So my 1500 is drinking a little oil and puffs a bit of blue smoke at start up sometimes, so I was thinking valveguides are getting worn. Well, I did compression anyways and I got 105psi and 130psi on the front and rear cylinders respectively, with two different gages. Since I believe the max is supposed to be 85psi, I'm wondering if either the top end isn't stock or if the compression releases aren't working out? Has anyone had any experience with this? Can't decide if this could effect the oil consumption.
What kind of mileage is on that bike?
About 36k, so she is no spring chick.
This sounds like it might need a decoking treatment before you start to worry about compression. Get a can of Sea Foam and follow the instructions for carbon removal. It isn't so much the actual compression, as it is the variation between cylinders that is worrisome. Recheck after the carbon removal treatment. Compression needs to be checked on a warm engine, with the throttle held wide open for accurate results. Just a side note, my '01, which was abused, neglected, and left to die in a barn, now has 68,000 miles on it and no oil consumption, at all. 36k is still break in mileage!
Alright, so I ran a can of sea foam through it, and it seems to run a bit better and at start up the exhaust looks cleaner. But the compression remained unchanged. Time will tell if the oil consumption will start getting better. :-\ And coking made sense too because when I got it, the guy had it pig rich.
Anyone heard of the the KACR springs wearing out? Assuming the engines got to come out to take a look at that.
Thanks for the help.
So I did a wet cranking compression and the compression in the front cylinder came back. Anyone have last minute thoughts before I crack the engine open? (It will be a while since I'm putting every project on hold until my Vega makes a pass down the track)
Depending on the condition and price of certain parts, I may end up just getting a big bore kit....
Document and let us know how it goes!