Quick back story - had a CBR300R loan bike for 500 miles, didn’t need to even touch the oil (was just over minimum when I took it back).
I’ve had my new bike for 350 miles now - at around 300 the oil had practically all gone, so I topped it up to maximum. It’s now sitting at around the 1/2 - 3/4 mark. This seems like far too much oil for the amount of miles I’ve down.
Originally, I thought it was an oil leak but it’s been raining so heavily the past couple of days in the morning that I wasn’t able to tell if there was a leak. It’s now been sat in a dry garage for 5 hours and ZERO LEAKAGE! I then thought perhaps I was burning off oil but I’ve seen no smoke and haven’t smelt any burning.
if its burning oil check the tail pipe for residue
if its leaking oil look for a rainbow patch in the wet
if all else fails it the thieving oil pixies at it again
take it back to the dealers as ask them as it under warranty
When you say “the oil had practically all gone” do you mean from the view finder / dip stick or do you mean it was dry and had seized up?
My SV seems to self adjust the oil level over time… if I top it up to the “max” mark it slowly goes back down to “min”.
If I leave it at “min” then it stays there.
So I just leave it at “min” now, no probs.
BTW most modern engines will self adjust the oil level, if too high, by throwing it in the air intake so it gets burnt but in such small amounts you don’t see smoke, unless you really over fill it.
If its anything like my 250 its a Honda thing and a proper ritual to check the oil. Left over night the inspection glass appears to be empty as if there is no oil in there. The Honda recommended procedure is
Which is a little worrying since if the site glass not only appears to be empty but is actually empty then you’ll be running the engine, albeit on tick over, with no oil in the sump
Note the Honda procedure is to only add oil if the oil level is below the lower level in the sight glass, therefore if the oil level is between the upper and lower levels in the sight glass it should be left well alone.
I’m assuming its a new bike? And under warrantee. Or maybe a used bike with a limited time/miles warranty?
So look up the approved oil check procedure for your bike and monitor it with pics and mileage, record how much oil you are putting in.
Otherwise they could just run their eyes over it, take it for a five minute run, not spot any poor running or smoke and just think its another noob wasting their time.
Re-reading the OP it is possible there may not actually be a problem.
So no point calling the shop or taking the bike back as it will just lead
to frustration and dissatisfaction, as the shop will do nowt if there
is nowt wrong.
If however the oil level repeatedly drops well below minimum and it
is being checked carefully using the correct method as described in
the manual for that bike, then it is time to consider visiting the shop.
They should, as a minimum, tell you how to check the oil level properly.
Sorry, yes MDB has a point… establish if something is actually wrong before sounding off. But OP can call the shop to see if the OP is doing something wrong or worried something is incorrect.
Out of curiosity, there are some mentions online that in certain vehicles, it’s normal for engines to use oil when being run in. Not sure if that applies to 300cc Honda bikes… worth checking the manual?
Surely it’s worth asking the shop for their opinion, rather than a bunch of half-informed and largely unqualified forumites? There’s no need to go in there saying “this is broken”, but I’d drop by the next time the oil level looks low and ask if this is what’s supposed to happen. If it’s a brand new bike and you’re going in asking an honest question rather than shouting off at them you’ll probably get quite reasonable service. Certainly more so than if you wait a bit and go in claiming that the thing’s broken because some guy on the Internet said so.
This sounds like it’s a dry sump, where the oil sump (with the dipstick) is above the engine, and so when the engine’s left for some time it’s all collected in the crankcase, and you need to check the oil level shortly after the oil pump’s got most of it up to the top. Most bikes that aren’t dirt bikes are wet-sump (where the sump is below the engine) and the proper time to check the oil is several minutes after the engine’s stopped, to give the oil time to drain into the sump.
