Dirty oil

[Duchess]

I have a possible problem with my 2001 Monster 600 metallic and was wondering if anybody could advise me.

It has now done 4000 trouble free miles, and had only done 80 when I bought it a year ago.

The problem is that it seems to make its oil very dirty in a short period of time - after about 300 miles after an oil change the oil is pretty black - if a filter change is also done (every other oil change) then the oil does not get dirty quite so quickly but will be filthy black after about 500 miles.

The oil was changed at 200 miles, then again at 700 miles and is currently being changed every 1000 miles because it looks so bad.

I am using reasonable quality Motul 5100 semi synth.

Is this normal air cooled Ducati behaviour or an indication of something being wrong - in which case what?

Sometimes it will burn a little oil on a cold start - but it doesn't really use any.

There are no metallic deposits in the oil.

Any help much appreciated.

[JR]

Apart from not changing the oil filter you are doing everything right. The dirty oil in the old filter will contaminate the clean oil. It is best practice to change the filter everytime you change the oil - they only cost a couple of quid.


JR

[Duchess]

JR - thanks for the reply. So are you saying that Ducati's need an oil change and new oil filter every 500 miles?! I'm used to Suzuki's which are every 2000-3000 miles with a new oil filter every other one. Every 500 miles seems a bit excessive - much as I love the Italian styling maybe I should go back to Japanese engineering!!

[A Yerbury]

oil goes black very quickly, doesnt mean its a problem as long as there are no metal bits, ducati quote oil filter (spin on) and oil change every 6200 miles for later bikes and oil filter gauze cleaned every 12400.
AY

[Pedro]

Us owners of older Monnys (well me anyway) change oil at around 2500 - 3000 miles and change the filter too. For the sake of about £6-7 it's worth doing.

And yeas, oil does look grubby quite quickly. After a change, 50 miles of riding discolours it badly but it's still ok.

Ped

[A Yerbury]

dont forget however many pence the crush washer costs!

[Duncan]

I change my oil every 6000 miles, it comes out like black gloop, same as the oil in me car etc which looks clean on the stick but comes out black. In fact I have yet to take clean oil out of any engine. If you had a dipstick into the sump then it would look clean, its just the large volume of oil looks dark. Mines done 40,000 miles without a problem on full synthetic.

If its really black then its great for creosoting wooden fences with but dont be tempted to use it on the wooden garden chairs..

[JR]

Duchess,

What I was trying to say was, it its good to change the oil, but not quite so good if you dont change the filter. An oil change never did any harm to an engine. I dont know what Ducati stipulate, but in relative terms, an oil and filter change is the cheapest most effective way of keeping any engine in good condition. I change the oil and filter on my van every 12000 miles despite the manufacturer's guide of 18000 miles. My last car did 450000 miles without major problems with oil changes at every 6000 miles - you can draw your own conclusions about the value of oil changes from that sort of statistic!


JR

[Duchess]

Cheers for all the replies - it's put my mind at rest :)

[Little Monster]

....... (in relation to cars but has to be same or more stringent for bikes)
1 - change filter when you change the oil cos the filter will hold a half litre (or litre?) of old oil and will be manky too anyway so undoes some of your good work

Plus, what i've noticed from trips to the good old US of A is that my American pals just do an oil and filter change on cars every 6000 miles - there's adverts EVERYWHERE for this to be done. It's very good advice and it's what my dad and Honest John from The Telegraph Car pages says too re cars.

My car got service a few weeks ago and already the dipstick is already cover in black oil. Bike is in for first service now and if the oil looks clean in a few weeks time i'll eat my hat (ahem, i meant helmet)

May the force be with you Duchess, never go back to jap babe. The V twin has the rumble that a girl needs (hic, oops, one too many gins, hic)

:)

[A Yerbury]

V twin or L twin? poll time........:)

[Little Monster]

Well, i'm giving you the V right now :eek:

[Pedro]

V twin or L twin? poll time........:)

According to my coffe table Dooo Caat Eeee book, it's an L configuration not a V

Ped

[spacemonkey]

...and all that excess used oil makes excellent lawn fertiliser!!

[slob]

I reckon it's a V, longer than a Harley shorter than a BMW but they're all Vs. Does anyone accuse Guzzis of being sideways Ls?

[Little Monster]

I reckon it's a V, longer than a Harley shorter than a BMW but they're all Vs. Does anyone accuse Guzzis of being sideways Ls?

couldn't agree more. Anyway - getting back to more important matters - i was unusually witty with my last post on my thread and it seems to have been missed. :( :bunny: