[TheXerox44]

Update:
The dealer ran 500 miles on it and it lost 170cc of oil (8% of it's oil). They've sent this info to Kawasaki and are waiting to see what they suggest.


I have a 2019 Vulcan 650 S ABS that I bought new in August 2019. My first service was October of 2019 and nothing seemed amiss. My low oil light came on in July 2020 when I had about 7k miles on the bike, the dealer looked at it and said it was fine. We took a trip to Michigan and realized I was burning through a quart of oil every 500 miles. We did an oil change and it kept burning oil so we took it in, they stated I had the wrong amount of oil in it, corrected it and sent us on our way. With now the correct amount of oil the bike was still burning oil at the same rate. We took it back in November 2020 and they did warranty work on the valves and seals stating it was burning oil through the seals. It is now June 2021 and the bike is again burning oil at the same rate, it now has 10k miles on it. Has anyone else experienced this issue? 😭

 

[btom]

1 quart of oil every 500 miles? just stick a quart in your saddlebags and keep it topped up

 

[NCPiper]

I don't have that bike - - but surely this is not normal behavior.
I searched the internet and see no discussions related to oil burning issues with this bike. Time to try another dealer. Be persistent before that warranty expires and keep documents!!

 

[Tourer]

Welcome to the forum from North Carolina. That rate of oil consumption is unacceptable. Either have your dealer address it. If that dealer won’t go to another dealer. Would also call Kawasaki Customer Relations to start getting it documented. Keep at this.

 

[TheXerox44]

1 quart of oil every 500 miles? just stick a quart in your saddlebags and keep it topped up

😄 I've tried that but our Michigan trip was 1500 miles and the tail bag was getting cramped!

 

[TheXerox44]

Welcome to the forum from North Carolina. That rate of oil consumption is unacceptable. Either have your dealer address it. If that dealer won’t go to another dealer. Would also call Kawasaki Customer Relations to start getting it documented. Keep at this.

Thanks! The dealer has it now. Kawasaki told them to top off the oil and run it through 500 miles so that's what I'm waiting on

 

[TheXerox44]

I don't have that bike - - but surely this is not normal behavior.
I searched the internet and see no discussions related to oil burning issues with this bike. Time to try another dealer. Be persistent before that warranty expires and keep documents!!

🤔 Kawasaki told them to top off the oil and then run it 500 miles, I'm not sure for what but I hope to hear something soon 🤞

 

[btom]

on one of your long trips just buy a quart of oil at any gas station, most stations have 'em

 

[rc4man]

Yeah you can buy oil almost anywhere but it shouldn't use oil like that. Everyone used to make jokes about the Friday end of shift American cars back in the 60's and 70's related to finish quality being poor but I've discovered that the Japs aren't infallible.
Had a 1978 Dodge/Mitsubishi D50 pickup truck bought used, 30k miles, back in 1980-84, used oil from the time I bought it. As the mileage added up, around 50-60k, I noticed that oil consumption while never good had increased to where I was adding a quart every 200 miles then it started running poorly. Did a compression check and the front cylinder was way low.
Discovered the 3 piece oil control ring on the front piston, two wipers and one expander, one of the wiper rings was never installed. Over many miles the expander ring had pushed out and polished marks up the bore and the rings would no longer seal properly causing oil usage which lead to a burnt exhaust valve.
My rebuild shop looked at the block and told me that there was no appreciable wear in the bore but that Mitsubishi used hard chrome rings which will only seat properly in a perfect bore. If I would hone it enough to put a cross hatch on it and use Hastings cast iron rings it should seal fine without having to pull the engine and rebore that hole. I did that and it worked just as he said, drove it for another 100k miles with only a quart of oil usage between changes, 5k miles.
In my opinion bad valve guide seals alone isn't enough to justify the amount of oil consumption that you're experiencing. I hope they can get you sorted out to your satisfaction.

 

[cotetoi]

Definitely not a normal thing to happen in a new bike ! Squeak as loud as you can till you get a proper fix for the problem !

 

[The rider]

I have a 2019 Vulcan 650 S ABS that I bought new in August 2019. My first service was October of 2019 and nothing seemed amiss. My low oil light came on in July 2020 when I had about 7k miles on the bike, the dealer looked at it and said it was fine. We took a trip to Michigan and realized I was burning through a quart of oil every 500 miles. We did an oil change and it kept burning oil so we took it in, they stated I had the wrong amount of oil in it, corrected it and sent us on our way. With now the correct amount of oil the bike was still burning oil at the same rate. We took it back in November 2020 and they did warranty work on the valves and seals stating it was burning oil through the seals. It is now June 2021 and the bike is again burning oil at the same rate, it now has 10k miles on it. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

That's terrible...for such a small engine that's alot of oil...equivalent to a a 350 Chevy burning a quart of oil about every 55 miles..expect a damaged bore.
Then it run low enough for the light to come on..bad for the rod bearings...press em for a new engine

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