oil consumption (loss)

[GMC]

My '03 1150 with 64k miles has never used oil, or at least I can say I've never seen a drop in the level between normal oil changes.

 

But last week I prepared for a ride and couldn't see oil in the site glass. Had to add almost a quart to bring it up to proper level. Concerning.

 

This year the RT had much lighter use than usual, as I mainly rode other machines all summer. Probably only a thousand miles or so since last oil change (12 mos ago).

It starts, runs, and drives the same as always, with no noticeable issues.

 

But, and here's what actually concerns me when considered with the mystifying oil loss, a month or two ago I noticed that when I started it after it had been sitting (for weeks), the exhaust was a bit smoky for the first 10 seconds or so. I've never noticed that before. Its not super smoky, but worse than it used to be. Its light enough that one might not even notice it unless you had a light tail wind or were off the bike when starting it so you could look closely to note the exhaust from under the side case. The exhaust cleans up pretty quick to "normal", so its not normally running smoky (which would imply some more obvious issues), but it was definitely a darker, smokier exhaust on that startup, and perhaps similar on some subsequent starts, though maybe now its more my imagination.

 

The plan is just to monitor oil use over the next month or so, but wondering if anyone had thoughts on what the issue might be.

 

 

And yes, i'll admit that I had not been previously watching oil level as close as I should have been, as the bike has never used any oil, and I was just riding it now and then to work and back, about 18 miles, so I was guilty of not watching the level like I should have.

 

Last oil change, roughly a thousand miles ago but a full 12 months ago, I also did filter, valve adjust, TBS, and a few other odds and ends with the plastic off.

And no oil on the ground, ever.

[4wheeldog]

Have you checked the air box drain? If there is something wonky with the breather, oil can pile up in the air box, and wind up in the intake.

 

Other than that, I have always found that my '02 uses a bit of oil when used only for short trips, and virtually nothing when ridden long and hard. I think cold running allows somewhat more oil consumption than hot and spinning. Good luck.