OIL CONSUMPTION (at speed)

[excess.11]

It would only seem logical and reasonable that these seals are not the" Holy Grail " of oil seals.......... as we sometimes expect things to last forever.

Being installed in probably the hottest and  harshest position and environment ...........also due to age and  wear and tear......both on the bikes.......and ourselves is the reason they are left until it s a........" have to do " type job.

As an aside.....and to throw a " Cat Amonst the Pigeons "..........it may well be the reason most people don t see that pristine condition of spark plugs they expect.........rather..... a rich dark brown to black result .
I understand city commuters , a loaded up bike or a particular  style of riding may have an effect .
It s about getting to a median value.

Could this also be a question mark regarding peoples frustrations with tuning ?
I can t say as yet .........as to if it alters the performance of the bike noticeably..........

Once changed i ll be interested to notice any change in plug colour as well as oil consumption.....as well as performance.

The above 3 points...... to me.........if there are improvements on changing the seals......would be a worthwhile task and something.....no amount of tuning or fiddling would replicate......for the result.

The amount of " Go " out of the back wheel....is directly proportional to the type of " Bang " that takes place in the cylinder head.

Remove that " XSive"  oil...drip feeding down .....and who knows what " Gaggle of Geese " we will unleash...

Now to find the time..!!!

[excess.11]

Still consuming the read of "XS Eleven Heaven" by Bob Jones........on page 186 he says....
Under the topic of " Service and Service Intervals ".

Quote...." On road trips check oil window every 500 miles , more often if riding at high speed , XS Eleven valve seals leak at high speed."

[AussiXS11G]

this is what the end of my crankcase breather looks like after the 650km run to Hivesville and back.

[excess.11]

Here s some recommended, (by the manufactures), motorcycle oil......

CASTROL
http://www.datateck.com.au/lube/castr_au/default.asp

PENNZOIL
http://www.penriteoil.com.au/products/engine-oils/everyday/everyday_driving_20w-50

SHELL (closest match)
http://lubematch.shell.com.au/recommendations.php?modelyear=&vehicle=21574&site=58&region=281&language=5&brand=67

[Fred]

Well, the rebuild in '97 was a must as I was blowing considerable smoke (Burning it) at anything near cruising speed.

Yes it was a full rebuild, top and bottom end including valve stems and seals. In fact I had to make a couple of the guides as I couldn't buy them. The same went for the 4th Gear Wheel in the Tranny, had a one off made.

Post rebuild oil only went in at change intervals 3.5 - 4k klm.
Now it is 13 years since I lived in Darwin and had the luxury of no speed limits outside of city limits but I do seem to recall having to top up very minor amounts of oil after a high speed run.

When I say high speed runs I mean regular sustained speeds in excess of 200kph. Big club runs were always a bit of an adrenalin rush. (Can you feel it?? 30 bikes at 200kph down the highway and not a damn thing that copper coming the other way can do about it.

Now even though I consistently ride at 120 - 125kph with the occasional bursts of 240kph I haven't topped up oil in well over 100k klm.

[excess.11]

Fred, what have been your experiences regarding oil consumption with your bike through the time you ve had it ?
Before and after the engine rebuild?
Have you travelled at consecutively sustained high speeds (130kph plus or more in the order of 150 plus) all day ?
Do you recall oil top ups along the way.
Along with the wiseco kit you have....did you replace valve stem seals on the rebuild?

[Fred]

Not so Jeff.

remember when we stopped calling it just "multigrade oil"?

Well ever since then I've only ever used Valvolene XLD 20W-50 no matter what the climate. I've lived in bloody cold Melbourne and bloody hot Darwin and Townsville.

One engine and gearbox rebuild later the speedo shows 363,687klm and as the man used to say, "When you're on a good thing, stick to it"
For those of you older than your bike I am of course refering to the Valvolene TV Ad with John Laws and I think it was his Bugatti.

[excess.11]

According to the XS1100 manual...........recomended oil is SAE 20W-40........

I would suspect most people would be using a 15W-40....or 15W-50

[steptoe]

my 5 cents worth,,, my motor is 65000klm old, I have run penrite 20w60 from the day I rebuilt her,

over the whole trip {rally} not a scerick was used going down, rolling along at the 120--130, how ever we did have to put 500mls + or - in at Toowoomba on the return leg, travelling at roughly the same velocities homeward,

it's the only time it has ever used oil between changes, {which are 5000klm religiously}

the only thing with putting anti-aging additives in the oil,, some homework would have to done to assertain the damage/glazing of clutch plates if any

[Jonesy]

I've forgotten what I wrote already but I'm sure I'll be reminded if I'm wrong by the time the next rally comes around

[Eveready1100]

Jeez Paul. This could turn out to be a long thread by the time the next rally comes around. Make sure you leave a bit of room in your tummy for a few pages of A4

[Jonesy]

Dont know how much, if any difference the move from a 15-40 to 20-50 will make, basically the viscosities stated on the pack are only true to about 40deg C industry standard also conduct another test at 100 deg C (closer to where our motors run) and this viscosity result is generally far lower than what is stated on the label.
Moving to a thicker oil will only have a significant difference at cold start up temps, and this will probably be a negative effect, higher load on the pump and a slight delay in getting oil to the top end (theoretically)
At operating temp and elevated speeds I doubt there will be any difference to the oil consumption you are now experiencing unless there putting in an anti aging additive. Face it these things are 30 years old and they use oil
Hope your experimental move to a heavier oil proves me wrong, but I doubt it. I'll print this out and eat it at the next rally if I'm wrong

[excess.11]

As reported by people who topped up and noticed a higher than normal usage of oil.....no one has seen any evidence of...... "overly wet... dripping oil  soaked areas"..... on their bike....be it the filter or as stated by Bryan who has diverted his breather pipe...only a film of oil..........no" major" loss through this area.
I don t feel this area is the major culprit.

My feeling is........ we are consuming the oil via the rings and or valve guides.
Although i and others could smell oil when sitting behind other bikes in our group...........there was no blowing or puffing of smoke on gear changes  or at any other time.

It would seem the tolerances become just enough......... at pressure and temperatures generated......at higher speeds.......to allow oil to enter the combustion area......... and  to be slurped away.
I have high hopes the heavier weight oil will do it s job and assist in minimising oil consumption overall.

[AussiXS11G]

I reckon the end of my breather should go into a catch bottle with a breather to let the fumes condense.
The oily condensate coated the frame including the bracket with the earth wires....but it wasn't a runny, oily mess....
B

[Jonesy]

Yep just picked up a 4 litre pack of "Active 4T"

Errol the speedo on the bike when I got it said about 53,000. but wether thats right who knows after 30 or so years of unkown histoy, For example its now on its 3rd speedo since I've had it.
But, going off the K's when I bought its probly got 60,000 now?