Checking the hive mind to see if this is a temporary issue or if I need to take it in.
This morning took my bike out for a leisurely Saturday morning cruise on Sheridan Road north of Chicago. Along the way, made a quick grocery stop, let it sit on side stand for 10-15 minutes after riding for about 30 minutes - mix of highway & 30 mph “twisty” roads (a joke if you know the region). Was at 4-5 bars on the temp gauge, so I figured time & temp was good enough to get a good check on oil level.
Came out of the store and after loading up, put her up on the center stand and let it sit a minute or two, and sight glass showed just the barest rumor of oil at the bottom. (I just had my 48k service done in March, and thanks to ‘rona, haven’t done a whole lot of riding this year, not even 2k miles.) Had brought oil because I planned to check, and after ~0.3 L added, was sitting at 1/2 in the sight glass.
Started up, rode up the way about 1/2 mile, then let it sit again for 5 minutes, everything seemed just fine. Continued to ride the “twisties” for another hour, then jumped on 41/94 to get home before the mid-day heat. Along the way the roads were pretty clear, and I was going along at a brisk pace socially distant behind a VW sedan. In 5th gear, about 4500 - 5000 rpm, around an ascending/descending curve, leaning left, gave it a bit more throttle and it started to bog down. Let up for about 10 seconds, attempted again, bogs down, loses rpm.
Eased up, jumped off at the next exit, mind racing. Last time something like this occurred, the R side piston blew, mechanic was unable to determine the specific fail point. Found a level place to stop and sit, checked the oil after 5 minutes thinking I somehow overfilled. Sight glass shows slightly under 1/2 — could have been the same as I saw earlier, my mind was racing. Checked the heads and all around — no sign of any fluid leaks. Oil dark but no froth or bubbles, nice and smooth on the glass. For the hell of it, checked the breather box drain, and was surprised with about 6 oz of oil that came out (luckily thought to grab a drink cup in the hedges nearby).
Given the speed/rpms this occurred at, I took the streets home, normal Saturday late morning traffic, no further incidents.
So again, I put it to the wisdom of the crowd:
was this just some one-off glitch, or should I have something checked out before it’s a MAJOR ISSUE? I have a good amount of tools and all the manuals, and am not afraid to wrench on it, but I’m without a garage, so anything I start I have to be able to finish by dark (20:00).
Thanks for reading!
This morning took my bike out for a leisurely Saturday morning cruise on Sheridan Road north of Chicago. Along the way, made a quick grocery stop, let it sit on side stand for 10-15 minutes after riding for about 30 minutes - mix of highway & 30 mph “twisty” roads (a joke if you know the region). Was at 4-5 bars on the temp gauge, so I figured time & temp was good enough to get a good check on oil level.
Came out of the store and after loading up, put her up on the center stand and let it sit a minute or two, and sight glass showed just the barest rumor of oil at the bottom. (I just had my 48k service done in March, and thanks to ‘rona, haven’t done a whole lot of riding this year, not even 2k miles.) Had brought oil because I planned to check, and after ~0.3 L added, was sitting at 1/2 in the sight glass.
Started up, rode up the way about 1/2 mile, then let it sit again for 5 minutes, everything seemed just fine. Continued to ride the “twisties” for another hour, then jumped on 41/94 to get home before the mid-day heat. Along the way the roads were pretty clear, and I was going along at a brisk pace socially distant behind a VW sedan. In 5th gear, about 4500 - 5000 rpm, around an ascending/descending curve, leaning left, gave it a bit more throttle and it started to bog down. Let up for about 10 seconds, attempted again, bogs down, loses rpm.
Eased up, jumped off at the next exit, mind racing. Last time something like this occurred, the R side piston blew, mechanic was unable to determine the specific fail point. Found a level place to stop and sit, checked the oil after 5 minutes thinking I somehow overfilled. Sight glass shows slightly under 1/2 — could have been the same as I saw earlier, my mind was racing. Checked the heads and all around — no sign of any fluid leaks. Oil dark but no froth or bubbles, nice and smooth on the glass. For the hell of it, checked the breather box drain, and was surprised with about 6 oz of oil that came out (luckily thought to grab a drink cup in the hedges nearby).
Given the speed/rpms this occurred at, I took the streets home, normal Saturday late morning traffic, no further incidents.
So again, I put it to the wisdom of the crowd:
was this just some one-off glitch, or should I have something checked out before it’s a MAJOR ISSUE? I have a good amount of tools and all the manuals, and am not afraid to wrench on it, but I’m without a garage, so anything I start I have to be able to finish by dark (20:00).
Thanks for reading!
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