cloudy oil

[crissy]

I have just checked the oil on my 09 xb12s and it seems a very thick whitey colour,is this normal because i only commute a few miles to work and back and have only done 260 miles on the bike in total?

 

[FIDOSOL]

Not normal at all, sounds like you have water in your oil. The best thing to do for it is check all the bolts on the swingarm and see if anything could be letting water in. Also, you should really change your oil as soon as you can. If it gets cloudy after you change it and you can't find anywhere the water could be leaking into the oil then you need to take it to the dealer.

 

[LeFox]

parked outside/inside, heated/not heated, etc?

if would have to guess is that your oil doesn't have the time to get to good operating temperature if you only communte a few miles.

 

[crissy]

parked in the kitchen at night,then outside workshop allday at work,i thought that it perhaps isnt getting to operating temperature when commuting so i let it tick over for a good 10mins before riding off?,when it isnt raining i go the long way home about10 miles or so.with me being new to buells and v-twins i thought id ask the question anyway,just to put my mind at rest abit

 

[LeFox]

my guess would be that condensation is kept in your oil.

letting your bike idle for 10 minutes isn't all that good for your bike. better to spend that time riding and have fun doing it.

aircooled vtwins need to get up to temperature to keep them healthy.

 

[crissy]

Cheers,ill give it a good run everyday then.Also all the paint is flaking off of my end can,i wash and dry it every night,i presume because of the heat,does this happen to them all?.

 

[mrdozer2you]

260 miles on the bike? Does the oil look metallic at all? Could be part of the break in then?