Where did all my oil go??

[free99]

Hey guys (and gals),
I have been riding my 450L around for about 1100mi at this point, had to top the oil off once but otherwise it seemed ok.

Today just as a routine check I pulled the dipstick out, and... bone dry. The bike's on fairly level ground, and I measured while the bike is on its center-stand. I even jostled the bike like a see-saw just for s#its and giggles, still nothing on the stick.

I have a bit of oil residue around the area where the oil filter is and where there is for sure a slow leak from the cam tensioner.. but what the heck, I couldn't expect ~3L of oil to just vanish like that. No oily exhaust, it just seems like a magic trick.

What can I do to track this down? I've been using castrol 20W50.

 

[free99]

This the known oil leak, if it helps. Still.. a drop at a time.

 

[Rob S.]

This has happened many times to many people. DON'T add 3 or 4 quarts, assuming it's dry. Tilt it, start it, ride it. There's no universally accepted truth on where It's gone, but it will come back.

It's happened to me and others here more than once. Granted, all these instances were in bikes with sight glasses rather than dipsticks, but I don't think that's a factor.

 

[Cipher]

The bike's on fairly level ground?
can you get a friend to help?
lean bike slowly till oil appears
mine has sight glass but oil goes below visible if canted to the left side of bike even on centre-stand

 

[Nessism]

Stop riding the bike and do a proper fill level check with the bike on level ground while on the center stand. The level should be checked COLD. Start up the bike and let it idle for a minute, then shut down and wait another minute before checking. Adjust as necessary. If no oil shows on the dip stick try adding 1/2 quart, not more, and then check again.

 

[free99]

This has happened many times to many people. DON'T add 3 or 4 quarts, assuming it's dry. Tilt it, start it, ride it. There's no universally accepted truth on where It's gone, but it will come back.

It's happened to me and others here more than once. Granted, all these instances were in bikes with sight glasses rather than dipsticks, but I don't think that's a factor.

Hi Rob, thanks for the tip. I added a little bit of oil, exactly 1qt(946ml) and the bike shows a nominal oil level again.

I'm convinced that my issue with the seal on the cam tensioner may actually be worse than I thought, I see oil gunk on the frame near where I expect the drain below the starter motor would lead to.

Argh! Well.. no harm, no foul, I hope.

 

[free99]

Stop riding the bike and do a proper fill level check with the bike on level ground while on the center stand. The level should be checked COLD. Start up the bike and let it idle for a minute, then shut down and wait another minute before checking. Adjust as necessary. If no oil shows on the dip stick try adding 1/2 quart, not more, and then check again.

Ah man, I wish I'd seen this sooner. Guess I'm buying a turkey baster haha.

 

[Cipher]

Ah man, I wish I'd seen this sooner. Guess I'm buying a turkey baster haha.

Just borrow the neighbors................

 

[free99]

Well, looks like 1qt was the right amount after checking more carefully. That's quite a lot of oil; in terms of a cause, the timing coincides with rebuilding the cam tensioner about two months ago. Hmm... Someone mentioned using baby powder on a clean engine to see where the oil was actually coming from over a day of riding, I think I'll give that a shot.

Thanks for all your help folks, and thank goodness it wasn't actually 2-3L gone.

 

[LAB3]

My 450t will use oil when I'm running the interstate but doesn't use any if I stay on the two lane state highways. It seems that the higher speed has something to do with it and others have mentioned the same issue with other bikes other than the 450.

My cam chain tensioner also leaks a bit and to tell you the truth it would be one heck of a mess if one liter of oil dripped out of it in 1,000 miles of riding. One of the places I ended up having a leak was where the clutch actuator rod enters the case, this is located underneath the front sprocket cover. It's a rubber seal about the size of a half dollar with a small hole in the center to let the rod slide in and out of the engine/trans case. Since I probably lube my chain far too much I didn't really notice it leaking, I just thought it was all the lube I was using. Once I found that leak and replaced the seal, the high speed oil use was reduced significantly.

 

[free99]

Ah, well I am at WOT on the way to and from work at least twice a week. Perhaps that would explain part of it.

I'll check the actuator rod as well, thanks LAB3.

 

[free99]

Looks like that would be item 09285-06011 if I need to replace it.