A whiff of burning oil

[Jharpphoto]

Went for a spin yesterday while it was 91 degrees. Yay GA. This is a new bike to me (2013 RT) and it was a little low on oil when I picked it up and hadn’t been ridden much by the previous owner ( 9K miles total). When I got home and parked in the garage a little waft of burning oil was smelled. Pretty faint and it was so freaking hot outside. Don’t want to over react, but that should be normal right?

[Lowndes]

I'm no expert on nuthin, but no, that isn't the norm for any of these bikes, as far as I know.  Oil on the pipes is what I'd look for first.  Wouldn't take much.

 

Check for burned oil on the pipes, headers, cat.

 

Fork seals leaking, blowing back on the pipes??

 

Front calipers leaking blowing back on pipes??

 

Engine oil from seals, window, banjo's leaking down on pipes??

 

Engine oil from cyl base, heads, or ?? dripping on headers??

 

Transmission oil dripping on cat??

 

Clutch slave cyl dripping on cat??

 

Rear shock dripping on cat??

 

Blow some dust or baking flour around down there and see what's weeping.  

 

What else??

 

 

[wbw6cos]

How hard did you ride it before parking?

 

I often sense a something similar on my 1250 RT when I park it in the garage; I am usually pretty hard on it right up until the last tenth of mile, or so.  I think mine may be related to hot exhaust pipes, not oil burning.  I do not see any loss of oil, though.

 

You may want to keep an eye on it.

[Jharpphoto]

I  wasn’t riding it very hard but also not grandpa riding either.  I’ll keep an eye on it. The oil level is not moving so hopefully no big deal.

[Jharpphoto]

forgot to mention what is probably an important detail. When I picked up the bike it appeared as if there had been some oil that dripped from the head at the oil fill spot. I rode it home and wiped it off but perhaps some of that oil leaked down further into the recesses that I missed and that is what is burning off?

[Indy Dave]

Maybe do a look-see all around, being sure to get on the ground, looking for accumulated moisture or oily dirt anywhere. As mentioned, check the forks and both shocks for same. Clean up and note where found, and try to trace back. You may need to just clean up and wait to see if it begins again or the smell continues. Possible it's just a remnant from the previous owner (a spill or something) - but one would think that would have burned off during your ride.

.

[MikeB60]

Check the cam chain tensioner. Not un common for those to leak on the camheads. 

[Jharpphoto]

Ok now I’m a little concerned. I topped off the oil after I picked up the bike because it was low. I didn’t add much but the sight glass showed it at approx 2/3 full. I’ve ridden it a few times since then, just short hr long rides. I checked the oil again tonight after a short ride and the sight glass show about 1/3. That seems like a lot of oil consumption in just a few days.

[Indy Dave]

Don't freak out!

 

The level shown in the site glass will vary, so it's important to check the level the same way each time. I believe the sight glass is 8oz from top to bottom. With your engine at operating temperature, the manual says to check the oil after 5 minutes on the center stand.

 

Visual of oil level changes.

 

https://snafu.smugmug.com/Motorcycles/Other-Videos/i-ZT45zBx/A

 

 

 

[bruce2000ltc]

Ride the bike until it gets to operating temperature then park it on the center stand.  Wait ten minutes and check the oil level in the sight glass -- that is your accurate oil level.   Fill it to just below the top of the sight glass then check it again after you next longer ride.  Be careful adding oil, it only takes a pint of oil from the bottom of the sight glass to the top.  I doubt you have a problem as these bikes are pretty bulletproof but at 9000mi I would expect it to use some oil.

[Jharpphoto]

Today I thought it might be a good idea to apply some degreaser to the bottom of my RT engine to clean up any crud/oil that might be causing the slight scent of burning oil I have occasionally encountered after riding.  When I got down under the engine and started looking around I noticed a small amount of oil that seeped out of the bolt in the photo I am attaching here.  There is some dried black (probably oil) around the area  of the oil filter that I was planning to use the degreaser for.  Obviously ANY leaking oil is not a good thing so can you wise gentlemen take a look at this photo and let me know your thoughts about the severity of this leak/seepage? It is worth noting that there is NO drips or puddles of oil under the bike so there is very little  oil seeping out from this bolt.@dirtrider

[Hosstage]

Did you put a wrench on it and check for tightness?

[bruce2000ltc]

Are you sure it's coming from that bolt and not from above.  The cam chain tensioner bolt is above there and as MikeB60 said they are known to leak on Camheads.  Usually just need to be tightened up.

[Jharpphoto]

I just got a wrench on it and it was definitely a little loose.  Turned it about 2/3 turn to snug it up.  That looseness could have caused the oil to seep out right?

[Jharpphoto]

I did not check the cam tensioner bolt. Not sure where that bolt is, I’ll see if I can locate it.

[bruce2000ltc]

 

[Jharpphoto]

Thanks for sharing that video