I'll try to quantify the consumption rate:
I changed the oil and filter, and filled it up to the top of the window. I ran it a bit but didn't add any more. I then drove the bike about 65 miles that day from Ebensburg PA to State College PA. It was mostly highway type miles. The next day I took my girlfriend for a ride for probably 20 miles and then went from State College to Harrisburg which is about 85 miles all highway. I checked the oil the next day and it was below the bottom of the window. During this time I had 3 cold starts. I know that the filter took on some of the oil but not how much. I filled it back up but I didn't measure how much oil I put in it. With a few trips to work (4 miles) a run of about 20 miles and a trip to Manheim and back (70 miles) the oil level has once again dropped noticably (3mm-5mm)
It smokes pretty badly when you start it up cold and continues to smoke until it is warmed up then it stops or so it seems. It is definitely way more noticable when cold. Hoomgar and the big red are witnesses to this. The bike runs good from what I can tell, perhaps I can get someone to take it for a ride and let me know what they think of how it runs.
Anyway, Hoomgar suggested that its probably the valve seals which are bad due to it stopping the smoking when it is warmed up. I also talked
to Duanage about it and he suggested that it may be better to just buy a new head on ebay and just switch them out. Or if the new head
needed work I could do it without having to tear my bike apart. I saw a head on ebay and the guy wanted $50 for it and I've read others who
got way better deals so I'm going to wait. I'm going to be in the middle of a move pretty soon here and I'll be having to buy new furniture
etc. so budget will be a bit tight. I know I don't have the tools necessary but the plan is to get the tools I need over time and get the job done right. I have another bike to ride now so no rush really. The only problem would be that the bike won't be in a enclosed garage come June 1 so having the engine ripped apart for more than a day or two would be undesirable.
The method of attack I'm considering here is:
Compression check ( I suspect this will come out OK but is it possible that bad valve seals could cause low readings?)
Valve clearance check (This is pretty routine maintenance that hasn't been done.)
It will depend on how those things come out as to what would happen next. I am a novice at this stuff. This would be the most technical job I've taken on but I feel that I should be able to handle it. I would like to get any possibilities out of the way before I got buying another head or pulling the current head off.
Is there something I'm missing in the attack plan?
Is there anyway to inspect the valve seals without pulling the head?
What tools are necessary for someone like me (complete novice) to successfully replace valve seals without totally screwing up something?
Any other suggestions or hints are very much appreciated.
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