My brand new bike spat the dummy yesterday! Any thoughts?

[WierNixie]

Drive a brand new Suzuki 250 intruder <1000km.

After going to the learner Wednesday last week, I decided to go back to Westgate and take the back road thru to Albany to practice my cornering before I went for my restricted. After two goes, I was ready to go back home to the North Shore, and stopped to make a phone call.

Stopped the bike, and walked away from it. I was away less than 5 minutes from my bike, when I got back - the oil filler bung was off the bike and the entire bike was sprayed with piping hot oil and all the metal bits were steaming. From the spray marks it looked like it had erupted. I couldn'd find the oil bung anywhere.

Went to the garage (where we meet for Kiwi Biker) and a gentleman on a Ninja helped me with advice on how to get home (thank you whoever you are!). Filled up the oil and bunged up the hole with a cloth, checked to see that it would last till I got home, and got the thing home.

My questions is WHAT THE!

What could cause this to happen. Brand new bike? Any ideas. Will take it back to the shop on Monday, but am concerned - why did it happen. Jolly pleased I wasn't on it when it happend, all I have is a burned thumb and an oily bike.

Thanks guys.
Wiernixie.

[Mom]

Bummer mate, what a mess to clean up! Things do work loose on bikes, particularly new ones, though I have never heard of a sump plug letting go. Has it had its first service yet? Maybe it was not tightened properly then, or it has simply worked loose with vibration.

Go back to the dealer and get him to provide you with a new one FOC under warranty.

[paturoa]

You are talking about the filler plug?

The plug prolly wasn't tight enough and just vibrated out. The clutch is normally spinning just under that and would flick oil out the hole.

"Metal bits steaming" doesn't sound too good, it would have to be qiute hot for that. Oil will smoke a lot off the exhaust pipe which is normal.

[boomer]

my thoughts.

another lovely day, Jimmies broken the minute barrier and i should get showered and dressed and go to the track to watch a top days racing.

other thoughts, you own an intruder. anything can happen when you cross god.

[davereid]

I assume you mean the oil filer bung at top of the crankcase, not the drain bung at the bottom !.

It could be a couple of things.

Far and away the most likely is that it was simply not screwed in tight, and it unwound on its own. The amount of oil that is chucked out is amazing.

I admit this doesn't really fit with your idea that it happened while you were away from the bike, unless someone fiddled with it.

The crankcase has a breather that should stop excessive pressure building up. This would have to be blocked for pressure to pushthe bung out, and I can't see this happening on a new bike.

If an engine is significantly overfilled with oil the crankcase can pressurise. But once again I can't imagine the oil filler coming out.

As you didn't run out of oil, your engine will be fine.

Just check the oil level before you run it, and keep an eye on that bung !

[WierNixie]

Yes it was the filler plug. The bike was parked and turned off when it blew. Engine was VERY hot!!! Hasn't had it's first service yet.
After I had the bike three months I had to return it to the shop, the bike just stopped dead and th battery was completely flat. Turns out the stator was US and had to be replaced.

[WierNixie]

Thanks for the advice, filled it up before I 'bunged' it up and brought it home.

I was nowhere near the bike when this happend. Inside the AA, but only to pick up a form. It looked like a geyser or volcano had taken place around the bike.

[WierNixie]

my thoughts.

another lovely day, Jimmies broken the minute barrier and i should get showered and dressed and go to the track to watch a top days racing.

other thoughts, you own an intruder. anything can happen when you cross god.
Hey a new rider is allowed at least one ill advised buy :weep:

[davereid]

Some engines actually get hotter after they are turned off, as coolant stops being pumped around the engine.

But I'm sure the Intruder 250 is aircooled, so it never got hotter that it was when you parked it. Oil, particularly if it gets on to exhaust pipes can smell very hot - much hotter than reality !

How much oil was required to bring the level back up to normal ?

[FROSTY]

It possessed?-- Seriously though one possibility that comes to mind is that the crankcase breather is kinked /blocked--thats a rubber pipe up on the back of the bottom of the engine.
Otherwise its as others have said--threads do work loose.
The other thing is you would be really suprised how LITTLE oil it takes for things to look really really messy.
We had a car come back with a MAJOR oil leak - Judged by the 100mm stains on the driveway. fairy nuff modern cars dont generally leak any oil.
The leak was a single drop of oil per night -less than 1cc.
1/8 turn tighter with the oil filte3r and all was good again.

[Conquiztador]

Are these made in China??

[FROSTY]

Don't think so

[TimeOut]

Hi
The first service is the most important in the bikes life, it's better to be done before suggested than later.
Not that this has caused your problem, but they can check it out at the service.

[toebug]

Next time by a Honda!

[T.W.R]

Yes it was the filler plug. The bike was parked and turned off when it blew. Engine was VERY hot!!! Hasn't had it's first service yet.
After I had the bike three months I had to return it to the shop, the bike just stopped dead and th battery was completely flat. Turns out the stator was US and had to be replaced.

:scratch: You've had the bike in excess of 3mths and already had a warranty issue with the stator and it hasn't had it's 1st service???? I'd be changing shops and continuing the warranty servicing at another Suzuki dealership (1st service is at 1000km).

