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Message started by roughrider on 08/27/05 at 19:39:13

Title: Does the savage use oil?
Post by roughrider on 08/27/05 at 19:39:13

Just wanted to get everyones opinion on this. I wanted to know if the savage uses oil. I was told by a mechanic that the savage uses about a quart of oil every 1000 miles? Is this true? He said it was common for a single cylinder?

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Savage_Rob on 08/27/05 at 19:45:52

roughrider wrote:

Mine doesn't. Many Savages have a known issue with a plug in the cylinder head that begins to leak oil after some time in use. It's not under pressure so it's a seepage issue. They corrected it around the 2002 model year, I believe. It's a $6 part and isn't to hard to replace but not without its frustrations (I broke a bolt on mine while doing this). However, I thought yours was a newer bike, so that should not be an issue.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by short round on 08/27/05 at 19:54:33

Mine certainly doesn't. I go oil change to oil change without needing to add.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Joel on 08/27/05 at 21:05:36

I have an '87 with 15K miles on it, and it doesn't use oil (well other than the leaks). Every couple hundred miles I put about an ounce of oil to recover what leaked out.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by WD on 08/28/05 at 00:04:15

Lightwieght oil in 100 plus degree weather will caus it to use oil like nobody would believe. 2 quarts in under an hour at a mid-summer rally in central MS. Other than that, if your piston rings have properly bedded in, it should use little to no oil in regular service. BUT, since there is no such thing as a perfectly sealed engine, some oil usage should be considered normal.
-WD

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by slavy on 08/28/05 at 09:16:34

If You are somewhere with a high temperatures in 80's and You ride in 50-55 mph range and You use 20W-50 oil - no problem- very low oil consumption.
If You are in TX or NM or Az , You put the recommended 10W-40 oil and You ride on the hwy- You better check your oil daily or at least weekly.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by savage777 on 08/28/05 at 10:08:28

my 2001 doesnt use oil ..well very little between changes I havent ever had to top it off. I live on the Illinois side north of St. louis so we dont hit 105 but 98'99 insnt uncommon I run 10w40 Valvoline Dura Blend never had problems

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Digger on 08/28/05 at 11:04:29

My '01 has 5k miles.

Seems to use about 4 oz. of oil per 1000 miles.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by gazab44 on 08/28/05 at 11:47:26

never had to top up between oil changes :)

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Ed_L. on 08/28/05 at 12:18:52

A quart of oil every 1000 miles sounds excessive, after all an oil change is only 2 quarts for one of these bikes. My '02 seems to be using an ounce or two every 100 miles.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by PerrydaSavage on 08/28/05 at 14:00:19

Well, as to oil useage, I've had my '03 for 2 years now and at 4300 kms (2700mi) my Savage hasn't used a drop of oil (weekly checks) ... and I've changed my oil twice a season ...

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Savage_Rob on 08/28/05 at 15:20:48

slavy wrote:

If You are in TX or NM or Az , You put the recommended 10W-40 oil and You ride on the hwy- You better check your oil daily or at least weekly.

I'm in Dallas and using 15W50 synthetic riding about 150 miles a week without a need to top off. I suppose the heavier oil helps a lot. I changed the oil yesterday after 4 months and drained slightly over 2 quarts.

Note: I finally installed the magnetic drain plug. We'll see what it picks up at the next change.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Paula71 on 08/28/05 at 15:35:10

My '05 does not use oil, changed 2x and each time just a little over 2 quarts out which is what went in. :)

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Dr_D on 08/28/05 at 18:18:23

1998 model, 30,000km, use 20w50, never had to add even a spoonful between changes. My Triumph was the same, until I started using a fully synthetic. It started leaking out of everywhere except the handle bars. LOL. Too thin at temp I guess. Gonna go back to dino juice.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by mornhm on 08/28/05 at 18:33:49

Mine does not use oil - 04.

From your posts it really sounds like you need to find a new mechanic/dealership.

Incidently, when I asked my mechanic about the white spacer mod (they already knew about drilling out and adjusting the idle mixture) he looked it up on schematics and decided that it made sense if you wanted the bike to run richer in the range affected.

Since my bike doesn't afterfire or backfire unless I reallly try to make if happen and even then not all the time, I haven't tried the spacer mod or new jets. The idle mix is adjusted. I have some mild bluing (light brown really), but other than that my bike has run fine from the get go. I would only try other modifications if I thought it would keep the MPG the same or improve while improving the ride.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Savage_Rob on 08/29/05 at 07:38:08

mornhm wrote:

I have some mild bluing (light brown really)...

I actually like that gold color. That's how mine stayed until I tried using header wrap. That stuff insulated well enough that it turned the header quite blue and blued the front section of my muffler too. That's why mine are now black,

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by vroom1776 on 08/29/05 at 08:12:13

Mine DOES use oil. A lot. No leaks, either... I need to pull the head off... It's always done that, since I got it 3 years ago with 8K miles on it...

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by gandalph40 on 08/29/05 at 10:50:13

My '99 (almost 14k miles) does not burn any oil. I do have the "little" leak that I'll be repairing as my winter project, but it's not even enough to have to add more than an ounce or two every 1k miles or so.

Tom

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Savage_Rob on 08/29/05 at 11:48:30

vroom1776 wrote:

Mine DOES use oil. A lot. No leaks, either... I need to pull the head off... It's always done that, since I got it 3 years ago with 8K miles on it...

And for the $64 question... What oil do you use?

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by vroom1776 on 08/29/05 at 12:30:17

10-40, okay for wet clutch apps, but not motorcycle specific oil... I probably should use some 20-50 suzuki oil...

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by Savage_Rob on 08/29/05 at 13:38:26

That could go back to what WD was saying about the thinner oil. I'm definitely going to stick with 15W50 but I'll probably switch back to dino oil once I use up the synthetic I have.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by dtshifter on 08/29/05 at 18:30:16

I only have about 3,000 miles on my 05, there was no drop in oil level before the 700 mile checkup and oil change. Since then I used around 1/3 to 1/2 quart in over 2000 miles. I am using 10w40 it has been very hot and a lot of the miles were highway so reading the other posts it explains my oil use. I park on a white concrete floor so I know there are no drips.

Title: Re: Does the savage use oil?
Post by HawkEye1967 on 08/30/05 at 18:53:09

I find that in day to day drive to work conditions, I use very little oil, that being said I do notice that I go thru a bit of oil on long rides at speeds of 120 kph, but if I go 100 I don't go thru any oil to speak of.