On Nov 24, 2006, at 12:27 PM, traderpro2003 wrote:
> Questions for the pros and curious alike...
> #1 If you clog the air cleaner severely, will the engine draw air in
> from the oil chamber along with oil?
> #2 If no to #1, I've never ever had oil leaks or oil consumption
> problems, so where's oil?
TP, I'm not sure of the answers to the above questions. I guess it's
conceivable that if the combustion chamber can't fill with fuel/air
via the valves it'll suck some oil past the rings. However, that
level of intake clogging would lead me to believe that your bike
wouldn't be able to run, so I don't see that as likely. I think it's
more likely that you've always been burning a bit of oil, and during
your trip you put more miles at higher RPMs which lead to accelerated
oil consumption. Again, this is a guess and nothing against you or
your maintenance practices!
> #3 Assuming while I was out in the field and my oil level went low
> (dangerously low?), would the shifting problem (described above) be
> symptomatic of low oil and affect otherwise normal shifting?
Absolutely! Your transmission and clutch both rely on a constant oil
bath to perform correctly. Without that vital fluid they'll stick,
overheat, and otherwise been recalcitrant.
> #4 Have I damaged the clutch plates, etc.? Do I need to replace or
> simply make an adjustment?
My guess is that running so low on oil caused a tremendous amount of
wear throughout the engine and transmission. I would do another oil
and filter change to try to get the elevated wear particles out of
the system to reduce secondary wear. Running low on oil would also
allow the clutch to wear faster; this would usually lead to glazing
of the plates, which would manifest itself as clutch slipping--the
opposite of the symptoms you describe, though. So maybe your clutch
didn't get hot enough to glaze, but it did wear quite a bit and
simply needs adjustment.
Well, that's all my tryptophan-addled brain (leftovers are great!)
can come up with. Good luck!
--
Blake Sobiloff
http://sobiloff.typepad.com/blakeblog/>
http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/>
San Jose, CA (USA)
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