Pointy guzzling oil.

Hi all... I have a k4 Pointy and untill my ownership it has been very much unloved. Many of the issues it had have been sorted out but she is still getting through oil at about 3/4 of a litre per month (she is a workhorse and is used daily for a 35mile commute & all of my personal riding)
From speaking to people who have ridden behind me my exhaust fumes smell overly 'oily'.

AFIK the bike is completly standard apart from the exhaust (stubby scorpion)

can anyone shed some light on any possible reasons shes getting through so much oil?

If you need more info just shout

Thanks in advance!

[Sid Squid]

Mileage, fuel consumption, any obvious leaks?

I think we should be told.

[rictus01]

Generally there are only two reasons why a bike "burns" more oil than normal.

the first is where the rings meet the bore, they are designed to allow a coating of oil past, but nothing more, if a bike isn't run in properly or the bore is scored or excessive ware this can increase, solution is a good visual inspection of the bore an/or replacement rings.

The other is Valve stem seals, these are small rubber seals fitted around the valve stem and stop the oil in the head (lubrication the valve springs and cams) from runing down the valve stem and into the chamber, if a bike has been stood for a while these can (like all rubber seals) dry out and shrink, allowing a little oil to pass, solution is replacement.

Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

Mileage, fuel consumption, any obvious leaks?

I think we should be told.

It had a new oil pipe (from the bottom of the oil rad) when i got it as the old one was perished, there is occasionaly a small amount of residue on there but never any drips... always clean under the bike when its sat at work or at home with no obvious leaks.

Fuel consumption... not a clue, another yet to fix problem is the speedo... ive changed the rotor but thats a no go, from roughly working it out in my head i get about 100ish miles off a tank... whatever that equates to?

Mileage as the clocks show is 30000ish.... ive probably put about 3000 on since feb and im not sure how many wehn on after the clocks stopped before i got it.

Originally Posted by rictus01

The other is Valve stem seals, these are small rubber seals fitted around the valve stem and stop the oil in the head (lubrication the valve springs and cams) from runing down the valve stem and into the chamber, if a bike has been stood for a while these can (like all rubber seals) dry out and shrink, allowing a little oil to pass, solution is replacement.

Cheers Mark.

How difficulat are these to check/replace.... something that can be done by a fairly competently minded person or is it going to be a dealer type job?

the bike was sat for about 5/6 months before i bought her!?

[Sid Squid]

Does it blow smoke out of the exhaust? Probably best to get a compression/leak down test done to see if the bores/rings are sealing correctly.

[rictus01]

Valve stem rubbers are generally a waste of time just checking, if you need to look you should change them anyway as they aren't expensive, the main cost would be "man hours" stripping the head, the cost of the seals isn't much, check Robinsons foundery they probably have them listed.

Like wise inspection of the rings and bore is down to time, if you're handy with the spanners then a head gasket could be all you need (if you replace that/ as you should), but if I was doing it I'd probably replace the rings whilst there.

Cheers Mark

[Bibio]

when was the last time oil, oil filter, air filter, plugs were changed?

if it's not been looked after in the past then it's a fair bet the oil and filters were neglected. neglecting oil can cause the rings to gum up which allows oil to blow by past the rings and into the combustion chamber.

[muzikill]

Originally Posted by Bibio

when was the last time oil, oil filter, air filter, plugs were changed?

if it's not been looked after in the past then it's a fair bet the oil and filters were neglected. neglecting oil can cause the rings to gum up which allows oil to blow by past the rings and into the combustion chamber.

My pistons/rings didnt look the best during the strip/rebuild & were pointing towards this. Although the bike did get oil changes!