Using Oil & Gas

[T1ny]

In the last month I've had to add a litre of oil to the bike, there are no drips in the garage or in any spot I park in at work so it's eating a bit. I've also noticed this year my miliage is horrible, I'm only getting an average of 150 KLMS for the entire tank of gas. (Yes Klms).

Both of these problems are new this spring.

I'm really horribile with a wrench, and even worse at diagnosing problems. Any ideas?

(The turn signals work again after cleaning all contacts, and wires. Thanks!)

[MartyA]

HI T1ny!

Just a couple of thoughts here. Are your plugs carbon fouled or oil burning fouled?

Is your air filter plugged? This would cause a too rich mixture, which causes carbon fouling. Worn rings might cause oil burning, but that might be noticeable with smoke out the back.

Weak spark might also cause incomplete burning. How is the power? Are you cranking on the throttle more than before?

I once put too much oil in the crank case, shot a quart all over the back of the bike when it blew out the overflow. I have indy filters so my vent drops over the back of the engine.

[T1ny]

nothing noticable out the back, the plugs look the same as they always have, not black, not white. But I cleaned them all on the buffer wheel just in case.

The power is excelent, I might be cranking it a bit more then before but that's because it's spring and I've spent the last few months in a station wagon, or a minivan.

The oil level isn't over filled, if anything it's a touch under. I once over filled a 650 special, and make such a mess of things I'm overly paranoid of that now.

Thanks anyway!

[sixtysix]

I would start with the basics, a good compression check first and then a look at the carbs (if compression is OK), You may have a bad diaphram or something. If the two problems are related then we are looking at a broken ring or something.

[Geezer]

Re: Using Oil & Gas

You've already been given very good advise on the fuel consumption issue, now about the oil.

Yamaha recommends using 20-40 weight oil but the only place to get it is from Yamaha (funny how that works.) I've found that 10-40 works great. I've seen 20-50 cause starter clutch problems so I cannot recommend it in any engine that uses this type of starter drive (almost all Japanese bikes.)

Back to the point, all engines use a little oil, that's just the way it is. Air-cooled engines use more than water-cooled engines because of the wider heat variation. How long did it take to use that much oil? How are you checking you oil? I know this sounds like a stupid question but it’s a stupid ritual that Yamaha expect people to do to check the oil level. If you’re checking the oil level on the center stand, you’re overfilling it. You have to put the bike on the center stand then pull it upright on a level surface and look through that little window to see the oil level.

The next time I get a chance to use a lathe, I’m going to center drill an XS11 oil filler cap and press in a dipstick. Then with the oil level properly adjusted, I’ll cut the dipstick to length and put upper and lower marks on it. Unlike some other bikes the XS11 has a clear path from the filler cap to the oil. It’s a damn shame that Yamaha didn’t give us a dipstick to check the oil with [rant mode off.]

Geezer

Originally posted by T1ny
In the last month I've had to add a litre of oil to the bike, there are no drips in the garage or in any spot I park in at work so it's eating a bit. I've also noticed this year my miliage is horrible, I'm only getting an average of 150 KLMS for the entire tank of gas. (Yes Klms).

Both of these problems are new this spring.

I'm really horribile with a wrench, and even worse at diagnosing problems. Any ideas?

(The turn signals work again after cleaning all contacts, and wires. Thanks!)