Wet sump question

Its hard to say as each Norton is diffrent, some can drop the whole oil tank in a few days, some over a few weeks and some don't do it at all, mine has never done it in the 39 years of ownership as it was a everyday rider, but now its semi retired like myself and my new Thruxton is now my everyday rider, the Norton is not ridden as much, it did lose a bit of oil after sitting for 2 months when doing some work on it, but not the whole oil tank, I have now installed a ball tap but I connect a layled to the tap with a rope that goes over the kickstarter when its turned off (folding kick starter) I can't kick the bike till I remove the layled rope after turning it on, I only turn my oil off when the bike is going to sit for awhile.



Ashley

MikeM said:

Ehh, does anyone remember my original question about how much oil in the crankcase will cause the wetsump issue of puking, smoking etc?
Just looking to find out when its necessary to drain the cases before starting.

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I've owned my 850 since new, 41 years now, and have never had puking or smoking at startup even after sitting all winter. I can say that it's a bear to kick over when the sump is full, and for the last few years I've taken to draining the sump before first Spring startup, but that's a consequence of old knees. I'm guessing that a good crankcase breather has helped a lot in the puking/smoking area too, and I'm not afraid to start the motor after 3-4 weeks of sitting.