How much oil "should" a GS850 use???

[Guest]

I kept a good eye on my oil level for the entire trip I just took and it was always in the site glass.

However, now that I'm home, I was going over everything, and noticed that the oil level is just below the L... I added about 1/4 of a quart to get it to the L.... Seems unusual to me for it to be using oil, as there are no leaks, and no signs that it's burning it. Plugs all look normal, and no oil residue in the exhaust.

Should I be worrying about this?? Oil level was just at the H when I left... ran about 800 miles... much of it at 70-75mph...

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Sometimes the sight glass can fool you, depending on how much oil is still stuck up high in the engine. Be sure you have the bike on the center stand and give it a few minutes to really settle down before you check the level.

These engines normally burn just a little oil. I have to top off my bike once in a while, but I've got a little head gasket weeping going on too. I keep a spare quart of oil in the garage and it's not unusual for me to use up most of it between oil changes.

I'll be replacing my head gasket, and other things, when the weather makes it inconvenient to ride.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[TheCafeKid]

Most of the GSes I've owned it was pretty common of them to use a 1/4 quart or so every thousand miles, especially if you keep em spun up riding twisties or long slab rides. They're old motors, with soft cylinder walls and hard rings, and if you havent rebuilt it, the valve seals may be a little tired. It's ok to use a little oil. Worry less, ride more

[Nessism]

They're old motors, with soft cylinder walls and hard rings, and if you havent rebuilt it, the valve seals may be a little tired. It's ok to use a little oil. Worry less, ride more

I agree. It's no worry. Not sure about the soft cylinder wall part though. If the walls were soft these engines wouldn't routinely run 100,000+ miles. More like they are air cooled engines which run hot, so the oil thins out a lot and a little slips by the rings and valve guide seals.

[Darin Jordan]

Phew! Thanks guys... One less thing to concern myself with!

[SqDancerLynn1]

Oil cooled motors have larger clearances. As long as it isn't knocking or fogging for mosquitoes. don't worry about it. 800 miles for 1/4 qt is nothing

[TheCafeKid]

I agree. It's no worry. Not sure about the soft cylinder wall part though. If the walls were soft these engines wouldn't routinely run 100,000+ miles. More like they are air cooled engines which run hot, so the oil thins out a lot and a little slips by the rings and valve guide seals.

Comparitively speaking, they're soft. Most modern cylinder walls are coated with Nikasil or the like making them diamond hard, thus the rings are softer than a GSes rings. Hard against soft, vice versa. Doesn't make them less durable, just likely not as tight as a modern bike.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikasil

[Nessism]

Comparitively speaking, they're soft. Most modern cylinder walls are coated with Nikasil or the like making them diamond hard, thus the rings are softer than a GSes rings. Hard against soft, vice versa. Doesn't make them less durable, just likely not as tight as a modern bike.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikasil

Where are you getting this "most modern cylinder walls" info Josh. I don't think this is true. Sure, some have a hard coating, but the % is fairly small.

[TheCafeKid]

A search of google beyond the wiki link brought up the following manufacturers using Nikasil or another type or their own brand of cylinder lining:

Honda (both in cars and bikes)
Kawasaki
BMW (both in cars and bikes)
Suzuki
Porsche
Triumph
Ducati
MV
Mercedes

Perhaps saying "most" is a bit of a stretch, but I would venture to say that a good percentage of manufacturers high performance engines are using a cylinder coating of some sort. I doubt a Goldwing has Nikasil bores but I don't know for sure either.
The benefit, as outlined in the wiki bit, is that much tighter tolerances can be run on the bore and piston, and also the fact that in retaining an Alu wall instead of sleeving with cast iron, steel et al, more heat is shed. This is obviously more important in air cooled motors, but is helpful in water-cooled ones as well. Again, I'm not stating that because of their cast iron liners, GS motors aren't as durable because we all know that simply isn't the case. I'm just saying that ANY air-cooled motor of this age is going to use some oil because of looser tolerances and materials used to allow for wear vs degradation. I'm sure you're well aware than when two parts work in contact with one another, one has to be softer than the other, even in a lubricated environment.

In the GSes case, compared to a cylinder using Nikasil coating, the rings from a GS will usually be made of a harder material, whereas the other will be softer. Meaning the rings of a ZRX for instance, would wear faster than those of a GS. Neither one is necessarily better than the other from a longevity standpoint, and that's not what I'm getting at.
Frankly, I'd rather deal with having to hone bores and replace rings than send the jugs off to have them recoated. But apparently that's another benefit to coated bores in that you can bore them out without having to re-sleeve. Which you can do as well to a certain point on a cast iron liner as well, but after that a new liner must be installed to retain any wall thickness and prevent overheating.

But, that stuff is still just stuff I've read as I'm certainly no race engine builder. One of these days I'd like to give it a shot, but I dunno if I could handle it if I spent all that money and it went "Boom".