Update on oil consumption

[RX1Jim]

Okay, not to bring up a sore subject again but has anyone discovered anything in the engine as a result of work on the top end which indicates the source of the problem? Several members have reported success in lowering the oil consumption by using the seafoam additive. Some members have stated they believe the oil consumption is a result of extreme wear. Personally, I believe the oil consumption is caused by the excessive carbon buildup in the ring grooves. THINK SNOW!

 

[LazyBastard]

Oil consumption is experienced with prolonged operation at VERY HIGH rpm. It is caused by excessive crankcase pressure which pushes oil out the vent line into the airbox to be subsequently burned through the engine. Seafoam or other carbon cleaner is a chewing gum solution to the need to increase crankcase ventilation. Lower crankcase pressure leads to better ring seal, better ring seal leads to lower crankcase pressure. Lower crankcase pressure means that less oil will blow out the vent.

 

[ger]

My sled has 3500 kms on it , broke in by the book and I dont feel it is run hard too much and I still use oil. I have my 5yr old with me quite a bit so I am not using the full potential of the sled
?

 

[Tom-RX1]

the oil consumption is carbon buildup . I use a product called frictionguard that is an oil fortifier it also cleans out the rings and the rest of an engine . I put it in the oil after 800 klm and it gained abut 5 mph after about 20 min running . My sled has 9500 klm on it and uses less than 1/2 litter of oil in 4000 klm . My freind uses it as well and uses about the same amount . The thing with this product you get less ware on the engine, protection from heat to650* f , protection from antifreeze or water in the oil , and it also has pourpoit aditives to -45 . mine is running very rich . plugs are black . Got to fix that .
Tom-RX1

 

[APEX GT 4 STROKER]

Yamaha has a product called RING FREE which is a fuel additive and was reccomended by the YAMAHA Technical Services group. Reason being that todays fuels create excessive carbon build up in the motor. This is especially true I'm told for fuels produced in & used by our good friends from Canada. This product removes carbon & varnish fom the ring lands , pistons, intake & exhaust manifold,ports,valve train and carbs.Once run through the engine an oil change is crictical as deposits will be strongly present in the motor. They reccomended utilizing thir new engine oil from then on. The Yami RING FREE ADDITIVE Oil Ratio listed on container states 2 OZ. to 10 gal. for shock reatment
for engines with high useage and 1 OZ. for engines as a constant treatment. This advise came from the horses mouth. (READ THE INSTRUCTIONS) on container.

 

[Dano]

I’ve noticed cold starts spit out a fine mist of oil out the exhaust till the engine warms up and rings fully seal. If you put your hand behind the exhaust pipe when the engine is cold, you may experience a fine spray of oil. Adding 1-2 litres of oil a season is no big deal IMO...

 

[Buckeye]

How about a quart every 200 miles? That is what I was burning. I have a friend with a totally stock sled who was burning the same amount. It was like having a 2 stroke. On high speed runs I would have globs of oil coming out of my cc vent. I used Seafoam at the end of the season, but ran out of snow with less than 200 miles with it. I will be doing an engine rebuild in the next feww weeks, so we will see what things look like.

 

[Dano]

 

[Buckeye]

The main reason I am rebuilding is to run more boost. I am going with 10 to 1 pistons and Carrillo rods. I haven't heard of anyone running low compression pistons burning oil. I may do a leak down test before the breakdown. I am curious if the Seafoam worked.

 

[impalapower]

Yamaha called me last week and informed me that the RX-1 is a two stroke. Thats why folks are burning oil.

 

[Sled Dog]

Yamaha called me last week and informed me that the RX-1 is a two stroke. Thats why folks are burning oil.

Huh

 

[nhrxrider]

Buckeye, please keep us informed as to what you find when you tear the engine down. I have about the same consumption as you. My sled was broken in properly, the oil is changed on a regular basis, and although I ride hard on the trails, I don't do lake riding (lots of high RPMs), and I don't race it. All on a stock motor with an estimated 5500 miles. Speedo was unhooked for half of the first season, so I just add about 1500 miles to what the odometer says (3900 now). I will be trying the seafoam, and I will also do a crankcase venting mod to see if that helps any.

Jim

 

[Buckeye]

I think crankcase venting is one of the keys.

 

[RX1Jim]

My experience with my 03 RX1 shows it definitely consumes more oil when I run for long periods of high rpm operation such as 50+ miles at 70 - 80 mph on the rail beds in Quebec. When I ride only on the narrower, tight twisty trails of northern NH, the oil consumption is very difficult to measure it's so small. My question is why is this engine behaving this way? Over the summer, I ran my Kaw. zx-11 bike under similar conditions - ran it in a lower gear than normal so the rpms would be much higher while cruising. I hoped to simulate the sustained high rpm operation for many miles. I put 1700 miles on the bike with NO oil consumption. The bike has 3200 miles on it and my RX1 has 7000 miles on it. There has got to be something about the combination of the low air temp and the setup of the RX1 engine (thermostat temp., ring land clearance, etc.) which is causing this problem. I've spoken to dozens of owners of sportbikes and sportbike shops over the summer and nobody complains of consuming oil. Some of the owners have beaten the $#@% out of the engines from the first mile and some of them have never hit 7K rpm. It's a puzzling problem!!!!

 

[nhrxrider]

Well you know the trails I ride then...northern N.H. In fact, for the first season, I mostly rode SOUTHERN NH trails, which are very tight and winding, and I STILL used oil. I have also wondered about the bike engines, and why they last so long. I had an '87 CBR1000 Hurricane, with somewhere around 30,000 miles. That engine never used a drop of oil, and I beat the hell out of it. The previous owners abused it at least as hard as I did. I know people who use the same bike to tour with, and easily put 80,000+ miles on before any work needed to be done.

Jim