oil consumption

[schrader7032]

A quart in 1000 miles is not too horrible, but it's borderline. Anything less and you should probably seriously look into it. If you think it's going out the crankcase breather, how do the plugs look? Oily deposits? That would confirm your theory. If the oil is doing this, it'll only be a matter of time before your combustion chamber will be severely compromised, probably with the onset of pinging.

You might not think it's being burned, but have someone ride along behind you at night. Watch the exhaust when you accelerate from a stop. You might see a cloud of smoke in their lights when you do that.

What's your technique for filling the crankcase with oil? Most of these bikes don't like the oil to be at the full mark. Often times, what happens is that the oil will be burned off until it reaches a happy median. You might try filling to just half way and see how the bike likes that.

Do you have the correct dipstick? You might be putting in too much without knowing it. I believe most Airheads will take just around 2 quarts to the full mark.

It might the oil you're using. I've heard that the cheaper varieties will burn off all the additives quickly while the better brands will hold together longer.

Kurt in S.A.

[VBMWMO]

I've got a 1980 R100 that doesn't leak or smoke yet goes through a fair amount of oil. Does it make sense that the oil is being directed to the carbs by the crankcase vent in sufficient quantity for me to use a half quart in 500mi?