Spitting oil after a service

[tatts]

Well today I decided to service the duke. New oil, filter, ait filter and plug. Put it all back together and put oil in it until it was showing in the middle of the window (about 1.5L). Started it up for a few minutes then left it to settle for an hour. Now when I look at the window I couldn't see any oil so I put a bit more in but still I can only just see it. Considering it has a capacity (according to the manual) of 1.5L and I've now put close to a full 2ltr can in I'm worried why its still only just showing on the window when upright (it goes up if I tilt the bike so not empty). To top it off, I now have watery oil spitting out of the bottom of my exhaust?

 

[tatts]

I hope not, I've done less than 10mile since I bought it. The oil I removed was black as so due a change. I was hoping it was just too much oil but then I don't know where its all gone to

 

[tatts]

It's a ktm duke 125 and there's a small hole in the bottom of the exhaust (drain?) that its coming from.

It's black water, never thought to check it properly as it turned my stomach but I'll go have a look now. It doesn't do it on tick over, just with light throttle. I was worried about over filling it as the book says 1.5l and there's at least 1.7l in there now but as you say, I would notice if it was going missing.

Edit: Just mopped some up and its very dark black, doesn't smell of oil. It's got a funny smell to it almost like sut?
So, will it matter if I use 2l of oil even though its only supposed to take 1.5l?

 

[tatts]

Sight glasses are such a pain in the arse to get a reliable read that I just use a jug to measure my oil when I do a change and ignore the sight glass.

If only I read that before filling it with none cheap oil

 

[tatts]

In this weather it's more likely to be condensation in the exhaust and it's just picking up oily residue/carbon from the inside of the pipe making it look like oil.

I'd let it warm up properly and see what's happening then unless it's blowing plumes of blue smoke I wouldn't be thinking the worst.



Just drain it all out and measure it out and reuse it.

I think you're spot on, I've checked again and its not oil (panic over), its black water (condensation) that smells of sut.

If I measure it out and fill it but it doesn't show on the window then how do I know if it uses some oil?

 

[tatts]

Was the oil change with a filter and is the 1.5l just oil change or filter and oil change

Oil and filter

Whatever you do, do not over fill it! it's easier to fill than to take away.

Your bike takes about 1.2 litres after an oil change and 1.5 total - you can't drain all of the oil. You should be putting back an absolute maximum of 1.5 litres (unless of course you've always had an oil leak that you didn't know about previously...)

Next time you see the black liquid from the exhaust, rub it between your fingers and see if it's oily. If it's just a mix of carbon and water then it won't be oily.

Also re-tighten your filter and sump plug. The filter should be hand tight and the plug torqued up to specification (15nm)

The correct way to check oil is to warm the bike up to working temperature. Switch it off. Wait 1 minute. Check oil level.

Judging from the issues you've been having I would drain it again and start fresh.

My manual states 1.5L, there's only the odd site that state 1.2L which I don't think is right. I also thought you checked the level when cold like on a car, maybe this is where I went wrong?

Small amounts of water in an exhaust usually means there is a running engine connected to it, particularly in winter when the water vapor condenses more easily.

Ignore the water drain in the exhaust at this point, small amounts of black water coming out in cold weather is absolutely normal.


It should normally smell of soot

0.5L extra in an engine with a total capacity of 1.5L is more of a worry, an empty filter on a small bike engine won't take 0.5Litres to fill. However if the oil is showing at the correct level in the sight glass (or dipstick) with the bike completely upright (not on the side stand) then everything should be fine.

I put a little more oil in it today, did a 5 mile round trip and left it for 5 minutes. Now when stood upright the level is in the middle of the window but I know I've used over 1.5L as there's not a lot left in the can (why did I buy a metal tub lol), I'll have to measure what's left in it for peace of mind. I did leave the bike almost on it's side for a while in an attempt to get as much oil as possible out of it.