oil usage?

Ive got a 1999 curvy with 21k on the clock. over the last 1.5k ive used about a 1/4 of the oil in the window. whats the generally accepted amout of oil consumption for a bike and is this alright? ive never had anything that has used so much oil in such a short about of time (mini's and triumphs excepted)

[Spanner Man]

Good morning.

Oil usage is a difficult thing to gauge. Some engines use a lot, & some engines use hardly any.
SV's generally use 'a bit', although I have seen some that use noticably more than others, whilst seemingly in good health.

In real terms your engine has used around 100-150cc if it's only used one 1/4 of what's visible in the window. This equates to somewhere around 8000 miles per litre. Not a lot when you think about it really.


Cheers.

triumph say one litre per 1000 miles is acceptable

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Alpinestarhero

triumph say one litre per 1000 miles is acceptable

DRZ book also says 1 litre per 1000 miles is OK. I think spannerman has hit the nail on the head.

Originally Posted by Alpinestarhero

triumph say one litre per 1000 miles is acceptable

Well they would say that, I've heard 675s drink as much oil as they do petrol

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Well they would say that, I've heard 675s drink as much oil as they do petrol

word has it girth is towing a trailer of oil with his street triple, for his street triple, for AR09

[dizzyblonde]

the engine I inherited off Pete and Lissa uses 150/200ml on about 300 solid miles, sometimes less depending on how those miles are ridden. The original engine in Suzy didn't use any. The black SV never used any either, but does now cause it leaks 200ml out on a 200 mile ride(theres a leak on the clutch housing)

I think its all down to how the bike was run in, certain someone said that once.

Dizz, i think the run-in procedure is very important. If one is too gentle on the bike (not varying the engine load enough) then the oil forms a nice thin film between the piston and bore, so the piston never "seals" against the bore correctly. By varying the load, you vary the thickness of this oil film I think, which enables the piston (the oil scrapping ring in reality) to "seal" better with the bore, preventing oil loss through this sort of transfer. At least, thats my understanding of the process.