650ss 0il level

If oil level after a ride is normal, ( Do you have the "Recommended oil level" transfer?) what goes down in the sump while the bikes rests, will return to the oil tank when it is started again. So a fill up of oil before next ride, the extra oil has to go somewhere. Also remember that hot oil has greater volume than cold oil. If you open the cap and check oil return flow it should after a while be more air mixed as the sump is cleared of excessive oil.

You should also check the level in the transfer case. Oil from the crankcase can make its way to the transfer case if you have a faulty crankshaft seal.

Except for the usually small amount of oil that the bike uses to mark its territory on the floor.

Mike

I don't do big milages , 50-100 miles usually at touring speeds, my oil tank which is well shrouded from cooling air barely gets warm,and is more likely to have mayonase under the cap. I let the oil level drop well down .Much less likely to leak.More chance of heating up.

My oil tank had a crack when I first got the bike. That top lug should have rubber both sides to prevent vibration damage. I think it had been bolted solid at one time. (Possibly by me...). It cracked alongside the top bracket and lost oil. Brazed up and no bother since.

Do you have the 'froth tower '? Most SS would so should not lose oil in the way you describe.

From the early '60's the oil tank gained a short upright stub (froth tower) on top. The breather connects to it. It was added to reduce oil overflowing from the breather on top. The earlier road tests reported that a full tank led to oil on trouser and on a fast run it was best to under fill. My 88ss has it from 1963. I think it arrived a couple of years earlier.

Previously david_metcalf wrote:

Main question I have is should I expect to see a similar level of oil in the tank after a ride, that was in the tank before the ride and should I be filling the oil tank again to the appropriate level before the next ride.

Any advice / help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

David

Yes the level should be approximately the same if you have checked the initial level after allowing a few minutes for the wet sump to clear. If the level is a lot lower at the end of a run (say 100 miles) then that is how much oil you have have either consumed or lost and it should be replenished. If this amount of 'top-up' is excessive, then you have to determine where the oil is going and decide weather you need to do something about it or not. There are 3 places the oil could go, 1, the road due to leaks, 2, the primary chain-case through the main bearing oil seal (although the primary will only hold so much before it too starts to leak excessively and 3, the burning of oil in the cylinders.

My 650 motor burned its way through tankfuls of oil before the rings bedded in properly. The mistake I made was getting the rebore finished with a honing that was too fine. Consequently, although I was able to ride the rebuilt bike very fast after fitting new pistons, the rings never worked properly until 1,500 miles later.

Initially the engine used to smoke its head off, from cold, and burn away a litre of oil every 200 miles. Which made going to rallies quite a challenge as often I ended up carrying more oil than food. Thanfully, this is now a thing of the past and I can once again use the my panniers to carry beer instead of oil.

Previously philip_hannam wrote:

My 650 motor burned its way through tankfuls of oil before the rings bedded in properly. The mistake I made was getting the rebore finished with a honing that was too fine. Consequently, although I was able to ride the rebuilt bike very fast after fitting new pistons, the rings never worked properly until 1,500 miles later.

Initially the engine used to smoke its head off, from cold, and burn away a litre of oil every 200 miles. Which made going to rallies quite a challenge as often I ended up carrying more oil than food. Thanfully, this is now a thing of the past and I can once again use the my panniers to carry beer instead of oil.

hello now after some time that My Norton 650 Manxman as stud on my work bench that I made for doing motorcycles on made from a wooden construction I found a mysterious oil leak with a pool of oil under the bike after a few days and found and number of leaking points one from the gearbox drain plug and one from the oil tank drain plug and another from the mounting studs in the oil tank, so I drained the Gearbox drained the chaincase next I will drain a remove the oil tank and sort this leak from the mounting studs I am not liking oil leaks so take one time to sort them out is time well spent, yours anna j