More oil info.

I did the oil and filter change at @ 600 miles. I replaced the oil with Motul 7100 10w 40. I very carefully measured the oil I put in the engine and decided to start with 2.3 L. surprisingly [or not] the dipstick after the correct amount of running indicates exactly at the bottom graduation on the dipstick. I'm going to run it tomorrow at this level and report back in regards to oil puking. As an aside, the "Pit Bull" brand forward handle spooled lift works perfectly with their 6mm spools. Just adjust the width of the stand to 13 3/8 the and move the height adjusters up one inch. No affiliation, but this is a quality product. Sorry, I still think in shillings and furlongs.

Several people have reported that the correct oil amount carefully measured, will be at the bottom of the dipstick!

The change in recommended oil level is interesting. Norton recommended that the oil level should show at the top indicator ring (line) on the dipstick. Now everyone is recommending the bottom line ( no pun intended) and exercising care not to overfill the beast!

I complained to my dealer last September that I was getting a lot of airbox oil drainage on my exhaust pipe. It looked like shit, and I had to constantly fill the oil (to keep the level between the high and low mark on the dipstick). He told me immediately that I was over filling the oil. They found that if you keep the oil level just below the low mark on the dipstick it will resolve the issue. I asked how they knew this? I was told that they contacted Norton about this because of another owner who the same problem early. I don't know how long they were going to wait before telling me.

Anyway, I keep my level just below the low level, and I don't have a drainage problem any longer. I do get a small quantity of condensation from the airbox now.
The condensate dries, and only a shime remains. No wet oil stains.
Also, the owners manual instructs owners to trun off the engine and wait 30 seconds before measuring the oil level.
Turns out this is wrong as well. Measure your oil as soon as you shut the motor off.

thanks for that info . . . I was waiting 30 seconds before checking the oil level!

BritTwit said:

I complained to my dealer last September that I was getting a lot of airbox oil drainage on my exhaust pipe. It looked like shit, and I had to constantly fill the oil (to keep the level between the high and low mark on the dipstick). He told me immediately that I was over filling the oil. They found that if you keep the oil level just below the low mark on the dipstick it will resolve the issue. I asked how they knew this? I was told that they contacted Norton about this because of another owner who the same problem early. I don't know how long they were going to wait before telling me.

Anyway, I keep my level just below the low level, and I don't have a drainage problem any longer. I do get a small quantity of condensation from the airbox now.
The condensate dries, and only a shime remains. No wet oil stains.
Also, the owners manual instructs owners to trun off the engine and wait 30 seconds before measuring the oil level.
Turns out this is wrong as well. Measure your oil as soon as you shut the motor off.

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Meanwhile, I picked my bike up from the same dealership with my oil lever more than halfway up btw the lines. Go figure.

I just came back from a 130 mile ride after my 600 mile oil change. I had filled the bike to 2.3 L with a filter change. Next time I'm going to stop at 2.2 L. I had a little drainage from the air box this time. I don't think 2.2 L. is going to show on the factory dipstick. I've seen the dipstick mod on here and I'm going to do something similar. Bike ran well but I'm going to soften the suspension for my 180 lbs. Got to hit the rev limiter, thing pulls like a train!

Did a 180 mile run yesterday with precisionbob, I started out with @ 2.2 liters of oil and drained 2 tablespoons of oil out of the airbox at the end. Seems that running it low is not the answer.
richard-7 has stated that the breathing is going to require more work and people with a lot of experience in this area are working on it. For now re his suggestion, I'll run it at the mid point on the dip stick and just drain the airbox at the end of my run.
Does anyone know if the European delivered bikes have the same breather system?

Early on, pre-2013, some members on the UK NOC were concerned that they had to constantly top up their oil. Some thought that this was due to burning of oil related to bad rings. There were a few owners who had 2010 and earlier 961’s who did have ring/cylinder clearance issues. However, I don’t recall reading anything about oil blown out of the breather.

Dear All this is my first entry on the forum which has been really informative thanks for your information. I have a 2015 916 sport which I love.
Concerning the oil in the airbox the breathing system is the same for all markets. Running the oil near the bottom of the dipstick does reduce the amount of oil in the airbox but does not eliminate it. Half way between the dipstick marks put about 1/2 inch of oil into the airbox after about a 150 mile ride whereas running at the bottom of the dipstick reduces this to a few spoonfulls. I talked with the Norton guy's at the Manx GP and they confirmed it was an issue they were aware of and that it affects different machines to a different extent ( I assume it might be down to riding style or something).
They are working on a retrofit kit to resolve it that should be out soon.
I always check the oil at the end of the day after a ride as I put the bike away, this is common practice on dry sump bikes such as my Armstrong and XR 400 Honda.
I hope this helps.

