......Am I right in saying that it is ONLY the 08 bikes that are (possibly/likely) to be affected? Is there Any way to install some confidence or clarification for a potential Fireblade buyer? or is it a case of "Best just to avoid the 08 Model Year bikes to be sure" ? This will be his first Honda (He's a K3 GSXR1000 owner atm looking to make the switch)
There are reports of the 08, 09, 10, and 11 models using oil mate, not just the 08. Personally, i have used 700ml of oil on my 2011 in nearly 4,000 miles. I'm happy with that, and change oil every 1.5k - 2k miles anyway. This time, i've gone for semi synthetic and in 1k hash't used a drop. 12.5k miles on the bike so far.
25000 on my 08 and to be honest it doesn't really use that much, maybe 250ml every 1500-2000 miles. Change it every 2000 and moved to fully synth at 24000. Its ridden soft ,med and hard ie- commute, weekend fun and the odd trackday here and there.
Not a drop to even notice. Mine is a 2010 now with almost 7000 miles on the clock. Again I change the oil every 1.5-2k miles and always used fully synthetic.
my 08 had the incorrectly engineered piston rings fitted and drank and belched smoke really badly - consumption hit 1 litre in 472 miles and Honda still needed some real pushing to agree to the rebuild, saying that as the oil test was from one official honda dealer to another it was not valid, that between 975 and 1000 ml in 472 miles was not an accurate measure. There is no way to know, but Semi synth does help, and its really hard to say 'don't buy an 08 just in case' as many are fine. Sorry I cannot help more PM me for more details if needed
It would be interesting to see some figures to balance this i.e. the amount of Blades sold to the amount that have an issue. As has been mentioned by Arthur in another thread the worrying thing is the fact that some are affected and others are OK yet are all made to the same spec yet there is no way of knowing.
There appears to be no pattern at all to which burn oil and which dont. The 08 model seems to have the worst rep for it but i think thats just because it was the first model to do it so all the attention was on it. personally i dont think the 08 models are any more likely to burn oil than the newer models. Oh and my 08 has burned about 750ml in 4000 miles
One thing I will add in the 4 years working for a Honda dealer not once have I had to deal with this problem for a customer.
'08 Blade and no significant oil consumption here either. I don't think the problem is as widespread as people think. Maybe worth adding a poll to this thread so we can gauge opinion quantatively? ETA, done over 24,000 miles but relatively easy compared to most.
Got a 2008 from new and is not using oil. I was a worried about it having had CRF450 from new that used oil from the start. I think it luck of the draw really. I think there is no doubt that same have used oil. But others have just checked their dip sticks and posted concerns about oil use. The only accurate way to check oil use is to dump it out and measure it and compare it to what went in!
My 2011 is on 5k and in the first 4k only needed 600ml. But after a weekend track day this year and road miles have needed to add a further 400ml in 1 k but I put that down on the weekend track day Mines on semi but I'm going for th Easter bases semi. If I do mor track days they th Motul 300v is going in
My 2011 Blade i found that it used a lot of oil before the 4000mile service, now the bike has done 14700 Miles and hardly uses a drop now. I guess it was maybe the bedding process??
Is this a new Blade problem because my RR4 doesn't use any at all. Or at least it hasn't in the 6 months I've owned it.
It's been doing the rounds since the 08's Rich. If it wasn't for the fact that it happens to so many units, it would be regarded as a bit of an urban myth, but, sadly, it's true. A large amount of FireBlades of that year and later use an inordinate amount of oil for no logical or apparent reason and Honda's official line is that it is 'acceptable consumption', and the argument goes on. My 954, 10 years old, 13500 miles...not a drop. Everybody and their mother has an idea why it happens but Honda themselves still insist 'what problem'.
