XT660Z Tenere Oil Usage
 

Hi I have a Tenere xt660z on a 09 plate and im a bit confused and concerned on the oil usage.

I had the bike serviced at the 1000 mile mark as instructed and received a one litre top up bottle Motul 10/40 now i have done the 6000miles just over and have used that whole bottle which i was a little concerned so i phoned the dealer making out i had bought the bike from another dealer and told me that that was very excessive and there is somthing wrong so i thought id ask all you guys what your consumption is.

I have just done 1000 miles on the bike went for a holiday on the bike when i left the dipstick was at the 3/4 mark on my return it was just registering on the dipstick.

Just concerned :ne1:

Justin

Hey Justin, mine used more in the early parts of it's life, now at nearly 16,000 miles it doesn't use hardly any. Your bike could just be bedding in.
Are you checking the level as described in the manual? ie just after the engine has been run?

Maybe a daft question, but don't suppose you can visually see any wet patches on the engine casings anywhere?

Hi tripletom i start the bike up let it warm up then leave it to sit for five minutes undo the dip stick clean it of then upright the bike screw in and out hope thats the correct way.

Dazmatic ive checked all over the bike taken the under tray of and taken the air filter box apart as there was a little oil in the collection pipe that comes down from the bottom of the air filter there was just the usual bit of oil in there

The only way to get a stable oil level reading on the dip stick on these XT660's is to go for a 5 mile ride, then check the oil level stright away.

If you let it stand for a while the oil starts to drain out of the oil header tank back into the motor & shows a false reading.

It's not a bad idea to check the oil with the bike upright imo (after riding it, like Kev says). And it is pointless trying determine oil level after leaving the bike to run while on its sidestand.

I used to have a BMW GS..go for a ride and then put it ont he sidestand and it would show empty....even on centre stand. It was a nightmare to check the oil accurately.


The Tenere needs to be run then on centre stand or upright to check the oil as above. Whats happened to the sight glasses these days its much better!

That's excessive. With the exception of the oil in the drain tube, my bike's never used a drop since new, 21,000 miles on her now.

Have you checked the drain tube by chance ? it is possible that you have an airbox full of oil! and rather than using oil, it's loosing it ? Appriciate it's a 2009 bike, but it's possible it's a 2008 registered late? In any case, it'll only take a minute to check.

At a litre every 1000 miles you should be able to see smoke out of tailpipes, in fact I'd say that you would leave a cloud behind you!

Thanks for all the help im about to go over and have a check i think its a case ive probably over filled it due to me not checking the oil correctly i agree mike site glass is so simple but nvm il post back my findings cheers all
:hidesbehindsofa[1]:

Over the years I have also thought my XT's were using oil, then I go for a ride again & recheck the level & all is OK.

Ok just to let you no so far

Ive been out for a littke ride and checked the level and shows one third on the dip stick

If i leave it running on tick over for ten to fifteen minutes it shows the same

So ive still used one litre of oil in that 5000 mile period does that seem the same with other peoples teneres

PS i have checked for leaks all round the engine and there is no visual sign of that

the aorbox has a little oil in which i assume is the norm

The air box pipe has about inch and a half of oil/water

checked to see if the head gasket has gone but no signs of oil in the water and poped down my mates garage to get it checked all ok

no visual smoke coming from the exhaust though there is the usaul splatter on the silver casing of little black dots as in some ones previous post on the forum

so all i can guess is the bike has used that oil and must be normal sorry to be an idiot :smirk:

Hi Nt1980
I am a tech in a dealer and as a suggestion i would inform your dealer of your finding and just ask them to log it on there system, just in case in the future the problem get worse and they will record of it. And as for the black spots on the rear end of the exhaust, Thats only water spots created by the catalyst and is 100% normal. Hope this helps.
V Tec

Agree, an oil consumtion test needs to be done by your Yamaha dealer.

Many thanks for your info the bike is booked in for its 6000 mile service and will let them no about the situation

Only other thing i can think of is that the bike may have not been filled correctly as i didnt check the state of the oil for a long time after bad me really but will tell them anyways about the issue

Many thanks again for all your help and information :thumbsup:

Just an afterthought - are you using Motul 300V? I found that after about 1500km in my old Tenere running 300V, it would start to use oil. Don't know why. It was fine using Shell or Mobil motorcycle oils.

Has anyone done any more research / have any additional insights re: Tenere oil usage? Being the neglectful owner I am (no longer though!) I wasn't checking my oil levels frequently enough, or correctly for that matter, and I've found that in 6,000km I've used 800ml of oil (about .85 quarts). At first I freaked and called in a service, but then got to this thread and found it somewhat comforting that others' bikes are also using up oil. FYI, the 6,000km I've ridden can be split 1,000km commuting, and 5,000k long-distance, high speed highway. Also saw on the Yam website that oil consumption is higher on highway riding...

Just need to get a level of comfort that 800ml in 6,000km (I'm at ~7,700km right now, so the bike has already had its 1,600km break-in service) is within range of acceptability.

As a side note, I've noticed the oil is pretty dirty...not the golden tinge that I'd expect to see. Even with adding the 800ml back in, it's stayed pretty dark. Assuming my oil usage is OK, I'm planning on doing a full oil change myself instead of going to the Yam dealership for my freak-out service. Should I be concerned with the color of my oil as well, or just the level?

You should not screw the dipstick back in to check the level. Just unscrew, wipe it, reinsert without screwing it and withdraw to check the level. Handbook instructs warming up for 10 to 15 mins then switching off and checking with machine upright straight away

Al

Mine (2011, ~30 000km) is also consuming oil. About 800-1000ml/10 000km.
I've read that the Tenere is consuming plenty of oil at high revs/speed. While thinking about it, I noticed an oil consumption increase when I started going at 5000rpm/135kph for a longer period.

Slow down, save oil-money! :)