Refilling engine oil frequently

[ProXimaCore]

I've had my bike GSXR400R 1990 for 3 months now. I've done 3000 miles in that time with it. I have had to refill the engine oil twice since then. More than 3 litres each refill. I was under the impression that engine oil remained inside the engine and was just reused over and over then you changed it once in a while when needed. My bike seems to be drinking it up and I was just wondering if this was normal? I didn't once need to refill the oil in the 2 years i had my car.


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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[Frost]

you should change it, not refill it. bikes naturally lose some oil, allthough yours seems to be worse than most
Check if it smokes when hot/cold/low revs/high revs

high revs when cold often cause alot of smoke and oil loss

[rizo-sri200]

wooooooo THATS BAD!!!

Seems you got a leak or are burning it... does you bike smoke at all even under full throttle openings?

Jon

Damn it Dafrostyone beat me to it!!
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swift kick to the wing mirror puts em straight..
98' Bandit 600 with Slip on

[ProXimaCore]

Damnit, I'm worried now. There's no smoke that I can see coming out of it and my mate says he's never seen any when riding behind me.

And having the NSR before this has always taught me to warm the engine up properly first. So I have always done so with this bike.
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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[Frost]

Well the oild has to be going somewhere!

you sure your checking the oil at the right time and not checking it one time when cold, and then another time when warm?

[ProXimaCore]

[Guest]

You're not actually filling it to the top are you?


Most Suzukis have a window at the bottom of the clutch cover with a max/min line on them. When the engine's cold and with the bike upright you should fill it to the max line only.

Then go for a blast, 100 miles of so, then let the engine cool for about 10 minutes and check the level again. Don't forget the bike should be on level ground and vertical, not on the prop stand.

[Robby]

Its a bit knackered if its burning that much oil.

How many miles on it? Sounds like worn out rings. Could need a set of valve stem oil seals too.

[ProXimaCore]

It's got about 24,000 Km on the clock. Don't know what that is in miles.

Yes I filled it up to the level in the window like you said.

My Dad reckoned it could be the rings as well. Seems as if everything is going wrong for it at the moment. Was going so well up till now too.

The new problem I now have is the engine doesn't rev right. It sounds funny and there's a distinct lack of power when applying the throttle. It's only been like this today.


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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[ProXimaCore]

Actually I've noticed it doesn't idle right lately either, the revs take a while to settle from even a slight rev. So, I'm guessing the mixture is getting screwed up. Is this related to the piston rings being knackered?
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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[Guest]

What you sometimes find, particularly on a bike that's been thrashed fom cold, is that the rings wear to a thin 'L' shape. The combustion pressure blows past the rings and pressurises the crankcases, forcing oil out through the breather pipe and, if it's still connected to it, into the air box. I have seen an airbox absolutely swimming in oil.

'Some' oil in the airbox is normal but there shouldn't be a puddle. Have a butchers.

[Robby]

The rough tickover and long time for the revs to wind down points at an air leak - check the carbs are seated in their rubbers correctly, and that the rubbers are sitting onto the cylinder head right.

[mr jamez]

If it is burning oil all the time then it is the rings, perhaps the valve stem seals. If it smokes when you let off the throttle it is probably the valve guides. If it is not burning oil then it must be a nastly leak!

[stinkwheel]

As has been said, that much oil has to be going somewhere! If it isn't under it on the garage floor and isn't burning it (you should be seeing some serious smoke if that is the case and loads of soot round the exhaust) then there aren't many other places on a bike 3l of oil would fit. In the belly pan, the airbox?

