Riding with low oil

[BillyJ]

Riding along today on my Triumph Sprint giving it some on country roads for about 30mins and then ended up going back through a town.

I accelerated away from some lights and the rear wheel span up/slipped a bit and I thought nothing of it.
Same thing again at the next lights and I was suspicious.

I stopped at the next lights, right next to where I was going and saw the engine oil pressure light come on. I quickly switched off the engine but had to start it again to ride the bike 10m across the road to get into the retail park. As soon as I crossed the right lane (as I was turning right) I killed the engine again and rolled it down a slope into a Starbucks car park.

It leaked for a bit while I waited for the RAC to get me and recover me home.

What damage could be done?

Key points:
-When I got home I took out the sump plug and approx 500ml of oil came out.

-I know the oil level was good the night before.

-When I killed the engine and then started it again, the light went on/off a few times if I revved the engine a little.

-When I got to the carpark, a small coffee cup 3/4 full of oil drained out from around the filter

-Approx another 500ml of oil came out when I drained what was left at home

-When at the final lights the bike engine (not the exhaust) seemed slightly louder...not wrong or odd, just louder.

TL;DR,
Oil light came on, I stopped within 50m/30s.
Got it recovered home and there was about 500ml oil left

How fucked am I?
And what would cause the leak, it looked like the oil was leaking around the oil filter, but removing the oil filter didn't reveal anything obvious... (filter wasn't punctured and the seal looked decent)
The sump plug was also nice and tight on removal and showed no signs of oil leaking around it.


Sorry if this is written really badly, I'm very tired
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Had: '06 CBR125R + '01 GSF600 + '07 SPRINT ST 1050 + '80 CB250 RSA + '93 Ducati 900SS
Have: '13 GSXR-1000 + '01 CB500S
"The aryan confuser"

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

In my non expert opinion it will run again and it'll be fine.

It's not possible to know how much if any damage has been done. An indication will be lots of metal fragments in your next oil change (magnetic sump plugs are good for this). Keep an eye on engine temp too as that may highlight some increased friction from the 'possible' damage.

Had a recent service? It could be someone didn't check for leaks after fitting the new oil filter. Most people hand tighten them, which is fine if they also check them after the engine has been warmed.

Fingers crossed.
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[Islander]

If you didn't run it far and didn't run it dry then you'll probably be ok. The fillter may well have worked loose and caused the leak.

[BillyJ]

I'm thinking the same...

My fingers are VERY crossed right now haha and I only picked the bike up last night!!

The small amount of oil that came out did look very black, but no metal fragments or anything horrendous like that and I didn't notice the bike overeating at all before I killed the engine.
____________________
Had: '06 CBR125R + '01 GSF600 + '07 SPRINT ST 1050 + '80 CB250 RSA + '93 Ducati 900SS
Have: '13 GSXR-1000 + '01 CB500S
"The aryan confuser"

[ADSrox0r]

Probably just a hand-tight filter done up with a faggot's handshake.
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Current bikes: '08 VFR 800 VTEC(yo) , '07 ZZR1400 Winter hack: '95 Aprilia 650 Pegaso Currently lusting after: RC30

[Pete.]

Should be ok. It'll only cost you a few litres of oil to find out. If it doesn't knock then it's likely to be fine.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[MCN]

The oil pressure warning light will come on when oil pressure is critically low.
If you didn't stress the engine after the light cam on then it will more than likely be nothing to worry about.

You need to not get your bike serviced by faggots.

New filter, oil and ride off into the sunset.

If you're strapped for cash then you could possibly cheat and tighten up the old filter but if it has been reused previously at last service then the sealing ring may be compromised and no longer able to hold the filter on. Possibly why it came slack if that's the cause of the leak.
'Most' spin-on filters are put on to hand-tight (and rarely, given a baw hair more if they leak)
There are some spin-on filters that need a tool/strap to torque them on very tight. Kawasaki for example.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[Kickstart]

Hi

At idle little load so hopefully no damage.

Where is the oil leaking from?

All the best

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

[Raffles]

[Old Git Racing]

So you just got 500ml out after checking it was ok the night before. Triumph Sprint, about 4l of oil if it's filled correctly and you didn't notice 3.5l of oil coming out on your ride to Starbucks. Buy a car mate.

OGR
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2022 Tiger Sport 660 2019 Street Twin 2003 K3 gixxer 1000 1998 Srad 600 track hack

[BillyJ]

[MCN]

[BillyJ]

Haynes manual says 10Nm for the filter
____________________
Had: '06 CBR125R + '01 GSF600 + '07 SPRINT ST 1050 + '80 CB250 RSA + '93 Ducati 900SS
Have: '13 GSXR-1000 + '01 CB500S
"The aryan confuser"

[ZX-7R]

[Northern Monkey]

[ZX-7R]

[MCN]

[ZX-7R]

[BillyJ]

New filter on and torqued to 10Nm

I remember the old filter being looser than 10Nm so I'll put the leak down to a loose filter since there is nothing else that's obvious and the oil was definitely leaking from around the filter.

Ran it and thank the lord, it sounds good, no knocking/grinding/anything bad or unusual so don't need to change the big end bearings(I was quite nervous about that )

Thanks for the reassurance/help
____________________
Had: '06 CBR125R + '01 GSF600 + '07 SPRINT ST 1050 + '80 CB250 RSA + '93 Ducati 900SS
Have: '13 GSXR-1000 + '01 CB500S
"The aryan confuser"

[MCN]

[BillyJ]