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By papasmurf
#86142
Just come back from three weeks holiday so the Electra X needed to be started after sitting for three weeks.
After the usual pre start procedure, free off clutch, kick over three times, "switches off" petrol on choke on, take over top dead centre, ignition on press starter. (It started first touch on the starter button.
The bike sounded "rough" and did not improve.
After running the engine, I checked the oil level, and it appears a lot of oil has "disappeared," (I have checked several times using my own dipstick as well.
There is no big oil slick on the floor of the garage and no oil leaks evident.
Any suggestions?
By papasmurf
#86145
Wheaters wrote:
Tue Oct 22, 2019 2:19 pm
Wet sumped?
My home made dipstick for checking the sump level (it reaches the bottom) shows not. There is normally around 5 inched of oil in the sump with a cold engine using my home made dipstick, with the "normal" dipstick just showing oil on the bottom.
Currently a couple of hours after starting the engine there is only 2 inches in the sump with a dry "normal" dipstick.
So a considerable amount if oil is "hiding" somewhere.
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By PeteF
#86148
Err, you can't dip the sump. You're dipping the oil tank ( unless you have a very clever system) I suspect the oil is in the engine sump and its wet sumping as previously suggested. Quite a normal problem and the oil will (should) get back into the oil tank if you run it fir a bit. And yes, it will run a bit rough until it's cleared the sump and might smoke as well.
By Daiwiskers
#86149
Yep as everyone else has said
Wet sumped
You have a dry sump engine that drains oil from the oil tank when stood up into the sump
Don't worry about it they all do that sir !
If your worried about it you can drain the sump before you start the bike but if the engine doesn't suffer a lot of blow by it will return most of the oil back to the tank and dump some out of the breather
If you have a lot of blow by it will dump most of the oil out of the breather
It will smoke quite a bit in either case until it settles down
Don't worry about it Dai
By papasmurf
#86151
Daiwiskers wrote:
Tue Oct 22, 2019 6:08 pm
Yep as everyone else has said
Wet sumped
You have a dry sump engine that drains oil from the oil tank when stood up into the sump
Don't worry about it they all do that sir !
If your worried about it you can drain the sump before you start the bike but if the engine doesn't suffer a lot of blow by it will return most of the oil back to the tank and dump some out of the breather
If you have a lot of blow by it will dump most of the oil out of the breather
It will smoke quite a bit in either case until it settles down
Don't worry about it Dai

Have you read my comments?
I have made a home made dipstick to check the depth of oil in the sump. (It touches the bottom of the sump.) It is normally on a cold engine five inches. (The engine has always wet sumped which is why I made the dipstick)
It is now two inches.
The normal dipstick is now dry. Where has three inches of oil gone.
(It has still not appeared several hours later.
By Daiwiskers
#86155
papasmurf wrote:
Tue Oct 22, 2019 6:16 pm
Daiwiskers wrote:
Tue Oct 22, 2019 6:08 pm
Yep as everyone else has said
Wet sumped
You have a dry sump engine that drains oil from the oil tank when stood up into the sump
Don't worry about it they all do that sir !
If your worried about it you can drain the sump before you start the bike but if the engine doesn't suffer a lot of blow by it will return most of the oil back to the tank and dump some out of the breather
If you have a lot of blow by it will dump most of the oil out of the breather
It will smoke quite a bit in either case until it settles down
Don't worry about it Dai

Have you read my comments?
I have made a home made dipstick to check the depth of oil in the sump. (It touches the bottom of the sump.) It is normally on a cold engine five inches. (The engine has always wet sumped which is why I made the dipstick)
It is now two inches.
The normal dipstick is now dry. Where has three inches of oil gone.
(It has still not appeared several hours later.
Yes I read your comments as others and myself have said you have a dry sump engine
The sump runs dry it doesn't hold oil the oil tank holds oil
You stood the bike for three weeks
The oil drained from the tank to the sump as I said they all do that
Do a forum search and learn Dai
By Daiwiskers
#86156
Sorry still don't know how to edit

Sorry that came out sounding wrong
Wet sumping plenty about it on the forum
The oil is probably up by the air filter
The dipstick you have made is surely for the oil tank not the sump

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