The XR400 Thread

[Ed@Ford]

Originally Posted by franga

this was about 800ml to a liter in an hour long ride. cannot be normal surely? i have just done an oil change this afternoon and will keep an eye on it...

holy cow....if it's not dripping off the engine and all that much going out the exhaust, you gotta be making clouds of oil smoke!!

[franga]

i know. and its not smoking at all! its running great. its like someone stole my oil! by the way went to my local honda dealer (in france) and they said they do not stock my oil and then they tried to sell me road tires!

[DrLewall]

Originally Posted by franga

this was about 800ml to a liter in an hour long ride. cannot be normal surely? i have just done an oil change this afternoon and will keep an eye on it...

not normal at all! you got something goin on there that needs your attention!

[beat]

Does anybody know if you can replace the top triple clamp (yoke) with one from a africa twin or transalp?
i would like to have the vibration dampers in it for the handlebar.

[franga]

yea i will, i should probably do the valves anyway so it might be worth havin a proper look. so strange though. i work on a boat as engineer and ive asked other engineers on the boats next door about it but no can figure out whats going on. we all decided that the oil was stolen in the end. haha! i was kind of hoping that it was a common/easy fix thing.

[Luke]

Originally Posted by franga

yea i will, i should probably do the valves anyway so it might be worth havin a proper look. so strange though. i work on a boat as engineer and ive asked other engineers on the boats next door about it but no can figure out whats going on. we all decided that the oil was stolen in the end. haha! i was kind of hoping that it was a common/easy fix thing.

Are you checking the oil level correctly?

The oil pump pickup is on the right side of the motor so if you let the motor run while the bike is leaning on the sidestand the oil level will appear to be a quart/liter or so low even though it isn't - the oil is in the crankcase instead of the frame.

Ride the bike, then shut the motor down when the bike is still upright and check the oil within a few minutes of shutting it down.

[franga]

cheers luke, great info! i will check that after the next ride. but when i changed the oil today i only had about a litre come out of the frame. and im sure i turned the bike off before i got off.

[DrLewall]

Originally Posted by franga

cheers luke, great info! i will check that after the next ride. but when i changed the oil today i only had about a litre come out of the frame. and im sure i turned the bike off before i got off.

also when you check the oil, DO NOT screw in the dip stick..pull and wipe clean, then drop it in, pull it out and check for oil level..screwin it in will give a false reading leading you to think that you have MORE oil in there than you really do..

example: if you screw it in and the oil is just barely on the bottom of the dip stick, then you are CRITICALLY LOW on oil as it would not register on the dip stick if you were to drop it and check it as you should

[Stretch67]

Originally Posted by franga

... when i changed the oil today i only had about a litre come out of the frame.

How much did you get out of the engine?

[franga]

i was under the impression that screwing it in gave you the proper reading... but im newish to working on bikes. i need to get myself a xr400 workshop manual asap.
this was my first oil change since i bought the bike a month or so ago. ive done about 2-2.5 hours on it so far and the oil was fine when i bought it.
i got a small amount when i took the filter cover off, about as much as the filter chamber would hold if thats what you mean stretch? is there another plug apart from the frame and the oil filter cover?

[Stretch67]

Originally Posted by franga

is there another plug apart from the frame and the oil filter cover?

Yes sir, there is an engine drain on the left side under the shift lever. If the bike was full of oil, you ought to get about a liter from there also

Bottom photo:

[franga]

Awesome! looks like ill be draining it again tomorrow but properly this time.
Cheers heaps! i'll get back to you guys if my missing oil mystery persists...

[ID XR600]

Originally Posted by Ed@Ford

I subscribed to DB since the 70's. Discontinued it a couple years back....don't recall that. Got a clue of what issue? Would like to have it for reference.

I believe it was late 90s early 00s. The thing that peaked my curiosoty was the reverse option along with the e-start. I have seen some EXs go for $15-1600 and have been tempted to do a swap then sell off the unused parts.

[XR4EVER]

With the recent talks of fork springs, I thought this would be relevant. It is from the "Mr. Know It All" column in the Jan. '11 issue of Dirt Bike mag.

[MartiniUp]

Originally Posted by franga

i was under the impression that screwing it in gave you the proper reading... but im newish to working on bikes. i need to get myself a xr400 workshop manual asap.
this was my first oil change since i bought the bike a month or so ago. ive done about 2-2.5 hours on it so far and the oil was fine when i bought it.
i got a small amount when i took the filter cover off, about as much as the filter chamber would hold if thats what you mean stretch? is there another plug apart from the frame and the oil filter cover?

Yes, you do need a service manual, badly. It will be the best money you spend. From reading your posts, I'll bet you do NOT have a problem with the engine oil. Operator error is my guess.