Oil Consumtion

[Lucky_Lou]

I haven't checked it for a while....slap's wrist
After a longish ride on Sunday when i got back i thought the engine sounded a bit off so a top up was in order, i recon ive put about 1/3 to 1/2 of a pint in over 2000 miles there are no leaks and the engine isnt smoking or running badly.
I have had a couple of high speed blasts though!!! 90+(in the intrests of science) but not for long usually 65/75ish cruising
Just wondered what sort of consumption you guys are getting and if my consumtion is normal.
Lou

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Where do you try and keep the mark on the dipstick?

I keep mine between the high and low marks (half-way).

Any more than that, and the engine will just blow it out the breather.

[Lucky_Lou]

Where do you try and keep the mark on the dipstick?

I keep mine between the high and low marks (half-way).

Any more than that, and the engine will just blow it out the breather.

I usualy top it up to the upper mark i also screw the stick home when im checking it  
Lou

[Lucky_Lou]

Stupid is....what stupid does
Just checked the manual "Quote" dont exceed the upper mark and dont screw it in when checking.I will start to monitor it.
Lou

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Remember, as those two pistons come together on the power/intake stroke, they are consuming a lot of the crankcase volume.

The oil shares that space.

[montmil]

Lou,

Sounds as if your engine is better at maintaining the proper oil level than its owner!

Everything I've dug up on the www says: Check oil level with the dipstick unscrewed and resting on the engine case; oil level to be maintained at the mid-point of the dipstick's "hash" marks.

Now you'll be a happy dipstick, too. [smiley=beer.gif]

Monte

[Barry]

I always run the oil at half mast.

The engine breather is designed to pump down the pressure in the crankcase so there is less crankcase compression when the pistons are at BDC. More crankcase volume must reduce pressure extremes and therefore should reduce oil loss through the breather. I think there is also an intention to reduce pumping losses as well.
 
There's been some debate about the benefits of the deeper sump on later models.  Is the advantage more oil or more crankcase volume. You get some choice in this depending on where you run the oil level. I'd go with more crankcase volume as pumping losses must consume power.
  

[Crossrodes]

This is interesting.  

I have been running mine at the top mark and measured it with the dipstick sitting loose on the top.  Just the other day when I was tearing the bike apart I noticed that the air filter was rather dirtier with oil residue than I expected since I just changed it last spring.  I think I'll keep the oil between the marks from now on.

[Lucky_Lou]

Having screwed the stick in when checking this suggests ive always been running on a lowish oil level that said my oil light didnt come on (it is working) i was wondering if theres any reference anywhere for how much oil /1000 miles we can expect to use as normal.
Lou

[Ed Miller]

"I have had a couple of high speed blasts though!!! 90+(in the intrests of science) but not for long usually 65/75ish cruising"

You have to do that every once in a while.  Yesterday I made sure mine will still do the ton.  At least, I think that's what 7200 rpms gets me in top gear, I'm not sure.

I only need to add maybe a pint in 5,000 miles, despite the oily mess under the cylinders.

[Barry]

Lou

My oil consumption seems negligible in that I don't need to top it up between changes. If I had to guess and based on the manual which says that 0.85 litres is the difference between high and low marks I would say it does at least 3500 miles/pint

The manual says max. acceptable consumption is 350 miles/pint

[Bob_Roller]

My BMW shop manual has .1 liter per 100 km, as maximum oil consumption .

That would work out to about 1 US quart per 610-620 miles, that's a pretty high oil consumption .

[darrylri]

Bob, that's the same number BMW has been quoting in their manuals since the 30s, back when they were using felt and leather seals.  I've never had a BMW use anywhere near that much oil.  For that matter, my VW Beetle never used anything like that, either.

That said, I've only put a few hundred miles on my Free Bike, so I don't know where it is yet for either oil consumption or gas mileage (another thread).

[nhmaf]

Bob, that is a pretty high number but I know that even some modern big-inch V-twin engines are indicated to use up to 1 quart/1000 miles and not be considered a repair-worthy situation.

All airheads I know like to run in the middle of the range - anytime I've ever topped them up they just tend to blow a bit more oil into the airfilter until the level is around the midpoint, and from there, they do lose very little.   On my 2200 mile round trip down to the rally in Johnson City TN last year, my total oil "consumption" for the trip was less than a pint, and I think that most of that was blown out on the early part of the trip when I accidentally topped her off to the full mark.   Once she got back toward the mid-point, the level stayed there even after running 75 MPH for hours on end.

[Barry]

I guess most of us would agree that BMW's maximum oil consumption of 350 miles/pint or 616 miles/litre (I think this is also the same as Bobs 615 miles per quart) is grossly unacceptable and way past time for investigation.

Given good engines seem to use very little oil I think anything more than the old imperial benchmark of 1000 miles/pint would indicate it's time for some work.