Oil Horror Story

[linuxology_imp]

Got my front tire changed by the dealer and got my bike out the shop. Decide to go for a ride and about 5 miles into the ride I look in the mirrors and plooms of smoke. I attempt to slow down and it seems my rear brake is not responsive. I think at the time that the smoke is due to brake fluid on the exhaust so I turn it around and decide to head for home. I go for a mile or two and look at the gauges to see the oil light flickering. I decide that I am going to make it the rest of the way without pulling over as the bike is still running well. Oil light is still flickering. I make it to my destination and turn off the bike. I pop the seat and look to see the reservoir fill is below the lower level. I then look to see the oil and there is nothing showing on the indicator. Left it for a few hours. Pull the filter to find another gasket under the filter (doh!!). I put about 3 quarts in until oil showed in the window indicator. The rear brake reservoir fill looks good now. Maybe oil was on the rear disc and that's why the brakes didn't feel right. Not sure. Really thought it was brake fluid issue for a long time. Guess I was in crisis mode. Do you think the engine could be damaged? It never showed signs of engine(i.e. knocking) on the ride home.

[the Ferret]

Who changed the oil? When? Was this the first time the bike was ridden since the last oil change? Was there oil all over the bike, tire, rear brakes?

Doubt that there was any damage but you were down to just over a quart in the bike. That's not much but IMO probably just enough to keep from doing any damage since oil sticks to metal parts for awhile.

Holy cow though, glad you noticed it.

[linuxology_imp]

it was my fault, i changed it. 2nd time it was ridden, but first time for more than a couple miles. yes oil all over! i'm sick. I will do a good cleaning tomorrow.

[Lord Popgun]

There seems to be 2 things going on here. First, it appears your engine oil leaked out and that got on the exhaust and caused the smoke. AND it got on the rear rotor/pads and messed up the braking. It if got on the rotor, it got on the pads and you need new ones. NOW.

The brake fluid level going up and down is a concern as the brake system is a sealed system and the level should be pretty constant. Of course it will lower as the pads wear. I'd say at the very least the rear needs bleeding. I'd just flush it all out with new when you change the pads.

That oil light flickering was telling you that you had low oil pressure. It flickers because the oil pump was not getting a steady supply of oil and thus the pressure was coming and going.

In another thread I mentioned that if the oil light comes on, you should IMMEDIATELY shut off the engine. Catastrophic damage and or engine seizure can result from lack of oil/pressure. Sometimes quickly! But like Ferret said, most likely you are good in this case.

When oil leaks out like that it can also get on the rear tire. Make sure you clean it all off. Oil on tires is a bad thing. The tire can easily lose grip and dump you. You don't want that!

[the Ferret]

I might add that I was just guessing that there won't be any damage. I assume that due to the fact that the engine never misfired or quit and there were no strange noises that you heard.

[Lord Popgun]

I'd guess that since he was getting sporadic pressure there isn't any top end damage or real wear. And we know it didn't spin a bearing or we be getting asked what the bad knocking noise in the bottom end is.

I mean really, all he can do is put new oil in and ride it. If it was a race bike he could sit on the couch and watch TV while the crew pulled the engine apart. . The brakes though. That's worrisome.

[Matt F._imp]

Were you running dino or synthetic?

[flynrider]

There seems to be 2 things going on here. First, it appears your engine oil leaked out and that got on the exhaust and caused the smoke. AND it got on the rear rotor/pads and messed up the braking. It if got on the rotor, it got on the pads and you need new ones. NOW.

The brake fluid level going up and down is a concern as the brake system is a sealed system and the level should be pretty constant. Of course it will lower as the pads wear. I'd say at the very least the rear needs bleeding. I'd just flush it all out with new when you change the pads.

That oil light flickering was telling you that you had low oil pressure. It flickers because the oil pump was not getting a steady supply of oil and thus the pressure was coming and going.

In another thread I mentioned that if the oil light comes on, you should IMMEDIATELY shut off the engine. Catastrophic damage and or engine seizure can result from lack of oil/pressure. Sometimes quickly! But like Ferret said, most likely you are good in this case.

When oil leaks out like that it can also get on the rear tire. Make sure you clean it all off. Oil on tires is a bad thing. The tire can easily lose grip and dump you. You don't want that!

This cannot be stressed too much. The typical oil pressure idiot light (as opposed to a gauge) won't alert you until the oil pressure is very close to zero. Continuing to ride with the light on is very risky to the engine's health. In addition to pressurized oil feeding the top end, our engines also depend on a quantity of oil in the pan that the crankshaft splashes to lube the bottom end. And being air/oil cooled means internal temperatures will rise dramatically with reduced oil volume.

Linuxology, with a quart left in the sump, you may have dodged a bullet on this one. That the engine was sounding normal when you stopped is a good sign.

BTW, I think your rear braking issue was probably a combination of oil on the rear disk/pads and on the tire as well. You've got some cleaning up to do

[Blockhead_imp]

it was my fault, i changed it. 2nd time it was ridden, but first time for more than a couple miles. yes oil all over! i'm sick. I will do a good cleaning tomorrow.

So, did you determine how/why you lost the oil? Loose filter/drain plug/fill plug?

Sounds like you dodged a bullet...good to hear it.

[Lord Popgun]

Blockhead, in the first post he said he had 2 gaskets on the oil filter. So it didn't seat correctly. I guess when he changed the oil the gasket stuck on the engine and he didn't notice.