Oil consumption?

[Burger]

Is it normal for the bike to consume some oil? I've done about 1000 miles since I last serviced it (which was it's 600 mile service) and I just noticed today that the oil level was on the lower mark. When I finished the first service, it was just below the the upper mark. I followed all the right procedures, the questions not about that because the oil was also just below the upper mark a week after the first service. I don't see any signs of an oil leak and so I can only assume the engine consumed it... is this normal? I just added about 400ml to get it back to just below the upper mark.

Thanks,

[dannyk]

What weight oil are you running? I was running 5W40 Rotella and I had the same thing, switched to 10W40 and no adding oil since. I think norman said in the heat his did the same thing, and when he went to a little heavier viscosity oil no more use. Mine may have been due to it being the first oil change and there weren't many miles on it. Food for thought.

[NormanPCN]

My bike consumed some oil. The 10-40 dyno juice and the 5-40 Rotella T synthetic. About 1 pint in 2000 miles. The upper to lower mark is a pint. I switched to 15-50 M1 and have no consumption to speak of at my 5K oil change interval.

[Burger]

Thanks for the answer fellas. I'm running Gastrol GP 10W-40 MA. The bikes only had the one oil change from new at the moment which I did at 600 miles and it now has 1600 miles on it. I did think that it could be consuming some oil because the engine is still loosening up etc. I just checked the bottle and I added 300ml which is just over half a pint. That got me from just above the bottom line to 3/4 to the top line. I guess that's not a lot for 1000 miles at this stage of the engine. Would you agree?

Thanks,

[Coop]

Yeah Dave! How did you put all that mileage on in the UK? Ship it over!

[saaz]

I may be worth waiting until the bike is run in. Make sure you work it a bit to get those rings to seal properly. Lots of easy riding during run in can lead to the rings not sealing properly.

I don't know about the ST13, but my ST11 uses no oil that I can measure in between 10,000kms oil changes, and there is frequently a lot of fast riding included in hot weather. It has 95,000kms on the clock.

Oil usage is not a bad sign as such, as long as it is within design parameters. All engines have to use some oil.

[Burger]

OK, no need to ship it anywhere :) Turns out it's not consuming any oil and it's now overfilled by about 300ml and what's more, it's all my own stupid fault.

When I checked the oil level yesterday I forgot that earlier in the day I'd run the engine for just 20 seconds or so to check for noise on my sat nav install. I reckon this was enough to move a lot of oil to the top of the engine, but because I never let it get hot, it didn't run back down easily. Tonight when out for a ride, I checked the oil level again and now it's a good 300ml above the top line.

Guess what I'm doing tomorrow lol

Yep, draining oil AND trying to find the cause of ignition noise on my sat nav.

Regards,

[Tiny]

I have found that my oil level varies considerably! Apparently it has to do with when you shut it down. Sometimes it reads low, and then the next time it's full or slightly above. I am learning to ignore it if I know I put in the right amount. I change oil every 5k and if it is using enough to matter in that time then I want a new engine.

[Burger]

I'm sure this will have been observed before but I was surprised to see how much difference to the oil level indication is made by how level the bike is. Just lifting the front wheel with the bike on it's center stand indicates about a pint and a half difference in oil level. Of course it makes sense with the sight glass being at the front of the sump, but it also renders it practically useless for accurate oil filling.

I just checked my garage floor with my 4ft level, and it's level in all directions... yet, if I park the bike one way round the oil level is on the top mark, and the other way round, it's way above it. The amount the front forks have settled or not will also affect it. Perhaps this explains why some think the bike is way overfilled when they get it back from a STealers?

Anyhow, just thought I'd post that oberservation :D No wonder I thought my bike had consumed oil lol.

Regards,

[Tor]

Dave,

I was using Rotella 5W40, and had roughly the same consumption you are seeing,,,ord not seeing, whichever the case might be :-),,,. Went to Mobil GP 15W50 Synth. I don't see any oil consumption.