OIL CONSUMPTION (at speed)

[AussiXS11G]

that Castrol 4T is the oil I am using atm - turns out my Laverda mates are using it in their race bikes too.
regarding the oil consumption
I have disconnected my engine breather from the air box (don't want hot air going in there) and fitted abt  a metre of plastic hose - it runs from the crankcase up behind the fuse box, across the top of the frame and abt a third of the way down the L side in front of the tool box area.
To stop small creatures climbing in I scrunched up a small piece of scotch bright (green) and stuck itup the end.
After Bourke when I cleaned the bike there was dusty oil on the frame where fumes had breathed out and condensed.
I only used 1.5litres on the 2600kn round trip. My engine has prob done 55k kms.
and I did cruise in the 150-160's where it was safe to do so....

I did take a couple of shots of the same area after Bourke but deleted them thinking at the time that they were of little interest....

[Eveready1100]

How many k's has your bike done, Paul? I've tried searching bit can't find a post where you've told us. The old ad that you got the bike from is now defunct and no help for a reference.
This topic probably only applies to bikes that have quite a few klms on them so you might be exempt.

[excess.11]

This Castrol product seem s to be the replacement for what you have been using.......

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/productdetailmin.do?categoryId=9011901&contentId=7022414

[Jonesy]

not sure what you mean by sustained high speed? but there and back we had sustained cruising speeds of around 130-140 kph with bursts up to 160-170 kph. travelling light(ish) saddle and tank bags
15w-40w castrol farm bike plus.(no longer available I found out today) Nil detectable oil use

[excess.11]

Errol ,  that was the grade of oil i m considering going to as well (20w-50).

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



Penrite also states that this oil is suitable for motorcycles with "wet clutches".

While this change to a different weight of oil is not..........a mechanic in a bottle/can......the blurb put out by the manufacturers acknowledges it has been developed to "minimise oil consumption".

Along with changes we can make as owners regarding type of oil we use......some investigation will hopefully lead to the scenario of how the problem occurs.

Some observations so far within the group have been....

1) When travelling behind others at speed....there was a distinct smell of oil .

2) When topping up with oil.........there was a "heavy" mist/vapour in the crankcase.......which would nt clear........ to see oil levels......... if you tried to blow it away.

3) There is no noticeable oil accumulating in the aircleaner via the oil breather pipe.

4) No one has reported they" were" users of.......20w-50 oil.......and still suffered significant losses under reported conditions.

A conclusion that could be explained along with these results may be.....

1) Due to the greater engine temps and extended higher revs the engine is performing...... the oil is misting and" exiting" through the crankcase breather pipe then through the air filter and being burnt(hence the oil smell).
For those that have rerouted the breather pipe....it simply goes to waste.
I recently saw a pic of a highly modded (cut to pieces) XS1100 ...of which the owner had pods and attached the breather pipe to the swingarm area and had what looked to be a fuel filter on the end of it.

2) The extended higher revs increase the crankcase pressure....and the oil is entering the engine.... to be burnt........ via the valve guides.

3) As the motor gets older....crankcase pressure..... at speed... has increased........ over the kms and years......... due to worn rings/cylinder bore.

4) Any combination of the above 3 scenarios.

I would of thought "condensing" the oil ...would/should be........  engineered into the breather point at where it attaches to the motor already.

Using a higher viscosity oil may achieve less misting as well.

[Eveready1100]

Have been using Shell Helix 15w-40 for the past 285,000 klms. It performed faultlessly during that period. As you said, it's the sustained high speed that makes the old girls start to slurp at their juices. In particular the ones with high mileage on them. As evidenced by my 1/2 litre usage over 1200klms on my way down at my normal speed opposed to the 3.7 litres lost in just under 700klms on the way back, it's the speed that is the difference. I usually take things much steadier on a long trip hence I haven't experience this situation before. I have since changed to Helix HX3 20w-50 to see what happens though I'd probably have to try it out under a similar high speed / moderate load scenario to truly check any change.
I did check the airbox for signs of oil ingress but there was nothing sitting in the bottom at all. There was however quite a bit of sludge in the actual breather pipe coming up from the crankcase breather pipe which may explain why mine leaked as opposed to sucking the oil vapour in through the carbs and smoking. Looks like I will have to pull the airbox to examine and clean out the breather assembly properly as it hasn't been touched since I got the bike.  Plugs are still clean as, so the oil wasn't making it to the engine significantly.

Also, as a side note, Tom from the UK site has said that themembers of the FJ owners club over there have stated that all their bikes use much more oil when using the lighter grades of oil, so it's not just our XS's that are affected in this way.

[excess.11]

It seems this is a topic that has raised it s head more so after attending the Rally.
Also due to the misfortunes of Xtians bike.

" Higher than normal oil consumption".

Many occurences of this have been verified by attendees who" sustained"..." higher than normal".... riding speeds to the Rally.

An ongoing log of information from here on.....will only help to avoid engine damage to others in the future.

Of those that experienced this usage.............could you post the type and "weight" of oil you use.
Also  if you have changed to a different weight of oil....to minimise this........ as i will be doing...this will be useful information for all as well.
It would seem ...............we are not alone in this finding...but....we "Do" need to be aware of this.

Part of the way through reading "XS Eleven Heaven" by Bob Jones........he notes the same finding.
He mentions that ......sustaining speeds of 85Mph over 1,000 miles.....he would use......up to a Quart(1 litre) of oil.

Adding to that......... it would seem consumption at speed over 140kph is proportional....
(higher speed....for a longer distance...equals more oil used) .....
...and increases with what weight you have on board or are towing .