Kawasaki 650R 09 consuming a lot of oil?

[Kawazaki650R]

It seems my bike is consuming alot of oil. I had it refilled in June. Then went to the kawasaki dealership 4 weeks ago and they said my oil levels were low again so they topped it up. Now I just checked the oil levels and I couldn't see any oil. Then I took a short ride to work and I can see some oil but not that much. I'm trying to stand the bike straight when I took the photos. 

 

The bike runs fine a bit clunky on the first gear but I can't notice any other issues. The oil lamp doesn't light on either. 

 

Is this normal or is there a leak somewhere? 

[Mickeymaus]

Look if the sparkling plug and / or the exhaust pipe is oily. Or are there oil spots where you park it?

[Kawazaki650R]

1 minute ago, Mickeymaus said:

Look if the sparkling plug and / or the exhaust pipe is oily. Or are there oil spots where you park it?

Have never noticed any leaks anywhere on the ground. Will check the exhaust pipe. What about the muddy brown color? That's not good, right? 

[Simple Jack]

Get the top end looked at. Dont ride it!

 

MIne did the same after Kawasaki Nakonsawan <deleted> up the valve job. Engine failure 20km later. Get it looked at by a pro mate.

 

Example of a bad day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Kawazaki650R]

2 minutes ago, Simple Jack said:

Get the top end looked at. Dont ride it!

 

MIne did the same after Kawasaki Nakonsawan <deleted> up the valve job. Engine failure 20km later. Get it looked at by a pro mate.

 

Example of a bad day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been riding it now for maybe a month with zero issues since the latest oil change. It starts fine. No weird sounds or any signs of any mechanical issues at all. But I'll get it checked out. I'd prefer not to go to kawasaki as they're expensive.

 

What about the milky brown color of the engine oil? Coolant leaking? Blown headgasket? 

 

Do you mean that yours was consuming alot of oil? 

[Simple Jack]

Just now, Kawazaki650R said:

I've been riding it now for maybe a month with zero issues since the latest oil change. It starts fine. No weird sounds or any signs of any mechanical issues at all. But I'll get it checked out. I'd prefer not to go to kawasaki as they're expensive.

 

What about the milky brown color of the engine oil? Coolant leaking? Blown headgasket? 

 

Do you mean that yours was consuming alot of oil? 

Yea. Engine burned all the oil. Over-heated and chugged a valve. If your oil is tanny milky brown? You most definitely have a coolant leak ???? So the top end will need a look see asap.

 

Kawasaki expensive. Never lol. The rebuild cost of my engine was amost the same price as the bike new. Think it was 180k. But Kawasaki covered that under warranty.

[Kawazaki650R]

4 minutes ago, Simple Jack said:

Yea. Engine burned all the oil. Over-heated and chugged a valve. If your oil is tanny milky brown? You most definitely have a coolant leak ???? So the top end will need a look see asap.

 

Kawasaki expensive. Never lol. The rebuild cost of my engine was amost the same price as the bike new. Think it was 180k. But Kawasaki covered that under warranty.

Well mine's not got any warranty. I'll take it to a mechanic to get it checked out. What's the best vs worst case scenario for me? 

[Simple Jack]

7 minutes ago, Kawazaki650R said:

Well mine's not got any warranty. I'll take it to a mechanic to get it checked out. What's the best vs worst case scenario for me? 

Hard to say bro. Best case. New gasket & coolant. Worst case there is a crack somewhere.

It's the old story mate. It's all speculation until shes opened up & looked at.

 

Either way. I wouldnt ride it until you get it looked at mate.

[Kawazaki650R]

13 minutes ago, Simple Jack said:

Hard to say bro. Best case. New gasket & coolant. Worst case there is a crack somewhere.

It's the old story mate. It's all speculation until shes opened up & looked at.

 

Either way. I wouldnt ride it until you get it looked at mate.

What do you think having the bike looked over would cost? 

[Simple Jack]

Hard to say bro. I decent shop worth their salt. Will prob charge 1000ish to Tare down the top end ect.

 

Where abouts are you located? Bunch of lads on here that will be able to point you in the right direction.

I'm sure they will chime in sooner than later.  ????

 

Do you have a service history on the the bike?

[Kawazaki650R]

47 minutes ago, Simple Jack said:

Hard to say bro. I decent shop worth their salt. Will prob charge 1000ish to Tare down the top end ect.

 

Where abouts are you located? Bunch of lads on here that will be able to point you in the right direction.

I'm sure they will chime in sooner than later.  ????

