I've killed the Blue Cow

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

Said most didn't I :P

Oh yes you did! It's just that I may or may not be an idiot, and I may or may not have needed said idiot light. Ahem.

okay guys..

Im not ignoring the later service.. im well aware cars and bikes use oil...

and oil pressure light should come on if you are low on oil right? yes. not because u are low on oil... but because the oil pressure will be out of noramal peramiters... due to the too low oil?

now this sv in question had no oil light on and the engine blew... now that y warning lights are there...

So in MY opinion the oil pressure light should have come on earlier, as thsi woudl have alerted Mr Mass that the biek was somat up with the oil.. preventing the engine going kaput...

This is my opinion based on my experinces and wel... my opinions.

if you dont like what i am saying please ignore it and dont tell me im wrong.. many thanks

Alex

Originally Posted by 454697819

okay guys..

Im not ignoring the later service.. im well aware cars and bikes use oil...

and oil pressure light should come on if you are low on oil right? yes. not because u are low on oil... but because the oil pressure will be out of noramal peramiters... due to the too low oil?

now this sv in question had no oil light on and the engine blew... now that y warning lights are there...

So in MY opinion the oil pressure light should have come on earlier, as thsi woudl have alerted Mr Mass that the biek was somat up with the oil.. preventing the engine going kaput...

This is my opinion based on my experinces and wel... my opinions.

if you dont like what i am saying please ignore it and dont tell me im wrong.. many thanks

Alex

The oil pressure light can't be made to 'come on earlier', because it would keep giving false alarms. That's already been explained.

What you're asking for is an indication of when the oil is actualy low. Well, there is one - the sight glass on the engine. So what's the problem?

*reads thread, panics, runs out to bike, check oil, realises bike is cold, runs back in*

Now I am going to be para all the way home now, although the bike was serviced about 1500 miles ago so it should be ok.

I was an idiot and thought the light was a oil level light..

I feel for you as I experienced a very similar phenomenon with my bike a few weeks ago. I was on a long back road day trip and nearing 37,000 miles (1st gen SV) when the noise from my bike went from subtle tapping (which had been troubling me for months) to very loud clanking and finally complete seizure (tried to limp to a more populated area as I was in a state park).

I wouldn't say I outright abused the bike (no big wheelies or racing) but I normally ride it hard. I’ve been conscientious about oil changes and checking the level but it’s never burned a lot so I’ve always given the window a cursory glance and filled as needed. However I live in San Francisco and finding a nice level spot to check the oil ain’t easy. I’d been more careful when the slight tapping noise started a few months/thousand miles back but never noticed a huge drop in oil level. I’d even changed the oil a few weeks prior to this trip.

The bike left me stranded on the side of a mountain and when I eventually got it back to my house I loosened the nut to left of the oil drain plug and out came copper/bronze filings—telltale signs of a spun con rod bearing. The bike also had very little and very dark oil. I should have checked the oil before going out that morning but I’m wondering if I would have even been able to see an appreciable drop beforehand or if it just was burning throughout the day in the hot and loose engine, a downward spiral so to speak.

My feeling is that sighting the oil level in the window is an imperfect science. There are a lot of variables that can effect how much oil appears to be in the bike (Is the engine hot or cold? Is the ground level? Is the bike exactly perpendicular?). Also, it’s my understanding that overfilling can result in a lot of damage (though many have overfilled and ridden hundreds of miles without ill effect).

If oil level is so crucial to the lifespan of motorcycle why the hell don’t they make it easier to quickly and accurately measure?

When I was a kid a similar thing happened to my parents' car. The
engine developed an oil leak and in the end it seized up. We
discussed this matter endlessly but eventually came to the
conclusion that it is practically impossible to stop in time when
the oil pressure starts to drop. So I wouldn't blame Suzuki.

It would be interesting to identify a motor vehicle with oil sensors
good enough to allow the driver/rider to stop in time to avoid
engine damage.

[21QUEST]

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

(There's only one I can think of, that has an oil level sensor and no pressure switch, which is odd 'cos it has a window in the side of the engine for checking the oil level).

That's like a quiz question . Is it the answer ' R1'

With regards to the oil sensor whilst it's been nice to know what it measures on the SV even if it did measure the level it still wouldn't matter to me.

I would not trust it anyways(would you?). I'll still be getting down on my kness to do a check.

Cheers
Ben

This is quite a sad tale but it just goes to show,it does not matter what pre flight checks your bikes system carries out nor what amount of warning lights it has. Some things are so easy to check that surely the "belt and braces" approach is best?

To emphasise my point when I was approaching home after having my gear selector return spring replaced, my temp gauge indicated all was normal....however the water gushing out below me gave me a hint that something just might be amiss! Sure enough the knob of a mechanic had not tightened one of the cooling system hoses and the system was merrily emptying itself at a rate of knotts!
There really would be a lot more expense to biking if we only went on what ever lights and beeps told us. After all a motorcycle is a relatively small piece of machinery and a little looksy around before and after every ride would literally take a minute or two.

Yes this is true Peter. But when you do the sort of miles that Mass does it is easy to forget to look at the window. Especially as I would guess that he leaves home in the dark, leaves work in the dark, and probably had no warning whatsoever that there was anything wrong.

Checking the oil is elementary. But it's also very easy to forget and I'd be the last person to criticise for not having a quick look-see.

Oh, and Chris - buy yourself a Honda

Originally Posted by Sythree

Oh, and Chris - buy yourself a Honda

Even Hondas need oil