Low engine oil level on 1975 R60/6

[motaman38]

Hi,

I purchased my R60, this past spring. I was informed by the dealer that
the oil was changed and I checked the level at the time and it was good.
I discovered just prior to winterizing last week, that the oil level was down at least .5 to .75 of
a litre! That's a lot of oil loss/burn. Is there any chance I did some
damage to my engine? The oil capacity is 2 liters.

Thanks,
Steve

[schrader7032]

Hard to say, Steve. If the time was relatively short and you didn't hammer the engine at high speeds or in high heat, it might be OK. Best you can do is change oil with the right amount and keep your eyes and ears open as you ride. If nothing seems out of the ordinary, you'll probably be fine. You should carefully take the oil filter apart and look carefully into the pleats. There should be no metallic parts in the filter.

[khittner]

You don't say how many miles you put on your bike this season, or many miles the engine has on it, but it wouldn't be unusual for a 43yr.-old air-cooled engine to burn a bit of oil. You should check the bike's oil level more than once a year. Until you know how much/how fast it's using oil, checking the engine oil level every time you have the bike on its center stand to fill the gas tank would not be particularly OCD. You could go all out, and check your tire pressures every now and then, too.

[motaman38]

Thanks Konrad. I rode the bike about 500 km over the summer, just easy rides once or twice per
week (country roads). However, I will not be lazy anymore re: checking oil level....a dumbass move!

[khittner]

OK, that's a lot of oil consumption. How many miles/kms on the bike? Any maintenance/repair history available? Assuming that it's not leaking like mad, it's ready for a leak-down compression test, and then budget for a top end job (valves, guides, re-ring/re-bore).