Vibration Oil & Petrol

[Anonymous]

Had a GS 650 G (the Katana model) for a couple of Months...she is a little ripper. I have noticed that I use a bit of Oil, about a litre for every 1000 kms. The bike runs really well and does not blow any smoke..engine sounds fine. Is it normal to use a bit of Oil ??

I'm using 20W-50 Oil in her, can't find 10W-40 in many service stations, I have been told that here in Brisbane where it's a bit warmer the 20w-50 is ok to use.

Have been using Lead replacement fuel, seems to work OK so I guess that's the go ??

I rode a 100kms on the weekend and noticed that I had a fair bit of vibration through the handlebars...is this normal with these models ???

Great website.

any comments / info would be appreciated

[Billy Ricks]

The vibration is normal, the 20W-50 is fine in warmer climates, and a litre per 1000kms is a bit much.

[SqDancerLynn1]

valve guide seals are probably old and hard and not doing their job any more

[Anonymous]

If the valve seals are sufficiently gone, I would expect you would see a bit more smoke than usual but you say that it is pretty clean.

Depending upon the temperatures you are running in, there may not be a problem. My brother and I both ride the GSs on our summer road trips putting on about 5000 km over a couple of weeks. Normally, we would not lose an entire litre over a couple of thousand clicks, when the weather gets hot, the bikes have on more than one occasion dropped a litre of oil in 1000 kilometres. We top them up and they seem to be okay for the rest of the trip. When we loose the oil, we are usually riding in over 30 degree temps (about 90 degrees farenheit) and are averaging about 110 km/hr.

I guess winter is coming up for you, perhaps with the cooler temperatures you'll find you are not using as much oil.

[Anonymous]

Hi Troy,

A litre every 1,000kms is too much. When mine got to that stage I started thinking of replacing the valve guide seals. It took a couple of months before I had thought enough (coz they're expensive little things) before I did a whole bunch of work, rings, seals, cam chain, the full hooha.

However, a few dollars every 1,000kms for oil is cheaper than doing a top end rebuild.

I used Nulon Stop Leak in mine for a while. This stuff softens up the rubber of the seals and helps a bit to control the oil seepage. I also used Nulon Stop Smoke, the thicky honey stuff, when consumption got too conspicuous because of the smoke.

It is normal to use 20W50 oil in old motors. I use it down here in Bathurst ven in the cold winter.

The vibration you speak of, does it happen at a particular rev range or speed? It might be coming from the suspension or the motor. Check tyres for hard patches and balance. Have your carbs sync'd. These are the two most common reasons for vibration.

If it is intermittent, check your plug caps as they break down and cause misfire with time. They start out intermittent and increase until they are permanently shot. It will cost about $27 Oz a set.

There is also the Katana forum

http://groups.msn.com/KATANAAUSTRALIA

Have fun on the bike, a Katana shaftie is a rare beast I imagine.

Kim

[saaz]

Apart form oil seals and guides (my 78 GS1000 is probably using a little oil because of hardened valve guide seals, done back in the early 80s), a compression test will tell you how rings etc are.

In Brisbane, 20W-50 is well warranted. If you want to try it, Penrite HPR30 (20W60) may lessen oil consumption - this oil is also good for -10c temps in case you go inland over winter! I run Penrite as my standard oil even in Canberra winter (0 to -10c at night).

80,000kms ago I rebuilt my bike when it was using that kind of oil....if it otherwise runs ok keep on going!