Another place to look is in the radiator, see if there is any oil in the coolant which would indicate a fecked head gasket.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[dibbster]

3 litres is a lot of oil. In fact from the sound of it you are going to need shares in Shell! 24,000 km is about 16,000 miles which isn't a huge distance. If its is burning 3 litres at that rate, you should know about it because everywhere you go will be under a blue cloud. Hope you find the problem and the solution isn't too expensive.
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Suzuki RF 600 - The two wheeled Testarossa (Deceased)
Suzuki GSXR - Now stops on a sixpence; SBK3's
www.bikepics.com/members/dibbster

[stinkwheel]

Forgot to add, if it is using that much oil, if you have to keep running the bike, make sure you keep putting more oil in to avoid knackering anything else!
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Kickstart]

Hi

6 litres of oil over 3000 miles is a hell of a lot.

It probably is just about within the acceptable limits quoted by the makers but I would not be happy with it.

If you have run the engine out of oil then you will probably have done quite serious damage, primarily to the big end bearings but also quite likely to the valve gear (one of the last things on the lubrication circuit).

Did the oil light ever come on while riding?

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[ProXimaCore]

[Claud 14.7 to 1]

[Claud 14.7 to 1]

Check for leaks, from any oil breather pipes, including ones that could vent it to the atmosphere.

Could be the lack of oil has further worn rings, and now you're getting low compresion. Do a compression check to find out how the rings are doing...


Oh yeah, its already been mentioned but check to cooling system, if it's gunked up (ie oil contaminated) a new heat gasket is in order. Or worse. . .

Check you are using the right grade of oil.

[Kickstart]

Hi

Suzuki claimed come stupid oil consumption was within specs for the later type 1200 Bandit when they screwed up and bored the oil holes in the pistons in the wrong place / too large so that they allowed oil above the oil control rings.

Anyway, if you put 3 litres in with a spec of 2.9 litres it was out of oil. Does the oil light come on when you turn the ignition on, or when you press the start button?

A 4 stroke engine relies on a good supply of oil at a good pressure. If it is deprived of that then it will have major problems and will damage the crank (or if you are just just the shell bearings on the crank). The crank really needs a good oil supply (for example the 1200 Bandit oil pressure at 3000rpm is 43~85psi). If it has done damage then filling it with oil will not fix the damage (and dealers often see bikes suffering from lack of oil failures which just happen to be full of clean oil).

Also bear in mind that the oil does a good job of cooling the cams, etc. With no oil supply the cams will overheat, possibly turning blue.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[Big Pete]

that much oil is a sick engine without a doubt, unless you are just blowing it into the airbox (which also fouls the filter and chokes the airflow off). A compression check is good, but a leakdown test is better, it will tell you if you have dead rings or worn valves, blown head gasket etc.. If you are checking the oil in the sight glass, make sure the bike is stood upright on level ground, and leave it that way for a minute or so before you check. My zed shows empty (not low, but no oil at all) on side stand but full when level
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Trust me, I`m an engineer
GarageOfPower.co.uk

[Big Pete]

forgot to add, check the plugs, if the oil is being burned there will be white crusty deposits on the plug, which will eventually close the gap completely, killing the spark.
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Trust me, I`m an engineer
GarageOfPower.co.uk

[ProXimaCore]

Changed the fuel in my bike today. There wasn't much left in the tank and I had suspicions about it being funny. Anyway I refilled the tank and the throttle response and the funny noises have gone completely and it seems to be back to the way it was. Except the idling part taking a few seconds to settle. Could just be something as simple as adjusting the mixture screw, I haven't tried it yet. (don't have the tools to get under the tank Must go out and get them)

So it's just down to the oil being burned quickly. I had a few others mention check the spark plugs, so I guess that's the first thing I should try.

Cheers for all the help guys. You've all been great. No doubt I'll be back to ask more questions though.


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Honda NSR125R -> Suzuki GSXR400R GK76a -> Kawasaki ZX636 B1H -> Honda CBR400RR NC29 -> Nothing

[AcIdBuRnZ]

Sorry to hear David.

Let me know if you want a hand with anything and I'll pop down

Mark
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Past: Honda NSR125R >> Kawasaki ER-5a2 >> Kawasaki ZZR-600e1 >> Suzuki GSXR-750Y >> Honda VTR 1000 Firestorm
"Chickity China the Chinese Chicken..."