I've Killed Another One

[squirrel_hunter]

Yep I've blown the engine again. Those that know me know that I consider this a consumable item, my last SV had 4 engines in it over its life, this one has survived some c.20,000 miles with me.

Its the same problem as before, lack of oil. I know I'm an idiot. I knew it was low but I thought I had enough in it. I checked it before I left for the AR and it was right on the minimum so as I didn't have any in the garage I thought I'd risk the 500 mile trip. Turns out this was a mistake, I've put 1.5l in to get it back to where it should be.

I'm sure its terminal though it still runs for now. It sounds like a tractor, there is a dreadful knocking above 5,000rpm and it has as much power as an SV325.

So where do I go from here? I have a spare engine that was fitted to my other bike but I had it changed as the cam chains sounded rattly and I wasn't happy with it. But I think that was more in my mind then anything. Trouble is its been sat for some 4 years, will it be usable?

Or should I get one from eBay and fit that with an unknown vintage? Or should I disassemble this one and replace whats damaged? If I do that what would need replacing from oil starvation and whats that likely to cost?

In summary, do I go for the garage engine, the eBay engine, the rebuild, or another suggestion?

Maybe get in the habit of carrying a bottle of oil under the pillion seat?

[DarrenSV650S]

Originally Posted by squirrel_hunter

I checked it before I left for the AR and it was right on the minimum so as I didn't have any in the garage I thought I'd risk the 500 mile trip.

[Spiderman]

i killed one car engine fro oil starvatio years agi and pomised i'd never let that happen again.

How many pertol stations did you pass on the way to AR, you nut job

[Red Herring]

That's an expensive 1.5l of oil then....

[Richie]

Originally Posted by squirrel_hunter

I checked it before I left for the AR and it was right on the minimum so as I didn't have any in the garage I thought I'd risk the 500 mile trip. Turns out this was a mistake, I've put 1.5l in to get it back to where it should be.

Engine oil level = 2.3 litres.

2.3 - 1.5 = 0.8


When you stop your bike, simply wait for 2 mins and look at the engine oil sight glass, it's on the right hand side of the engine and says oil... If your still satride your bike and look over the right hand side the the engine so both feet are on the ground and your bending over the towards the right looking down ( upside down) it says 710



expensive lesson



as I'm sure you know this.

[Binky]

How much have you paid for complete engines in the past and where have you tended to buy them from?

Buy a honda? Not many engines burn oil -thought suzukis were pretty oil tight- unless you are using too many revs or spending a lot of time on the back wheel?

[squirrel_hunter]

I know, I know. Don't worry I'm not looking for sympathy. I've done this more than once. It had never gone this low before, I know how much oil the bike uses, it just seams that for some reason it burned through a good liter far quicker than I've ever seen it do before.

So what does the org think about the engine in the garage, is this my best option. Are there any checks I should do on it before installation or should I just stick it in add oil and hope for the best?

[squirrel_hunter]

Previously engines have cost c.£350 and then garage fitting. Usually accompanied with some other bills. This time as its been a while I now have the space and equipment to do the swap myself as its been at least 4 years I last had to change an engine.

Originally Posted by natcar

Buy a honda? Not many engines burn oil -thought suzukis were pretty oil tight- unless you are using too many revs or spending a lot of time on the back wheel?

There is no such thing as too many revs. I ride the bike in the power band, I ride it like a two stroke. The down side to that is it uses oil like a two stroke. Its just never used that much so quickly before which has caught me out.

But consider this, why do latter generation SV's have an oil cooler? Speaking to Pete who experienced similar oil usage we surmised that the engine was cooking the oil sending it into the air box in vapor which would then burn through. The air box on both of my bikes contained a good amount of oil, and both bikes and all engines used a fair bit...

And for the record I do not wheelie, and my NC23 used a little extra oil than most.