Burnin' oil

Can anyone tell me how much oil your 400 ex's burn? Mine seems to burn an aweful lot but i've been told it's normal for a good running 400ex to burn oil. I fill it up to the full line and then when i get home after a good day of running it doesnt show on the dip stick. Any opinions?

If you fill it up to the top line, and when you get home it doesn't show on the dipstick...You are burning about a Quart of oil. That's not good at all. If it's not leaking, you might have a valve seal that's shot or a bad piston ring, and you are just burning it off with the air and gas.

So it's not even getting burnt? that would explain why it doesn't smoke much

does your bike burn oil?

[ChadEXer]

If its burning oil then it would be smoking a little. But its probably not enough to notice!

If it's leaking by the valve seals or the piston it is being burnt, but you say it's not smoking at all. So that would rule out burning it in most cases. How long do you usually ride for?

man, that sucks. I just bought my bike. Is there a reason why 400ex's top ends need rebuilding so quickly?

I've rode mine hard Easter weekend for two days straight, and for about four hours last sunday, and my oil level hasn't changed. I think chad is right. You are burning it, but it's not enough to notice smoke. Either way you've got a problem.

the longest ride i went for so far i burnt between 1 1/2- 1 3/4 of a tank of gas, and it ate a quart

What year is your bike? How much do you ride and for how long? Do you give you bike a chance to cool down on occasion? A 400's top end should maybe have to be rebuilt after 200 hours in my opinion. If it's still under warrenty, take it back to the dealer.

[400exRacerX]

LOL,,,,who told you its normal for a good running 400ex to burn oil???? I find that funny, its not good for any 4 stroke motor to burn oil Period. I blew 2 valve seals on my motor before I rebuilt it. There is two things that can be happening, you are leaking oil or you are burning it.

If it is leaking check all the oil lines, oil tank, oil cooler, and drain bolts. Also check if its leaking from the oil filter cover,,you might need a new o-ring.

Or if its burning oil then there are two ways of oil getting into the combustion chamber. One from the top,, which would most likely be a worn valve seal or valve guide. And from the bottom which meens your rings are blown. The only way to find out if your rings are shot without disassembling it is to do a compression check, dry and wet. If it has the correct amount of compression then something is wrong with your valve seals/guides.

Hope this helps, Norm

I can ride for four hours on a half a tank. So you're doing some serious riding, or you are running really rich.

My friend that has 15,000 canadian into his bike told me his burns oil. I assumed he was correct because of his pricey bike and he owns a motorcycle shop. But to be honest with you i belive you guys, you seem to know your stuff and you're very helpful. Thank you. I'm thinking once i get some money i'll take the top end apart. And that day i went through like 1 1/2 tanks i went for like 9 hours and it was crankin' pretty hard cause we had fresh snow down and i was breaking trail

[400exRacerX]

Originally posted by BlueOval 400
I can ride for four hours on a half a tank. So you're doing some serious riding, or you are running really rich.

What kind of tank do you have a 55 gallon one? If you can ride for 4 hours on a half tank of gas with a stock gas tank then you must be riding 1/4 throttle all day. I go threw 1 1/2 tanks of gas at the track after 4-5 hours of riding without stopping.

My bike is a 2001, except i only bought it about a month ago used and i honestly don't know the history of the bike :(. I usually don't buy used unless i know the history but oh well. I usually run it pretty good but i let it cool often enough.

We ride for 45min or so and sit and cool down for 10-15, and get back at it. But we don't race the track that much. Mostly trail riding. So maybe I do use a little more than half a tank. But not a full one. Now at pismo...the sand eats up the fuel.
As for your burning oil problem. I'd have that motor gone through. Like what was said before: if it's not leaking...it's either valve seals, valve guides, or piston rings. That's the only thing it could be. No offense, but your friend needs to get out of the motorcycle business if he thinks four strokers should burn oil.

yeah, I have no opinion cause i don't know as much about these motor's as you guys do and i don't want to sound too stupid. But as for the motor goes is there anything that will happen as a consequence of running it like this? other then the chance of actually burning enough oil to seize it

where'd everyone go?

[400exRacerX]

The less oil you run the hotter the motor will be and the greater the chances are of seizing something in the motor. I personaly wouldnt run it until its fixed. A leak can be fixed simply and would most likely be cheap and if your valve seals are shot they are 10 bucks for all four. Its not that expensive,,,so get crackin on that motor! hehe If you have no mechanicall experience than bring it to a dealership for a opinion.

I know i sound like an idiot but what kind of an adventure is it to change valve seats/seals?

[400exRacerX]

Buy a honda service manuel,,,you'll need one. Put the motor to TDC then pop the valve cover off, remove cam chain tensioner, remove cam sprocket and camshaft, remove head.

Now when you have the head in you hands, compress each valve and remove the two retainers. Pop the stock seal off and replace it with a new one. DO that to all 4 valves.

I wouldnt take it apart until you know if its a valve problem, piston ring problem, or oil leak problem. Because that would suck if you fixed something that didnt need to be fixed.

Well, i know it's not leaking cause there's no signs of oil anywhere, so i'd definatly just pop the cylinder off while i took the head off just so i'd know it's the valves. What are these viton seals i see a lot of people talking about?

[DEAL]

theyalladevil
Where do you live and whos your friend that owns the shop?

[400exRacerX]

Marcum's ATV sells the viton valve selas for 10 bucks for 4. They last alot longer than stock. I have them and they work great.

I live in middle sackville and he's not so much my friend, it's jon that owns action cycles.

so how long do you figure viton's would last?

[400exRacerX]

Well if you ride it hard I would have to say for atleast 3-5 years.

anyone?

that's awesome
do you have any reason why this would happen to such a new motor? like the bike doesn't seem to have much wear on it

[400exRacerX]

I had about alittle less than a year on my motor when mine went. It all depends on how you ride the motor.

That almost concerns me, i've heard nothing but good things about that motor, like it's supposed to be un killable but it seems like the top end is weak in it to me?

who makes those viton's? cause like i live in n.s canada so id hate to pay more to ship something here then what the part's worth

[400exRacerX]

Suzuki makes them.

[JOEX]

Are you checking the oil properly?

Let the motor warm up for 5-10 min...
Shut it down...
Let it rest for 3-5 min...
Check dip-stick.

I like to check the simple things first:D

Joe