Hey guys,

I want to run a scenario by you. I changed my oil before the season ended last year and I didn't screw the oil tank screw in all the way. Next day I saw it dripping, I tightened it and no leak over the winter. It did not lose a lot of oil - maybe a couple ounces.

Yesterday I ran the bike for the first time for 20 minutes, no problem.

Today I am going about 35 mph and bang - no power, red oil light on. I pulled over and it started right bavk up, no light on.

On the way home, it blinked a couple times and felt like it wanted to turn off but it didn't. The temp was running at 188-190, which seems high to me because I'm in Philly and it was like 48-50 degrees on the ride home.

I just stood the bike up and looked in the oil window and the oil is just above the lower hash marks.

Any ideas? Your help is much appreciated!

 

is your bike 05 CBR600 F4?

 

Do an oil pressure test to see if you are really loosing pressure or not.

 

Dunno what it is but do not continue running your bike till you find out. The oil light isn't a suggestion. It's a warning of imminent failure if the engine continues to run.

When you're checking your oil, is the bike on its stand?

 

It's an RR. When I checked the oil level I didn't put it on the stand - I figured that would tilt it forward which would skew the reading. Should I have it on the rear stand when checking the window?

Also, can I do the oil pressure test at home?

My issue with paying a shop to do all these diagnostics is the only bike shop guy in my area is a scam artist. So I don't want to spend $200 to get diagnostics done just to find out it needs a bunch of work, especially when I don't trust him. I'd honestly rather sell it cheap to someone and cut my losses that way than to chase a problem that may or may not exist.

Is there anything you can think of that is small that would lead to this? Sitting all winter, the oil being at the bottom end of the oil level indicator window, or something else?

Thanks again guys. I'm in college for a 2nd time and don't have a lot of money to spend figuring it out.

 

PS I just remembered an American Chopper episode when the oil was out in the freezing cold and it was too viscous to circulate through the motor. Is something like this possible?

 

I think before I sold the bike, I would try a few things. I can relate to dealer avoidance syndrome. (I think many of us suffer from that) I would start with an oil change. If the bike was sitting for several months, it could be old and not up to snuff. I recently did lots of research on oil vs synthetic and ended up using Rotella T6 5-40 that I purchased in an auto parts store. I would also change the filter.

I don't think that it was too cold for the oil to flow through your engine if you are riding in 40-50 degree weather. I'm wondering if some of the oil channels in the engine are partially blocked with sludge? An oil change might clean some of that out.

Please take any comments from me with a grain of salt. I'm not a mechanic, just a guy who wrenches with some success on his own bikes.

 

It's possible if the wrong weight oil was used... and you live in Fargo, ND For the most part, 10w-40 will cover most of the sane parts of the US

+1 on changing the oil. And collect it. pour it into the empty bottles and see how much you really have. My question about the side stand has to do with the actual oil level. Bike has to be standing straight up & down, not on any stands to get an accurate read. BTW, when you checked was the bike hot or cold?

 

05-06 CBR600f4 has RR recall.. i doubt about it..

u can check the RR by urself, check the battery voltages with engine on, if it is 15 V? RR is defective, needs to be replaced.

 

Duh, for some reason I thought you meant the rear stand. Yea, my girl holds the bike completely centered. I checked after running, 5 minutes after parking (warm) and a half hour later (cold). The second 2 checks were just above the bottom hash marks.

Can I ask you guys - what temp should my bike run at on a 50 degree day? I bought a new battery today and oil and I'll know tomorrow if Im still having symptoms.