Oil Consumption

[Guest Nogbad]

I checked and topped off the oil carefully at 6600 miles. I checked it again today at 7265 miles. The oil level has fallen to just above half way between the top and bottom marks.

 

I have had the plugs out and the colour is normal, perhaps a shade rich, but no sign of any heavy deposits. There is no sign of oil leakage anywhere.

[Mike Stewart]

My Guzzi's have never used much oil at all.

 

Are you checking the bike after is sits for a few minutes and with the bike standing vertical

 

Mike

[Guest Nogbad]

Are you checking the bike after is sits for a few minutes and with the bike standing vertical 

 

Mike

51698[/snapback]

 

Absolutely!

 

Performance is fine and I haven't noticed any blue smoke, but it's hard to see. I think the next test is to get it hot and ride down a long hill on a trailing throttle with my girlfriend following me in the car to look for blue haze. Can't see it as a bore problem. If there is anything wrong I'm inclined to suspect the valve stem seals or stem clearances.

 

I'm thinking I'll just keep throwing oil in there for now, I expect its between 500 and 1000 miles to the pint currently and it will either get better as the engine beds in further, or it will get worse and I'll be faced with a head overhaul.

[Alex-Corsa]

The oil level has fallen to just above half way between the top and bottom marks.

 

I always fill the bike with that much oil to level as described above.

I use Agip 20-50 Racing synthetic, There is too few oil consumtion if not at all

that is after 4000km the oil level barelly touches the midle distance of the marks.

While at the start is filled just above half way between the top and bottom marks.

 

Should I fill the oil to maximum mark?

[richard100t]

I have my oil level filled exactly at the top mark on my dipstick. If this is not good I'd like to know myself

[Mike Stewart]

I always fill my oil level to the highest mark also. I don't usual check the oil level unless I have a long ride planned (call me crazy, but my bikes just don't use oil). I did 2800 miles earlier this month on the Rosso Corsa and it hardly used any oil, still above the middle mark.

 

 

Mike

[Guest Nogbad]

So - is my oil consumption too high or not then??? (In your opinion) Or am I having another attack of guzzichondria?

[jrt]

Why don't you keep an eye on it for another 1-2000 miles. If it's running fine, then don't make conclusions on one data point. Even at the worst (worn guides, I'd guess), it won't do any damage to run it awhile longer. Just keep an eye- every 500 miles or so- on the oil. Not too often or you'll psych yourself out.

J

[Alex-Corsa]

So - is my oil consumption too high or not then??? (In your opinion) Or am I having another attack of guzzichondria?

 

AFAIK the oil level should be filled just a bit over the midle of the max-min marks. Or else is entering the "much" territory.

Assumption:Maybe your engine throws away the extra oil to level up to the normal.

Are there any leaks out there?

 

Just an assumption from my few experience.

Just don't fill in more (when midle marks level is reached) and do another 200 and see what happens.

Synthetic oils can be "consumed" from an engine more than others but then again I have seen engine that don't consume that much, I'm not any expert on this so I dunno if your consumption is something to worry about.I would suggest though the Agips that the bike manual says

[dlaing]

I can barely get an accurate measurement on my bike.

But here is what helps for me:

Drilling holes in the dipstick has really helped.

You must pull the stick out straight

Tipping the bike away when retracting the stick helps reduce false positives.

Counting the number of turns in helps predict when it will break loose when you unscrew it.

It is a bitch to balance the bike, so I usually just check it with the stand down which gives a high reading. If it drops below my drill hole about 2mm above my high mark then I bother to check it more accurately, ie. standing upright. But note, my bike tilts more now than when it was new...sagging sidestand I guess...

I believe the brand of oil that you use can make a difference.EDIT a difference in the consumption, not the sagging

My dealer put in Maxxim semi-synth and I burnt very little, I put in Motul 5100 4T 15W50 full synth and it seemed to burn about as much as you just experienced. The dealer put in Maxxim again, and little burnt off. Now I am using Repsol 4T 10W50 full synth from http://www.buymoto.com/ and it has dropped very little in 1500 miles.

Now it could be that with the Motul I had measured wrong or oil or air was trapped some where, but it was a huge difference of maybe a full dipstick (Low to High mark) in 2000 miles.

I keep mine at the top mark to reduce the chance of oil starvation durring up hill accelleration.

I'll bet if I lowered it, I'd get a little more power.

It would make an interesting test at the low and high marks on a dyno

[Guest Nogbad]

Thanks everyone. I'll keep an eye on it over the summer. It is hard to get an accurate measurement for sure.

 

Why didn't Guzzi put a sight glass in......

 

Where can I get the Agip oils recommended in the manual in the UK?

[Guest aironepony]

Thanks everyone. I'll keep an eye on it over the summer. It is hard to get an accurate measurement for sure.

 

Why didn't Guzzi put a sight glass in......

 

Where can I get the Agip oils recommended in the manual in the UK?

51807[/snapback]

 

 

Try Brancato Engineering, they're on the web..............

[al_roethlisberger]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that once I started using synthetic, my bike's stand sagged more too

[DeBenGuzzi]

Mine eat over a quart from when I got it to the next oil change they told me it had fresh oil in it when I got it (but I doubt that now) I check it ever 500mi's now and haven't noticed any drop and I need an oil change in about 1600mi's I do a change every 4-5k, 3 is excessive and 6 might be too long. I have no idea what they put in it. Maybe I should ask next time so I know.

[Steve G.]

One of the problems I had early on with my V11 was that poor excuse for a dibstick. Very hard to read, as the raised fins give a false reading when you spin it in. I quickly got a metal one [that's another long and morbid story], and the oil level is now easy to check.

The reason I bring this up, is I think you have overfilled it. It can be bad to overfill an engine. In rare occurances, broken cranks have been reported with cars, as the crankshaft 'bellyflops' onto the oil supply.

It should also be noted that engine oil, even the best synthetic, will start to burn more as it breaks down from use.

Ciao, Steve G.