| Author | Message | ||
     Christopher12 |
My 09 XB12Scg is in the shop for burning oil.  Christopher | ||
| Wavex |
It's normal for the XB motor to burn some oil... I top it off regularly. | ||
| Midknyte |
over filling it will cause it to wast / use / burn oil (ends up in your airbox) | ||
| Ted |
my xb9 uses alot of oil. took for a leak down test, & it was 5% which is supposed to be good / in spec. so wtf ? i've never heard that the ecm could be an issue but i think it may be. | ||
| Roysbuell |
I also have a 09 XB12scg how often and how much oil? I add oil every 2 or 3 tank fulls of gas and was told it was normal especially during break-in period. | ||
| Grianp |
I was told by my local Buell race shop that it is normal for the bikes to use approx 1 quart for every 1000 miles. | ||
| Fast1075 |
Oil goes out of a motor three ways...burns, blows out, or leaks out. Leaks are easy to spot.....Blows out...overfilling or cylinder blow-by...oil blows out of the vents into the breather or catch-can....Burns...gets past the rings into the combustion chamber...usually will not pass a leak-down (5% ain't too bad)...or down the valve guides either into the cylinder, or straight out the exhaust depending on which guide is leaking... If it is not leaking out or blowing out...change the oil and filter....use conventional oil...not synthetic....go ride the holy crap out of it...hard...for a couple thou miles...it will either quit using oil...or it won't...if it quits...you finally broke it in...if it does not quit...it needs at least a re-hone and rings....then break it in again...harder this time... | ||
| Christopher12 |
It's almost a quart for the recent 500-mile test. Mine has 3800 miles now and I guess I didn't break it in hard at all, I keep it under 80mph and under 4K rpm. I 'll check the service manual but I think a quart for every 1K miles is still too much, no? Christopher | ||
| Nobuell |
My 08 XT will use about .4 quarts in 5K miles. It used a bit more during break-in. However I did use the Motoman break-in method. I used conventional V Twin oil and changed at 100 miles, 500 miles and then at 1000 miles I went to M1 V Twin. I have been using M1 V Twin ever since. Now have over 16,000 miles. | ||
| Boltrider |
Christopher - It might be burning oil. If it is, then it will be fixed. BUT.....some of the '08+ bikes experience inconsistent oil readings on the stick after shutting the bike off. Just how many is up for debate, but mine is one of them. What I did is after an oil change several months back, I checked the dipstick per the manual's instructions and found it was almost completely dry. This was after putting 10 miles on it to warm it up after the change. It was what I was expecting as my prior oil readings were all over the place. So I checked it again, only this time with the motor idling so the pump would keep the swingarm full. Alas, the level was where it should have been, about 2 hash marks up from the "add" line. Remember, this was immediately after an oil change of 2.5 qts, so I knew it was full. Fast forward to the present, and since I switched to the "idle check," I've only had to add 4 oz during a 1500 mile stretch. There's a long thread about inconsistent oil readings in the KV, so my bike isn't the only one effected. Also, I believe there is a new oil check procedure for the XB 2010 model lineup. I remember reading a post on here several months ago that listed the 2010 updates, and one of them was a new oil check procedure. If this is true, I'm also curious if the new procedure is retroactive to 2008. If any '10 owner could be so kind as to post up the oil check procedure from their owner's manual, it would be greatly appreciated! (Message edited by boltrider on November 05, 2009) | ||
| Grianp |
I forgot to mention in my earlier post, but I was told this regarding my 05 XB. Not sure how the newer bikes fair. | ||
| Roysbuell |
I am barely getting ready for my first 1000 mile service in 2 weeks. Should I switch to synthetic at this time or keep conventional for longer? | ||
| Nobuell |
+10 on the hot idle check. It is the only way I can get consistent readings. | ||
| Froggy |
https://www.buell.com/om/99474-10Y_en/file-6.asp#h dtopic001324
| ||
| Boltrider |
Oh yeah, totally forgot about the online manual. Thanks Froggy! | ||
