| Author | Message | ||
     Okc99 |
This is in reference to the "my oil light" post. So I had my bike in a local shop between 7-8 times within the last year. Mostly trying to get the coughing issue solved (finally did too). So I assumed that in at least 75% of service work, they check all the major fluids or at the very least they check the oil. I think that is why I never paid much attention to checking it in the last 4k miles...I was in that d*** shop so often, I assumed the only benefit would be that all my fluids would be properly maintained. Everytime I thought about pulling the dip stick I told myself "I was just in the shop 200 miles ago!!!". That sentence was true all summer long. Anyway, I added 80% of a quart today and the stick now reads at the middle XXX. So my first question is: 1) If 0.8 quarts gets me to the middle XXX, how low was my oil in terms of quarts or "danger" zone. 2) Do dealers really not check oil levels unless specifically asked or unless it's an oil-change related service?? Lastly...this is what I saw after I put more synthetic in and ran it for a while. A light brown milkshake foam that made me even more angry. (Message edited by okc99 on December 27, 2009) (Message edited by okc99 on December 27, 2009) | ||
| Okc99 |
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| Davidxt |
the foam is just due to condensation off starting your bike up and not going for long rides. Ive been getting it quite recently cause i only ride my bike a mile to work and back because of the snow. The manual says the bike takes 2.5 bottles of oil but i normally do have to add some more after a road test. Yes we do check oil, at least they do in my shop  | ||
| Johnboy777 |
""This is in reference to the "my oil light" post. So I had my bike in a local shop between 7-8 times within the last year. Mostly trying to get the coughing issue solved (finally did too). "" How was the coughing issue finally solved - and what were the steps leading up to its resolution? Thanks | ||
| Okc99 |
Johnboy, lookup my posts on IAC idle air control. They replaced the ECM, but it wasn't until the IAC was replaced that it finally felt like new! Over the summer, many buellers concurred. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Okc99, Just like Davidxt wrote, the oil foam splooge is caused by combustion condensation that builds up in the oil because the oil never gets hot enough on short runs. You have to run the engine long enough so that the fan comes on at shutdown. Of course if you had the 08/09 ECM comfort kit update and your fan is running even with a cold engine then I don't know what to tell you. Long story short, the oil has to be hot enough to vaporize the combustion related condensate so that it ends up getting sucked up to the air box by way of the crankcase vents. Then it goes down the throttle body and gets to be crapped out through the muffler. Hot engines are happier engines. Don't be angry about a cold engine, heat it up to operating temp and then you'll both be happy. (Message edited by electraglider_1997 on December 27, 2009) | ||
| Okc99 |
This photo was after 20 mins of real road running : / | ||
| Calamari_kid |
In regards to the shop checking fluid levels etc., don't rely on them to do so unless you specifically ask them to. This goes for brake pad wear, brake fluid levels, oil, cable lubing, etc. Most shops assume you're looking after these things yourself. | ||
| Froggy |
Okc99, it is going to look like that even after long rides in the cold. Stuff a rag in the oil cooler scoop, that will help a little with warming it up. | ||
| Sboggan |
Okc99, I get a little milky foam on the dipstick (no snide remarks, please!) after my 15 mile freeway commute, which is plenty to get the Uly up to operating temp. I went on a 90 mile ride the other day, and got the same result. So I'm not going to worry about it. I will take Froggy's suggestion of the rag in the oil cooler, and plan to change the oil more frequently during the winter. | ||
| Okc99 |
Sboggan.....that was the funniest thing I've heard this weak. Thanks! | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
T — Tires & Wheels C — Controls L — Lights O — Oil C — Chassis K — Kickstand You should do this before every ride. Then you know its been done.... | ||
| Babired |
OKc99 are you still taking your bike to the same dealer I saw you at last time this year?? I'm not going to Bad mouth anyone just want to give him a heads up if he wants it. That's all. I used to teach RE there. K (Message edited by babired on December 28, 2009) | ||
| Ratbuell |