That amount of pressure build up is excessive and would have forced oil into the airbox via the crankcase breather (that being kinked or blocked is highly unlikely) a lot of engines do force oil through the breather if they're over filled with oil or the motor is sick (certain Hondas are notorious for doing it). A low stress engine likes of the 250 Suzi shouldn't create that much pressure unless there's something else going on internally.

Bunging the filler cap hole with a rag is bloody risky as it could have easily caught on the clutch basket and caused something a whole lot worse to contend with.

[WierNixie]

Thanks for that. Haven't done 1000km yet, that's why no first service. Will take it in Monday. Only put the rag in to get it home, no riding until it's fixed - thanks for the advice.

[Disco Dan]

Thanks for that. Haven't done 1000km yet, that's why no first service. Will take it in Monday. Only put the rag in to get it home, no riding until it's fixed - thanks for the advice.

Let me guess.. you bought it at Red Baron??? :spanking::spanking:

Should only buy bikes from Mt Eden motorcycles or Motohaus or Henderson Motorcycles.

Stay very far away from Red Baron.

[Ixion]

Well, one thing's for sure. You stuffed the hole up with a rag , and that didn't blow out. So if there's not enough crankcase pressure to blow the rag out, there sure wan't enough to smash the threads of the filler cap and blow that out.

I'd agree with the vibrated loose , and oil sprayed out (as it would with no cap) theory. I've lost filler caps that way in the past, and, as noted, even a very small amount of oil makes one hell of a mess.

Replace cap, get the shop to check it at the 1kk service, and don't loose any sleep over it.

[WierNixie]

Bought new at Holeshot.

[FROSTY]

Don't worry dude. itll all be fine :2thumbsup

[toebug]

Let me guess.. you bought it at Red Baron??? :spanking::spanking:

Should only buy bikes from Mt Eden motorcycles or Motohaus or Henderson Motorcycles.

Stay very far away from Red Baron.

Whats so bad about Red Baron?

[Guitana]

Sounds like the underpaid apprentice who generally dosent give a fuck has struck again! Too busy dreaming about the steak and cheese pie he's having for smoko than worrying about installing the bung properly back into the intruder.
Take it back to holeshot and get them to look at it! It was probably made Under liscence by primary school age slave labour in some industrial city in the Peoples Republic of China. Or as the working class school age employees call it "You Make cheap shit or die land"!!!!!

[barty5]

Whats so bad about Red Baron?

What’s right with them their sale guys I found to be most unhelpful couldn’t be bothered with a cash sale when I phoned up cut me short knew exactly what I wanted they just had to get one in stock if they didn’t already have one (new bike) so I went to Henderson motorcycles did they whole thing over the phone.

[Badjelly]

Don't worry dude. it'll all be fine :2thumbsup
I second that.

A little oil on the outside of an engine looks like a lot. Air-cooled engines do run quite hot. Unless there's any evidence of harm done, don't worry.

[sinfull]

Be interesting to hear the verdict on this one !

[fireball]

i should tell rob to do a swap ill take your bike you take mine?!!

[Nagash]

i should tell rob to do a swap ill take your bike you take mine?!!

Hah, I went to the Wednesday ride last week and saw it, it's a beautiful Intruder. All shiney and black..

I'm sorry to hear this heard to you! (I'm the guy with the yellow cruiser last week)

But yeah.. doesn't sound all that bad.. hopefully to oil didn't tarnish the Saddlebags or the seat, good to hear you're doing some additional practising though.

I still gotta do my half hours additional emergency stopping practice before tommorow..

[Forest]

Sounds like the underpaid apprentice who generally dosent give a fuck has struck again! Too busy dreaming about the steak and cheese pie he's having for smoko than worrying about installing the bung properly back into the intruder.
Take it back to holeshot and get them to look at it! It was probably made Under liscence by primary school age slave labour in some industrial city in the Peoples Republic of China. Or as the working class school age employees call it "You Make cheap shit or die land"!!!!!

If you wondered why Chinese manufactured stuff is so cheap, then here is one of the reasons why:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PTsrf2OoBCk&feature=related

[JMemonic]

Sounds like the underpaid apprentice who generally dosent give a fuck has struck again!

WTF is up with the belief that the apprentice is the guy to blame, there is fuck all places that train apprentices, and those that are lucky enough to get an apprenticeship in this field are the one likely to give a dam, the underpaid part is perhaps right though.

[WierNixie]

Bike has now been for its first service, all seems fine. I shall keep an eye on the oil filler plug. No idea what happened, but all good.

Had the front sprocket changed to adjust the gearing, nothing to do with the oil - just felt like the gearing was all wrong on the bike. The mechanic was really helpful, and the bike handles so much better at higher speeds than it did before.

Back to practicing cornering this weekend. I am such a pansy since I took a left hand turn and lost control into oncoming traffic a few months ago.

[BiK3RChiK]

Ah, don't be hard on yourself! All of us start somewhere and it takes a lot of practice to get it looking professional... I'm slowly, slowly getting there. Get called a nana all the time by the other half, but hey! I'm enjoying it and that's all that matters!:banana:

Enjoy the practice!

M