 

Do you have a service history on the the bike?

I'll go to my friends place. I just checked there's no oil leaks anywhere that I can see. Exhaust is not oily. No wierd noises or anything. When it's off there's no oil in the viewing glass. When idling for 1 minute it reaches barely above minimum despite having topped it off 1 month ago. 

 

Could it be that water got into the system after I rode home in the floods that happened 2-3 months ago? I had to go through deep puddles and once water even washed over the wind shield. 

[Simple Jack]

Are you holding the bike upright or on a paddock stand when your checking the level?

 

3 minutes ago, Kawazaki650R said:

Could it be that water got into the system after I rode home in the floods that happened 2-3 months ago? I had to go through deep puddles and once water even washed over the wind shield. 

If you had the oil/filter changed since then. Id doubt it mate.

[Kawazaki650R]

12 minutes ago, Simple Jack said:

Are you holding the bike upright or on a paddock stand when your checking the level?

 

If you had the oil/filter changed since then. Id doubt it mate.

Holding it straight. 

 

They just topped it off after that as far as I'm aware. I had an oil change before the floods. Then last month the kawasaki dealership just topped it up because they said the level was low. And now it seems the level is low yet again. 

[Simple Jack]

The bikes an 09 model right? If so it's no spring chicken at this point.

 

Did you buy the bike new or second hand?

 

Could be the rings are getting tired. Either way. The oil is contaminated & going somewhere. Which is not good.

Some investigating is definitely needed bro..

 

 

 

 

[KhaoYai]

What model are we talking about - I'm not familiar with a 650r. Do you mean an ER6? A 650 twin?

 

Firstly, remember that the bike doesn't hold a lot of oil (1.8L from memory) - when its leant over on the stand it will probably show no oil. Start it and let it warm up (don't over rev it until you are sure there's no problem) then check the oil with the bike level.

 

The colour of the oil varies with the oil manufacturer - from very light to mid brown but no way should it be cloudy or milky. As already mentioned, that would indicate coolant is mixing with the oil.

 

How many KM have you done since the oil change? All engines will use some oil - some more than others but it should not be excessive. I have an ER6 with 35,000km on the clock and I've never noticed any excessive oil usage. The 650 twin is fairly bullet proof - especially later models.

 

I'm a retired mechanic and I can tell you that its very difficult to determine this problem remotely but the oil is your photos does look a bit cloudy - you should get a professional to look at it ASAP and don't ride it until you do.  A simple (ish) head gasket problem could end up with a trashed engine if you do.

 

I only know of one guy that I would trust but he's in Pak Chong - where are you?

[Kawazaki650R]

9 minutes ago, Simple Jack said:

The bikes an 09 model right? If so it's no spring chicken at this point.

 

Did you buy the bike new or second hand?

 

Could be the rings are getting tired. Either way. The oil is contaminated & going somewhere. Which is not good.

Some investigating is definitely needed bro..

 

 

 

 

Second hand. I'll take it to the mechanic today. Hope it's not gonna be too much as I already spent way too much on it... 

[Kawazaki650R]

1 minute ago, KhaoYai said:

What model are we talking about - I'm not familiar with a 650r. Do you mean an ER6? A 650 twin?

 

Firstly, remember that the bike doesn't hold a lot of oil (1.8L from memory) - when its leant over on the stand it will probably show no oil. Start it and let it warm up (don't over rev it until you are sure there's no problem) then check the oil with the bike level.

 

The colour of the oil varies with the oil manufacturer - from very light to mid brown but no way should it be cloudy or milky. As already mentioned, that would indicate coolant is mixing with the oil.

 

How many KM have you done since the oil change? All engines will use some oil - some more than others but it should not be excessive. I have an ER6 with 35,000km on the clock and I've never noticed any excessive oil usage. The 650 twin is fairly bullet proof - especially later models.

 

I'm a retired mechanic and I can tell you that its very difficult to determine this problem remotely but the oil is your photos does look a bit cloudy - you should get a professional to look at it ASAP and don't ride it until you do.  A simple (ish) head gasket problem could end up with a trashed engine if you do.

 

I only know of one guy that I would trust but he's in Pak Chong - where are you?

650R is the predecessor. I think they changed the name after the - 10 model? 

 

I'm in Rama 9/Phra Khanong. I've only ridden it to work during weekdays which is 7 km each way since I had the oil topped up a month or so back. 

 

The photos are taken after its been idle for a few minutes. I'm holding the bike leveled and not on its stand. 

