99 been losing oil ...
 

my 99 with 23k has been burning oil seems like about .5 qt./200 mi.

dont think it's smoking [cant look behind while twistin throttle. lol ]

plugs sound/run good, didnt pull to see.

i just cant find any symptoms of where this oil is going. and it's not on the ground either.

thanks for any info.

i'll just keep filling and save on oil change.

i use delvac 1300 15w40.

It's not that likely that you are burning that oil because of rings. Although not impossible. If it is not leaking anywhere off the bike, then there is only one other place for it to go, and that is into the cylinders. But how it is getting into the cylinders is what you need to figure out. Compression tests, leak down tests, things like that will let you know where it is going. It could also be as simple as the oil getting up into the airbox and getting sucked in through the carbs. I would pull your airfilter out and look around in there, make sure all your vacuum lines are flowing well.

This bike has a very strong engine, and it is unlikely that your rings are gone after 23k... I have over 56k on mine, and never lose a drop of oil.

if it's going through the carbs, wont the plugs foul, causing engine skip symptom ?

i dont have a skip, no oil smoke at idle either.

i'll pull tank/filter today.

Not necessarily. If the oil is being sucked in through the carbs, it can get mixed with the fuel and atomize, and actually burn really well. You would only see blue on your exhaust if the oil wasn't getting burned. Plus, your bike might only suck oil in at highway speeds or higher RPM's... Have you disabled your PAIR sytem?

rings, valves, PCV (positive crankcase ventilation), drain plug, filter, transmission output seal (looks like a well lubed chain sprayed under the front sprocket cover), and leaking case halves or cylinder gaskets. Its either leaking in, out, or inbetween. Gotta find it if you want the bike to last.
Start easy.
1.check the drain plug and filter.
2.PCV and tranny seal
3. Outward leaking case seals or cylinder gaskets
4. Inward leaking (possibly into coolant) cylinder gaskets. Check the fluid level and quality (oil rises in water, will be first to blow into the overflow)
5. Rings and vlaves-compression test can tell you if the valves or rings are leaking, but not which ones. The leakdown test can tell you approximately where your compression is leaking, but if its not the rings it wont tell you much. If the valves are leaking you will see a mess around the stems or in the ports. If you take off the the heads and check the valves, you better make sure you checked the easy stuff cause you have a long road ahead.

Bill

Check the crankcase breather tubes. If one is not properly seated on the airbox connection oil will exit the motor in the form of vapor and it may not necessarily collect anywhere.

The breather tubes are part of the pcv system, I guess I should have elaborated. Hope you find the problem

Something I came across was intake valve guide seals, I got quite a bit of smoke when my cyl was not firing, yet... now that it is firing... I have no signs of smoke. I'm reasonably sure that I'm still burning oil. Check by pulling your carbs and look for oil puddling on top of your valves in your intake port. If leaking from the exhaust guide seals, it will not burn and will produce smoke. Only $25 for seals and can be changed without pulling the head.


Blam

Keep in mind with valve guide seals, if they are leaking, you may want to find out why. They normally only start leaking if there is an issue with either the valves, or the guides. Nice thing with the bike, is that you can simply pull the carbs and see the intake valves..

whta type of issue could i have and the fix for the valveguides ?

do i need to resync carbs if i pull , i dont have $100 to drop like that.

i'll start with ez stuff first.

i did find a small amount of oil near the frt carb under the filter. what u guys think of that ?
is that the pcv fault?

That is very possible... You can actually run the bike for a bit with the air box off, and you can see the vapor run out of all the breather lines, if that is an issue. You do not have to re-sync the carbs if you pull them, as long as all you do is take them off, and not change any settings on them. You don't have to completely remove them off the bike, just get them off the boots so that you can see into the cylinders easier.

If you find that the valve guides are leaking, easiest thing to do is pull the heads, bring them into a head shop, get new guides installed, with new valves. They will have to reseat the new valves in the head, and then reshim them. But quite honestly, it's an unlikely issue. Also keep in mind that you can simply replace the guide seals and leave it at that. They will reseal, but they might not last that long. If you don't have the $100 to do a carb sync, then that might be a quick fix for now! Again... If that is even the issue.

Take a picture of the plugs, one question : do you measure your oil on the sidestand or bike straight ??

i measure with bike centered with my rear stand., not on sidestand.

plugs were dry, gray, intact , not wet and black oily.

If they were dry and fuzzy that means you're running rich. The oil loss might be a different problem. I don't think you're losing oil in the combustion cylinder though, based on this.

i dont think i'm burnin it either , and it's not on the ground ,

i saw a small dirt/oil/rain glob near the filter and will check that n 10 min.

that's the only bit of a lead i have .

with only a visual, i really dont want to go into the carbs and valves with it running good.

i hate when the facts dont add up .