Now that is news that will be well received by owners.
Thanks for the info, and welcome aboard.

I've had to add a quart and a half of oil, over the past 2,000 miles total. A little after every 500 mi. or so. The airbox only gets about 1 oz. in there or roughly a spoon full. The air filter looks brand new and hasn't gotten wet at all. No puking, but I believe its venting out a little while I'm riding. I also still have that oil leak from the seam of the crank case halves. Bringing it to the dealer when it gets cold out.

Hi guys another new poster, I have a 2014 3000 mile sport<
this is how I read the oil situation...my sport uses a bit of oil not much but I'm a Kawasaki 4 cyl nut and used to bikes using no oil !!!!!!
The 961 oil level is right when it only just touches the very tip of the dip stick with it screwed fully in, if you then add oil to bring the level up to the stick marks your going to over-fill and I think this is how owners end up with oil in the air box .
I have never had oil in the air box, more by luck than judgement I guess but I now run my bike with oil just showing on the stick no smoke and no oil on the tyre..

zederry 961 said:

Hi guys another new poster, I have a 2014 3000 mile sport<
this is how I read the oil situation...my sport uses a bit of oil not much but I'm a Kawasaki 4 cyl nut and used to bikes using no oil !!!!!!
The 961 oil level is right when it only just touches the very tip of the dip stick with it screwed fully in, if you then add oil to bring the level up to the stick marks your going to over-fill and I think this is how owners end up with oil in the air box .
I have never had oil in the air box, more by luck than judgement I guess but I now run my bike with oil just showing on the stick no smoke and no oil on the tyre..

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I assure you it has nothing to do with the level on the stick. The oil level in the middle protects your engine from damage. If you run your oil level low, you will still get oil in the airbox PLUS damage your engine. DO NOT RUN THE OIL LOW! Some bikes, like mine, get a teaspoon after 100miles and others, like my dads, get a 1/4 litre after a 100 miles. I ride harder than my dad. It's the bike not the rider. There are many theories, some by engineers like John Favill and some from people who test it to the enth degree, like my dad or Bill from Bolton Ontario. There are a lot of very smart people working on this (TOGETHER) to understand why.

A fix is on the way. In the mean time, keep your drains PLUGGED so you don't get oil on your rear brakes and tyres (tires) and drain into a jar after a ride.

Dear All
The instruction to only fill the oil to the bottom of the dip stick was from Norton themselves via Nick there service guy. They were very insistent that this was the correct thing to do. I doubt they would suggest this if it risked damaging the engine. The oil should always be checked after running as oil does drain down over time into the sump. It is strange how this oiling issue seems to affect some bike and not others. Maybe an update on how the fix from Norton is going would be good.

Well hopefully now that Simon is on here he can speak up to this. My dad did all sorts of tests with hose re-routing and bottles and pressure valves and he concluded it has nothing to do with the oil level, even when dangerously low. I have spoken to John Favill (850 COMMANDO and HD ENGINEER) about this to great lengths a few times (as recent as yesterday's phone call) because Harley Davidson experienced the EXACT same issue on their engines. I'm looking forward to Simon's response as he would know best!

spannerhands said:

Dear All
The instruction to only fill the oil to the bottom of the dip stick was from Norton themselves via Nick there service guy. They were very insistent that this was the correct thing to do. I doubt they would suggest this if it risked damaging the engine. The oil should always be checked after running as oil does drain down over time into the sump. It is strange how this oiling issue seems to affect some bike and not others. Maybe an update on how the fix from Norton is going would be good.

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Thank you for sharing this. The more feedback given the more we learn and get the correct answer and learn from other peoples experiences and solutions. :mrgreen: Cheers

Hello, here is my story to contribute to the oil topic:
I do not know if the 961s delivered for the U.S. market all have Nikasil bores by now. My bike (delivered May 2012) has cylinder bores of cast iron with a crosshatch hone job.
After a first try of my dealer to solve the problem of heavy oil consumption by rehoning the bores and mounting new piston rings, my bike still used a bit more than 1.6 litres (3.4 US pints) per 1'000 miles ( >= 1 lt. per 1'000 km) in average. Before the rehoning it was even more!
Meanwhile the bike got new pistons which have been commissioned directly by my local dealer.
The major difference compared to the original ones is that the new pistons have an oversize of 
0.05 mm, which means 88.05 mm in diameter instead of the original 88 mm and they are a bit lighter in weight.
Other customers in Switzerland had their cylinders even to be rebored for an oversize of 0.5 mm due to a very bad surface quality of the cylinder bores.
Since this remedy I rode about 10'000 miles and oil consumption is now around 2 to 3 dl per 1000 km (0.7 to 1 US pints per 1000 miles) which in my eyes is acceptable.

Raphael, Switzerland