[KhaoYai]

2 minutes ago, Kawazaki650R said:

Second hand. I'll take it to the mechanic today. Hope it's not gonna be too much as I already spent way too much on it... 

Worse case scenario - and probably the cheapest if you have a serious problem, would be a secondhand engine from an accident damaged bike.

[KhaoYai]

7 minutes ago, Kawazaki650R said:

I'm in Rama 9/Phra Khanong

OK, well I can't help you there but try to find someone by word of mouth - not a sewing machine mechanic who's only worked on Honda Wave's.

 

Unfortunately Thailand is full of small bike shops and some of them have very little actual knowledge.  Local biker groups should be able to help you.

 

I doubt you have a problem with the rings - if it has used an excessive amount of oil as you suggest, you'd know about it. It would be belching out blue smoke.

[Simple Jack]

6 minutes ago, Kawazaki650R said:

650R is the predecessor. I think they changed the name after the - 10 model? 

 

 

2012. New model with the same engine. Still called ER6F or ER6N F faired, N Naked.

 

If you need the full workshop manual. Pm me. i can E-mail it to you mate.

[Kawazaki650R]

2 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

OK, well I can't help you there but try to find someone by word of mouth - not a sewing machine mechanic who's only worked on Honda Wave's.

 

Unfortunately Thailand is full of small bike shops and some of them have very little actual knowledge.  Local biker groups should be able to help you.

The guy I go to owns a bike big and seems knowledgeable. But if someone has any good recommendations I'm open for it. 

[KhaoYai]

13 minutes ago, Simple Jack said:

2012. New model with the same engine. Still called ER6F or ER6N F faired, N Naked.

 

If you need the full workshop manual. Pm me. i can E-mail it to you mate.

Its not the exact same engine as far as I know. As I understand it some of the internals were changed/upgraded to fix previous valve issues.

[Kawazaki650R]

Just handed it over to the shop. They'll take a look and message me when they're done. 

[Simple Jack]

Good call bro. Let us know how you get on ????

 

Fingers crossed it's an easy & cheap fix.

 

[LS24]

Hey buddy. It is bad to hear that you are having some grief. I recall replying to you when you were considering buying this bike. Did you spend the few hundred baht getting the valve shim clearances checked/ You asked what the danger with these bikes were and that is it.

Not trying to tell you so but you need to get on top of this.

 

Now with the oil, if you are losing that much oil in such a short space of time. It can only go to three locations:

1. Into the combustion chamber and burnt. That much oil will have blue smoke out of the exhaust from engine start and only get worse when riding. The tip of the exhuaust will be black and possibly dripping black crud.

2. removal by gravity: there will be pools of oil somewhere.

3. And the one you allude to which is oil in the cooling system. Take off the radiator cap and you will see some film of oil. That much oil would have your radiator catch flow bucket full and overloaded. If the head gasket is leaking into the combustion chamber then the oil and the water will be getting burnt. And I dare say you would have siezed the engine by now.

 

As a couple of people already asked, did you check oil with the bike level and vertical? You said yes. Check again because none of what you are saying would give minor symptoms to your bike. Something here is not adding up.

Also, it does not take much for labour art the Kawa shop. They are specialists. Get them to diagniose.. Just go in and ask them what is wrong. Do not give your opinion. Price usually goes up when people like to assist diagnosis.

 

Again, I will state here, something if not adding up. You are either not telling the whole story or you are playing with us,. Thast much oil just does not disappear without a strong trail.

 

[Simple Jack]

Was looking for an update today.

[Simple Jack]

12 minutes ago, LS24 said:

They are specialists.

 

The guy at NakonSawan certainly was not :D.

[Kawazaki650R]

1 hour ago, Simple Jack said:

Was looking for an update today.

The guy I took it to said everything looked fine. No leaks anywhere. Which doesn't make sense. He changed the oil. But I'm using Google translate so it's a bit difficult to understand. 

 

Yes I checked it at two different locations trying to keep the bike straight and not on the kickstand. Both times the levels are a bit low and the color milky brown like in the attached photos 

 

No I never got the valve clearances checked. 

 

There's no oil or blue smoke around the exhaust. Can't see any oil around the bike. It doesn't smell wierd or anything. 

[VocalNeal]

I'm using Kawasaki Vent vert 10-50. It is green and crystal clear. You could bung some of that in and see if it changes colour. It would be very easy to see any change.

[Madgee]

If you're lucky it's a blown head gasket and not a cracked casing. It's definitely coolant mixing with oil.  

As others have said 'get it checked' and fixed asap.