaust previously. I think it was just under filled at its previous service but probably not as much as the 2 litres the garage said. Just my tuppence worth
re checking oil level, the level is really sensitive depending on level and time since the engine last ran so I normally check on my warrior stand the morning after, I fill it to 75-80% mark so no chance of an overfill.
My 2011 which i bought with 1000 miles on and now has 19000 miles consistently through all that time has used 1 litre of oil per thousand miles.
going back to your original post what new screw are you referring to? My money is that the previous oil change was not done properly and the engine was short filled. Before panicking and ditching the bike, monitor the level over 1000 miles using the same proceedture each time. As Slick pointed out, the level indicator is very sensitive (min> max is about 200ml) and never overfill.
