Hitchcocks Forum

I'm running in my new Conti very carefully, increasing 500 rpm every 300 miles. I'm now on 700 miles and changing up at 4,000. Very heavy oil consumption at the moment - roughly 2 pts/1,000 miles. Anyone else experience this on the 535 engine?

No personal experience of this engine Nigel, but the rings and piston should be well bedded in now, I think I would be talking to the dealer about it, that is a lot of oil.

You've had an EFI before Nigel. The sight glass is not easy to see and shows a different level each time. When I managed to overfill mine thinking it was low it blew oil out of the breather, and spat oil out of the filler hole. I drained down a bit and ran it and gradually filled (run, top up, run, top up...) until it *just showed* at the glass. I've not put any more oil in since but now it shows anywhere from bottom mark to top mark. There's a lot of oil in this engine and I don't think it finds its way into the sight glass easily because of the way it's compartmented. Under-fill ok, over-fill very bad.



First service is 300 miles when it's pretty much run in. 500s mile probably still loosening up. 700 miles? you should be able to feel whether you can give it some stick. At 1000+ miles you ought to be able to give it a damn good thrashing



Where is the oil going. The only oil I see on the floor of the shed is from the chain. From the head running down the engine? Blowing around the rings, check the exhaust pipe for oily mess? Tighten the sump plugs? Always a good one, did first service replace the sump plug seals? - copper washer prolly ok but there's some o-rings too. Not the cleverest design, it could really use an oil level drain pluglet.

2-pints per 1000 miles is a lot. (An ancient 1955 Rover I had was supposed to do that) but if you have over filled it might well just spit it out of the breather, which goes into the air filter, through the engine and out of the exhaust. The latter confusing the issue.

Check the exhaust for oiliness then check the breather pipe for mess, inspect the air filter; before stripping the bike down



If the rings have gone you should be able to hear that, and lack power, smoke, difficult starting, oiled up plug etc

Come on Jeff, read the post, strip the bike down?, it brand spanking new.

Dennis C - my meaning should be obvious = *do not* strip the bike down, it should be something simple

Did you see the wink on the end of, "before you strip the bike down"?



Silly maybe, but I do know a couple of chaps who would have had a blur of tools and the motor in bits before they found a sump bolt missing.



Bullets are quite notorious for self-loosening bolts. My dealership first service chap Locktite-ed and torqued everything in sight and I've nipped up a few since. The main drain plug is proper but the two silly little bolts and an O-ring under front right weeps if it's not good.

I've been in touch with the Dealer and also the Technical Manager of MotoGB. Both very helpful and suggested a measured 'oil drop' e.g. change the oil and fill with the correct amount, ignoring the sight glass. Then in 500 miles drop the oil out again and measure it exactly - if its significantly different they'll have it the bike in to look at it. There are no leaks - I actually keep it on a carpet (the garage, unfortunately not the lounge!) and the exhaust orifice is pretty clean - no 'oily mist'. A mate followed me for over 100 miles on a ride out last week and said there was no smell or smoke from the exhaust and I've done a plug chop (as suggested by MotoGB) and there is absolutely no sign of 'oiliness', beautiful chocolate-biscuit colour electrodes and core. It must be hiding it somewhere like a Hamster, ready to spit it out all over my boots!

That's good news about Moto GB. I've heard a few reports of them NOT being helpful with after sales service.

Everyone seems to have taken the oil consumption figure given at face value. How has this been calculated? Has the first service been carried out and, if so, by whom?

It seems to me that the most likely answer to this apparently high oil consumption is probably nothing more than the usual imprecise assessment of how much oil is actually in the engine, perhaps compounded by how much was put in by the dealer to start with. Unless the amount of oil in there in the first place is known, not assumed, and the same applies to the amount added to get back to exactly that same amount, then given the arcane measurement of oil level I don't see how oil consumption can be assessed in any meaningful way. A good response from Moto GB I feel.