1984 XJ550 Maxim Oil light & oil level issues

Hi everyone I am new to this forum so I hope this covers everything. I have only owned this bike for a few months this year, all has been going well up to this point. I have noticed a slow drop in oil level (viewed from the peep hole in the sidecover.) The oil level goes from being able to see a small bubble at the top of the peep hole to 1/2 (ie: full to half-full ) over about 400-450 km's . I am confident the bike is not burning significant enough amounts of oil as the exhaust gas is 100% clear with no discoloration ( checked running/driving and on startup) . I have also checked several times to see if the bike is leaking oil overnight and no luck there either. Also, the valves were recently adjusted and are all within spec. The main issue is that I cannot seem to figure out where the oil is going... and with the current level of oil which I believe should be sufficient (1/2 between the oil lines on the sidecover) the oil light will come on very frequently whiel driving. The obvious fix is to just keep adding oil every time it goes below this point on the sidecover, but clearly something is going on and I would like to fix it. Any help will be greatly appreciated, Thanks!

 

any place between the lines is good i fill up on level surface and yes I use a level on the frame.
as long as there is an air bubble in the window you are good. i fill to top line
keeping it full eliminates noise in the 550's
many oil leaks happen when motor is running and oil blows away check your centerstand foi oil .
tach cable, drain plug, filter housing oil sender can leak could be seal at front sprocket drips on chain.
or just fuming off in the vent to carb hose
i put new seals in the tach drive, gasket sealer on the filter housing, replaced o ring in sender unit. shifter seal and sprocket seal.
the sprocket and shifter seal will be hard to detect a leak because of chain oil.
how is the valve cover and donuts
you only have 2 quarts of oil it does not take long to go low drip by drip and the wind blowing it away

 

"I have only owned this bike for a few months this year"

You are doing the right thing maintaining the level. If you ride with others do they complain when riding behind you?
If its not dripping it must be burning it. the consumption rate you've observed, while you and I might consider excessive might improve once you have more time and miles on it. How many miles have you ridden and how much oil have you added? I remember reading a complaint from a BMW rider with similar consumption. The manufacturer said it was normal, live with it.

 

i would not consider 450 km and his oil consumption normal.
pita to keep filling
start with the shifter and sprocket seals.
rtv the filter housing and new crush washer on the drain plug with next oil change this is also the time to replace sender unit o ring.

 

he said there is no oil leaking out, why start replacing and gooping things up that are not leaking?
He's owned the bike for a very short time. How many total kilometers have you ridden LXJ550 and how many total litres of oil have you added?

 

XJ550H & Simmy thanks for the quick replies. First and foremost I have replaced the tach cable when I bought the bike, along with fresh orings for the drain plug and filter housing, I also replaced the crush washer on the drain plug as well . I have installed a new valve cover gasket and am unsure about doughnuts. I have ridden with many other riders behind me specifically to look for smoke from exhaust and all reports have said no smoke. I have observed my center stand is covered in oil, however I had thought this was oil from the chain? (The oil on center stand is only on one side, the side nearest to the chain.) This bike also has currently 62'000 kms . I would suspect that my next area to check is the shifter and sprocket seals. Is there any way to confirm this before replacing the seals ? I bought it at 59'000 so I have ridden approx 3000kms . Only noticed the issue recently and I have approx added 1.5-2 litres of oil. No leaks jump out at me when bike is sitting so it must be leaking when riding.

 

When you replaced the tach cable, did you also replace the o-ring and oil seal for the tach drive?

 

if center stand only has oil one side I would look into the shifter seals and sprocket seals.
eventualy the oil you replace will equal the cost of seals
I carry oil with me all the time.
next oil change replace the sender o ring for peace of mind

check your air filter and air box for oil