Engine oil goes black fast - really fast.

Other than my idle issues - my engine oil seems to go black very fast, and I'm not positive - but I think the bike's running hotter than it should be.

Why would this be happening? I had the oil light turn on the other day when I was really pushing the bike. Since then it doesn't seem to be running properly..extra vibration from around 6grand rpms at half (or more) throttle, really fast idle - with the stop screw full out!, and a little bit of popping out the exhaust.

Am I looking at some more than normal blow-by, or (god forbid) a hole in a piston? What does that feel like?

I can hear the valves working - so I don't think anything is out of spec in there..but I haven't opened up the engine since I bought it. That's the last thing I want to do right now.

*sigh* I was supposed to be heading to the Catskills in a couple weekends, but I don't know if my bike is up to it now.. I really hope it is.

Post edited by: pyxen, at: 2007/05/09 17:38

it would barely run with a holed piston. been there done that:pinch: you would also have so much smoke pouring out the exhaust you would know something was up if you were 2 blocks from the bike.
are you sure you had enough oil in it?:S

My oil never takes long to look pitch black fro mthe viewing port, I thought it was fairly normal... I mean when it drains, it isn't that black. Right?

Put your oil on a piece of clean paper and let it soak through. You'll be able to see the particles in the oil. If you're using the diesel engine oil like Rotella, it seems to me that it turns lack a LOT faster than stuff like castrol, pennzoil, or the other automobile oils.

Holed piston will pump all your oil out the exhaust in short order with a huge cloud of smoke.

Check your compression. Listen to the crank by holding a stick or piece of pipe on the case near the crank bearing bosses and listen for anything unusual.

-Duck

I wouldn't worry about the oil light. When you get on the throttle hard the oil all goes to the back of the oil pan. Since the pump is up front the engine can get starved for oil for bit. Not a big deal. The oil gets pushed back during hard acceleration. Unless your bike will pull like a freight train for 30 seconds (Which would put you at about 350mph), you don't have to worry about it. You can buy an oil gate for the pan if it bothers you. It is just a little aluminum gate that will close when you launch hard. They are only about $10, plus a new oil pan gasket of course.

If you're worried about your oil and don't mind $22.50 have it analyzed. Blackstone does a great job, never tried them on the motorcycle but big diesel trucks all use the service if you want to know what's going on. $22.50 is a bargain for what they do. Last 2 checks I had on my diesel they could even tell what kind of driving I did. "Heavy towing on mountain roads", and "a lot of idling in cold weather" hit my last 2 changes to the T. Check out their sample reports to see what they do. Think of it like going to the doctor and getting a blood test except instead of $10,000 it's $22.50. Bargain I'll say again.
www.blackstone-labs.com/

if it is running rich, you could be washing down the rings with fuel which will turn oil, I would run a compression check just to see where you are at, then look at the carbs.
wiredgeorge would be the expert on how to set them up,

Thanks for the replies - I'm glad it's not that big of a deal, and that I haven't holed a piston.. I definitely haven't had any large plumes of smoke billow out of my exhaust, so it can't be that..

I'll check compression first, and make sure everything is still hunky-dory. I'll listen to the crank bearings as well - though I'm not sure what I'd be listening for.. grinding noises?

I'm using Castrol GTX 20w50 right now..it's fairly old stuff though, so maybe I should get some new oil from the local autostore. This stuff hasn't been opened, but it's sat around for a fairly long while.

When I drain the oil, it is fairly dark - however that was a full oil change, so after a few thousand kilometers, and my first change after getting the bike back on the road.

I won't worry about it too much right now.. for the immediate future, I'm going to be changing the exhaust gaskets (copper crush style), and looking to swap some larger mains in - as per WG's suggestion, based on my bike. I think I need to crank down on the mixture screws too.

I wish I could nail down this stupid high idle problem!

As far as the high idle goes, I'm willing to bet you have a vacuum leak somewhere. If you're feeling adventurous, spray some starting fluid around the area in front of your carbs (engine side). If the idle rises, you've got a leak. BE FOREWARNED that spraying starter fluid on anything can be dangerous, so be careful. I've heard people use WD40 in the same way, although the engine's idle will go down with the WD40, not up. I find that starting fluid works best for me, but again, USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

wd40 can also be dangerous it is extremely flammable

kawtoy... an Oil Gate? I've never heard of this. Where can I get information? Thanks.

If you plan on listening to the motor, use a piece of rubber hose, it's flexible and it doesn't carry mistleading sounds like steel or sticks do. Stick?