1980 GS850g Oil Dissapearing

[niles920]

Just bought used GS850 with 47k, I had been riding around the first day I bought it then when I stopped at home I noticed the sight glass was completely dry. It had been sitting for a hour or so. I read that oil can stay in the head for a long time on older 850s. After I added a liter it was halfway in the sight glass, then after riding again and stopping back at home it was empty.
I haven't noticed much smoke from the exhaust, occasionally. I know the rings are likely old but I dont know if i should maybe put Lucas stop leak in? Just not sure if this would be bad for the wet clutch. Or should i use 15w? Could this mean the valve seals are bad? It isnt leaking oil anywhere, there was minimal burning around the head gasket.

[rphillips]

Hey, a newby... welcome, now a newby question, are you checking oil with bike on side stand or center stand?.. Another question would you expect Lucas stop leak to stop a leak that ain't leaking? Probably not. Added oil to half way in sight glass then rode for a while, how long, & when got back home no oil again, I have no idea how much you put in, how much you rode, nor how much seems to be gone but if you put in & lost a half qt. in a couple of hr. ride it should be either smoking bad or leaking bad. Keep us updated, Someone here will figure it out.

[niles920]

Hey, a newby... welcome, now a newby question, are you checking oil with bike on side stand or center stand?.. Another question would you expect Lucas stop leak to stop a leak that ain't leaking? Probably not. Added oil to half way in sight glass then rode for a while, how long, & when got back home no oil again, I have no idea how much you put in, how much you rode, nor how much seems to be gone but if you put in & lost a half qt. in a couple of hr. ride it should be either smoking bad or leaking bad. Keep us updated, Someone here will figure it out.

Yeah sorry, I figured adding the Lucas would thicken the oil (I mean thats what it does) And perhaps help stop burning due to the aged rings.
Now that i think about it, I havent had it on the center stand when im checking oil, probably not a smart idea. I just recently got it on the center stand for the first time, with some help.
As for burning my first post wasnt too accurate, ive notice some smoke at startup but once the bike is warm I cant see any.
Ive been waiting on fully draining and changing the oil cause no nearby stores have the oil filter, had to buy off Ebay.
Also, my Tach issues seemed to have gotten worse, I was riding it pretty hard i cant lie and then I notice the Tach needle Broke!!! It was bouncing all over the place before...
Well thats what i get, should have fixed it before giving the cookies.

[rphillips]

You need to get someone who knows how, to show you how to get it on the center stand. It's perty easy by yourself once you know the trick. Some oil filters don't come with the "O" ring, me, I wouldn't trust reusing the old one. I'd recommend some penetrating oil on oil filter cover nuts & be gentle removing & reinstalling them, the studs are small & easily stripped or twisted off... Good luck.

[timebombprod]

the tach issue is more than likely the tachometer cable itself.

with the service stand, you will notice that theres an extra "leg" on the (left?) side of the bike, what you do is stand on the leg with the bike sitting straight up, and rock it back with your body weight, you want to be over the bike while doing this, and dont be a wuss!

yeah my bike would do the same when it was cold there would definitely be smoke but only during the warmup period, it also will get worse if the bike sits for over a week or so atleast for me, you can go ahead and check your compression, all spark plugs out, and wide open throttle until the needle stops climbing, mine was at 155psi even with the smoke.

also you want to let the bike sit for atleast 5 minutes to wait for the oil to come back down.

[Burque73]

..................... I just recently got it on the center stand for the first time, with some help................

If it's that hard to get up on hte center stand it may be time to change fork springs and or rear shocks. It made all the difference in the world for me, There are workarounds though. Park with the front wheel, or both, on a wooden block, I used to use a 2x6 cut like a ramp on the end.

As a side note, the bike just needs to be upright to check the oil level. You could always just hold it upright and have someone eyeball the sight glass for you, making sure the engine is not running of course and it has had a few minutes for oil to drain back down.