| Reepicheep |
What kind of oil are you using? I tried Castrol 5w50 and the 9sx drank about a quart every 1500 miles or so. Switching back to a 20w50 (full synthetic) and its down to under a quart every 4000 miles. | ||
| Christopher12 |
20W50 full synthetic, like the manual said. I used Royal Purple before on a X1 and it knocked and felt grinding and just terrible, switch to Mobil 1 and it smooth out right away. Also, when I changed oil, back then, I disconnected the return line to the tank and pointed it to the bucket, filled up the tank with new oil and idle the engine. Guessing that about a quart came out of the return line I then turned it off. The smoothness was clear and immediate, it would rev up easier and quicker. I haven't done this for the new bike, I'm still debating whether to pay $80 for the little hand wrench for disconnecting the oil line. Christopher | ||
| Fx1200 |
I suppose I am one of the lucky ones, my '06 Scg uses .5 pint of Castrol Syntec 5W-50 every 2500 miles. The engine has 69,000 miles on it and the oil consumption has been stable since break in. | ||
| Newxb12ss |
It is most certainly not "right" for any engine to use 1 qt. of oil per 1,000 miles during normal use. If 5 qt.'s of fresh oil are put in during every 5,000 miles of use it would (almost) be pointless to do more than change the oil-filter, since the oil has already been changed twice! It is unfortunately fairly "common" for crappy Buell and Harley-Davidson's flimsy, out-of-round cylinders to have these issues - a drawback of doing high-speed production on lightweight cylinders and no torque plates installed during the process. | ||
| Christopher12 |
So they found out what's wrong: valve guide was installed wrong. Won't get the bike for at least 4 more days! Christopher | ||
| Malbojah |
Better to have found it now while it's still under warranty versus the alternative | ||
| Motorico |
Ok, how does that happen? | ||
| Jraice |
How many miles, how much are you filling it, how much is burning? My bike burned a lot during break in, I was told it was normal. Switch to synthetic, continued to burn. Was told it was normal to burn a lot even up to 4,000 miles. Got to around 7,000 and was still burning a lot, almost a ml per mile. I would return from a 200 mile day ride and have no oil on the dipstick. Shop opened up motor, found the intake valve seals to be leaking. Replaced them and the rings, rehonded cylinder. Bike hasn't burned a noticable amount yet, and since the rebuild I have done almost 2,000 hard street miles and two very abusive track days. | ||
| Fast1075 |
There was a real issue with poor quality valve guide seals...if you have the heads off, install a set of high quality aftermarket seals. | ||
| Christopher12 |
I was at the dealer Saturday and they had completely disassemble the engine! The tech said it has massive wear all over like a bike with 30K miles and not 3800. He'll replace practically everything: cylinders, rings, push rods, cam... It seems this is not just a case of wrongly installed valve guide. But I used Mobil 1 20W50 synthetic! Since 1K mile. I took the recommendation and bought Synth3 oil for the bike, for both engine and trans. I have to beak it in again but this time I'll change oil at 500 miles too. I'm still not clear as to why, it can't be this fragile? So now another week of waiting! Christopher | ||
| Christopher12 |
Dear Great Zeus! I besiege thee for protection for my Pegasus? Where is his temple around here... Christopher  | ||
| Froggy |
Funny, Dr.Greg and several others have taken their motors apart with over 50k miles and everything was still new looking, including hone marks on the cylinder walls. Without pictures we will just have to take the tech's word. Anyway, its all under warranty and getting fixed. | ||
| Jraice |
Interesting... my motor was also torn down at (7,000 miles give or take) for this reason and as I said they found leaking intake valve seals, but they also found abnormal ring wear... | ||
| Christopher12 |
But not knowing any better, how do I prevent this from happening again? Christopher | ||
| Roysbuell |
My bike just broke 1000 miles today. I have the 1st service next week. I added oil today after the ride and so far I have added 7/8 of a quart. Is this abnormal? After reading this I am a bit worried. |
