oil usage

[adrian jones]

Hoping to get a little feedback on oil usage.
On a recent trip up the west coast of Fl. my '05 Tiger used about 1/4 of a quart of oil for every 500 miles.
Running Mobil 1 Synthetic as per the manual.

This seems to be a bit high to me compared to other bikes I've owned(except my old sportster.......leaked and blew oil like a texas oil strike)

Any ideas?

Doesn't "smoke" or run odd in any way.

 :?

[EvilBetty]

Just performed my first oil change using Mobil 4T and changed the breather seal, I'll report back after I get some miles on the bike.

[zadok_oz]

I had the same using a semi-synthetic. I gleaned from the forums that using full synthetic seemed to have fixed the problem for most people. I have just changed to the Mobil full. Now you are still reporting the same problem with it! Seems to be a fairly common problem, even those with low mileage.

[adrian jones]

YEs, I have just under 14,000 miles. And I don't "ring it out"......well not often anyway but she does run north of 100mph for a bit once a month or so.

You know, gotta let the Tiger stretch its legs...........

 

[TigerTrax]

Today I spoke to a Triumph dealer owner who said they have seen a couple of 'using oil' issues. He said, try this, Use a BMW break-in oil (10-40 ). I cleared up the 2 issues.

Another dealer had told me check the breather, it may be plugged.

So there you have a couple of things to try before you start getting itchy!

BTW: I purchased a BMW MAhle KL145 fuel filter, about $10 less than Triumph..... both are the same..... go figure!

[adrian jones]

Thanks Tiger Traxx

Not sure what you mean by BMW break-in oil.....just regular old 10-40 oil?
Or a specific BMW product.

Yes cross referenceing filters can be great.
Local NAPA dealer had an identical NAPA fuel filter to the BMW filter you spec, it was $5.32 !!!!!!

[TigerTrax]

He specified 'break-in oil.... I do not know if there is a diff...

[EvilBetty]

http://www.royalpurple.com/breakin-oil.html

 :?

[Nick Calne]

Can't help specifically but I have noticed quite a few articles in British magazines about Triumphs using lots of oil.  One road tester actually trashed an engine on a roadie last year though an oil issue. Mine certainly use a fair bit of oil... something to keep an eye on, but otherwise not really a problem - other than the cost of the oil.  It's a Triumph idiosyncrasy rather than a fault as such. :roll:

[Sasquatch]

Every liter class bike I have owned since the mid 80's used a bit of oil when running at sustained highway speeds.  Just check it daily and dont worry about it too much.

[EvilBetty]

3 Qts in 2200 miles seems like more than a little to me.

[Sasquatch]

3 Qts in 2200 miles seems like more than a little to me.

The OP stated 1/4 qt every 500 miles.  That is only about a quart in 2200 miles.  That is not too bad.

3 quarts, that would be bad.

Mine uses about half a quart over a 2000 mile trip.  I just switched from Mobil 1 15/50 to Mobil 1 10/40 high mileage as it seemed to cut down the usage even more in a friends Tiger.

Here is an odd observation on oil.  The factory service manual states to use full synthetic 10w/40 oil.  The owners manual (for my 01) states the same thing.  But when you go to the dealership, their Triumph branded Mobil 1 is 15/50.  Just think this is odd.  Does not pertain to me because I am one of those who have not used "motorcycle specific" oils for over 20 years.  Mobil 1 car oil and Shell Rotella T synthetic have been favorites of mine for years.

[Bixxer Bob]

Makes a nonsense of all the tales of car oil additives being bad for your clutch then eh?  :lol:

[Stretch]

The car engine oils labeled 'Energy Conserving' are bad for your clutch.

[Sasquatch]

The car engine oils labeled 'Energy Conserving' are bad for your clutch.

What he said.

But that really does not pertain to motorcycles since EC oils are usually too light for MC's anyway.  (5-30, 10-30, etc.).  You wont find any EC oils up in the 10-40 and beyond weights, at least that I have seen.

I'll throw another wrench at the oil debate.  I would bet that none of us would ever see an oil related engine problem on our tigers if we ran store brand conventional oils, and changed them regularly.  Oil, even the cheap stuff, is so much better than the good oils of 15 years ago.  Most store brands are just a major brand with a store label.  I happen to know for sure that all NAPA brands of oils are Valvoline.  Now I dont do this, and never will, but I bet it is true none the less.