15 minutes on the highway is not enough to warm up one of these bikes, at least not at this time of year. I've been out on my Uly for over an hour recently, and when I shut it off the fan never came on (yes, it does work - a couple days later it was warmer out and the fan cycled normally). My rule of thumb? 30 minutes. If it gets started, it gets ridden for at least 30 minutes. Now...that will "warm it up", but it's still not long enough to burn off the condensation milkshake. That's just a fact of life with winter riding and aircooled motors, but at least at the 30 minute rule I don't think I'm adding too much gunk to it. I would like to add a pair of "cold fronts" to my scoops - just something vinyl that velcros to the oil cooler scoop, and to the comfort kit RSS, to cut airflow back in cold weather. Kinda like the cold front we have on our diesel this time of year. As for the shop checking...some do, some don't. Speaking from the "other" side of the desk, I remember getting my a$$ reamed by customers on many occasions - "I brought it in for a tire, why are you messing with my oil?" - because they thought we were just trying to jam them for bogus upsells. It's pretty standard for us now to just check if it's a customer concern, or something happens during the service procedure - lifters tapping, light coming on, hard shifting, etc - to prompt a check. If we have a customer - like myself, for instance - who we know always wants EVERYthing checked, EVERY time, and won't bitch about "why are you messing with..."...we check it. My bikes always get stuff checked top to bottom when they're on a lift, because they know me and they know I want to know what's going on. That's not to say that I don't check on my own...but when one of my bikes hits a lift, the tech knows I'm "one of those" customers and I want my bikes to be right. Which brings me to my next rule of thumb - don't rely on assumptions. Take a second, check it yourself. When it's all said and done, it's up to US to make sure our bikes are running properly and in good condition. That's not a badmouth to a dealer or a dealer network, it's just a rule for life in my book. I don't trust anyone. If I don't *do* it myself, I at least make sure it's done correctly by someone else. End of the day...it's still MY bike, MY money, and MY responsibility. I have a good rep with my techs so they take good care of me and my bikes...but I still look stuff over myself because in the end, it's my ass gonna slide down the road if something goes wrong. | ||
| Etennuly |
 What the Rat-man said! | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Taped mine and my son's oil cooler over with aluminum tape for the winter. Probably won't ride again until March since we have about 1.5 feet of snow on the ground. | ||
| Sboggan |
Ratbuell, surely the warmup time is dependent on air temp; it might take under 10 minutes for the engine to warmup in Tucson, but 90 minutes or more in Anchorage. I live in Seattle, which as a maritime climate is usually above 32F. I noticed the milky oil during a two week stretch of sub-20F weather, but trust that Seattle's typical 40-50F degree weather isn't gunking up the crankcase too bad, and that if the fan comes on the engine's probably up to temp. Thoughts? | ||
| Ratbuell |
I think you need to mitigate your warmer temps in Seattle with the humidity level. The milk is condensation formed when a warm piece of metal (engine) with fluid in it, cools off and attracts moisture as it cools. Put a beer in the fridge for 5 minutes during the summer, then stick it on the porch in the sun and heat. Nothing much happens. Take a beer that's been in the fridge overnight, though, and do the same thing...and it sweats profusely. Think about that backwards now - the hot weather is your engine, and the cold / not cold beers are the weather your engine is in. Cold beer/weather equals a lot of condensation; warm beer doesn't. You're right - if the fan comes on, the engine is up to temp. BUT - "up to temp" doesn't instantly vaporize the milk. Think about boiling a pot of water on the stove. It hits the boil point...but once boiling, it takes a LONG time for all that water to go away. Short "up to temp" rides don't necessarily reduce the amount of milk, at least not immediately...but they may keep from adding to it. We don't see as much milk in summer riding a) because we ride farther (most of us, anyway), and b) because there is not as huge a temperature swing from the hot engine to its resting (ambient/weather) temp. And I apologize - my original post to Okc99 assumed (mea culpa) knowledge that he's in the DC area like I am, with similar frigidness right now  | ||
| Etennuly |
I am in total agreement with Ratbuell on this subject, longer run time is what will boil off the water that causes the milkiness. I think that this could also be part of the cause of Okc99's problems with the oil light coming on. It is possible that there could be a bit of slush ice that could block an oil passage for a second or two until warmer oil under pressure would melt or move it. Also you folks with the milky oil need to check your transmission oil. It can also get milky. That is hard on the clutches and can cause rusting in the transmission bearings. Need to check and change it more often in winter and don't start it unless you mean it. I don't like to fire mine up unless I am going to do at least twenty miles. This seems to be a problem mostly with air cooled four stroke engines, it is not just a Buell specific problem. I had dirt bikes that would do it, and a then new '79 Honda 750F that would foul the plugs very easily when cold and milk up the oil if not run long enough between cold starts. I have a generator that will do it also. |
