Is this too much engine oil?

[Coasting]

Honestly, you're over-thinking this FAR too much.

Mine does exactly the same thing. My bike is up to 50,000 miles now and burns a bit of oil between changes (which I do myself).

When you do a change drain everything out - rock it on the centre stand - put in 800ml - and don't even bother checking it at the time. Check it periodically (I do this about every time I refill the gas tank now); if it's 1/2 way between the top and bottom marks then chuck in 100ml - if it's near the bottom mark chuck in 150ml. No need to even check it afterwards.

I used to worry about it (like you seem to be) but in the end I discovered that the over-reading is just what they do. What I'm seeing from your photos and description is completely normal for that bike. Stop worrying about it and go enjoy your riding

No idea why Honda did it this way - but it's just the way it is. If you put 800ml in - and it's above the minimum mark when you check it then you're good to go.

[150pcxer]

Honestly, you're over-thinking this FAR too much.

Mine does exactly the same thing. My bike is up to 50,000 miles now and burns a bit of oil between changes (which I do myself).

When you do a change drain everything out - rock it on the centre stand - put in 800ml - and don't even bother checking it at the time. Check it periodically (I do this about every time I refill the gas tank now); if it's 1/2 way between the top and bottom marks then chuck in 100ml - if it's near the bottom mark chuck in 150ml. No need to even check it afterwards.

I used to worry about it (like you seem to be) but in the end I discovered that the over-reading is just what they do. What I'm seeing from your photos and description is completely normal for that bike. Stop worrying about it and go enjoy your riding

No idea why Honda did it this way - but it's just the way it is. If you put 800ml in - and it's above the minimum mark when you check it then you're good to go.

The reason why it appears to you that I over-think about this issue is because since February this year when I started this thread until now, no one has any clue as to why this phenomenon is happening to my bike. The mechanics have no idea, neither does anyone on this forum know either.

It's just that I have always wanted to get to the root cause of the issue, that's why I've been quite persistent about it. I've more or less come to accept it and I'm not going to spend more money to do anything about it because the daily running and operation of the bike seems ok to me.

At least for your bike, there were times when you saw that the oil level was in between the bottom and top hash marks. Not so for my bike, it is always way over the max mark, as seen in the picture.

[Jge64]

I believe you’ve done all you can do to look into this problem without a complete tear down. Splitting the cases and looking at exactly how the oil is being contained in the crankcase is your only sure thing left, and that’s ridiculous to do , if the bike is running fine.

[iceman]

Could wait till the fuel is very low (almost out) and drain the oil, put 800ml in and a while later check to see if it's changed then.

[Coasting]

The reason why it appears to you that I over-think about this issue is because since February this year when I started this thread until now, no one has any clue as to why this phenomenon is happening to my bike. The mechanics have no idea, neither does anyone on this forum know either.

I can't say with any authority either, but it could be something as simple as a mistake in the manual. Keeping in mind too that it does say APPROXIMATELY (my emphasis, not theirs) 0.8L in the manual. I came to realise that the manual is just a guide - and much of what's in it is for legal protection as much as technical accuracy. The manual says we're to check the oil level daily - and to do that we need to run the motor for 3 to 5 minutes before letting it settle for a few minutes; I'd bet my last dollar that there isn't a PCX rider on the planet that does that daily. It says what tyre pressures I should run ... my dealer says I need to run them higher to avoid the tyre issues that I've experienced. It says I should replace the sparkplug about 10 times as often as I do. After a while one just gets a feel for what works for them and their type of riding.

It's just that I have always wanted to get to the root cause of the issue, that's why I've been quite persistent about it. I've more or less come to accept it and I'm not going to spend more money to do anything about it because the daily running and operation of the bike seems ok to me.

If your bike is like it - and my bike is like it - then chances are all bikes made that year are like it. What I'm suggesting is that it's not an "issue" ... it's just "normal" thus "don't worry about it". You can do 1 or two things; either run with 800ml and have it indicate high until it reduces through normal oil loss (which probably won't occur before an oil change on a low mileage bike), or you can put in about 700ml and have it come to the full mark on the stick. Either will be absolutely fine for the bike.

At least for your bike, there were times when you saw that the oil level was in between the bottom and top hash marks. Not so for my bike, it is always way over the max mark, as seen in the picture.

Only because I've done a lot of miles on mine (up to 80,000km now). When I first got it it didn't burn any oil between oil changes either, but (unfortunately) eventually there's engine wear and it starts to consume a bit. Obviously if I don't keep topping mine up then I'm eventually going to end up with a seized engine since the bikes don't have any form of low oil protection; thus I consider the low point on the stick the lowest I'm prepared to go. When it hit's the mark I can either add about 50 to 75ml to get it to the high mark or I can add 150ml and get it to where yours is now (and to where it goes after adding 800ml after an oil change -- which I do every 4000km). The ONLY difference is that doing that means I only need to top it up 1/2 or 1/3 as often, and it gives me a bit more of a safety margin in the meantime.

[150pcxer]

The reason why it appears to you that I over-think about this issue is because since February this year when I started this thread until now, no one has any clue as to why this phenomenon is happening to my bike. The mechanics have no idea, neither does anyone on this forum know either.

I can't say with any authority either, but it could be something as simple as a mistake in the manual. Keeping in mind too that it does say APPROXIMATELY (my emphasis, not theirs) 0.8L in the manual. I came to realise that the manual is just a guide - and much of what's in it is for legal protection as much as technical accuracy. The manual says we're to check the oil level daily - and to do that we need to run the motor for 3 to 5 minutes before letting it settle for a few minutes; I'd bet my last dollar that there isn't a PCX rider on the planet that does that daily. It says what tyre pressures I should run ... my dealer says I need to run them higher to avoid the tyre issues that I've experienced. It says I should replace the sparkplug about 10 times as often as I do. After a while one just gets a feel for what works for them and their type of riding.

It's just that I have always wanted to get to the root cause of the issue, that's why I've been quite persistent about it. I've more or less come to accept it and I'm not going to spend more money to do anything about it because the daily running and operation of the bike seems ok to me.

If your bike is like it - and my bike is like it - then chances are all bikes made that year are like it. What I'm suggesting is that it's not an "issue" ... it's just "normal" thus "don't worry about it". You can do 1 or two things; either run with 800ml and have it indicate high until it reduces through normal oil loss (which probably won't occur before an oil change on a low mileage bike), or you can put in about 700ml and have it come to the full mark on the stick. Either will be absolutely fine for the bike.

At least for your bike, there were times when you saw that the oil level was in between the bottom and top hash marks. Not so for my bike, it is always way over the max mark, as seen in the picture.

Only because I've done a lot of miles on mine (up to 80,000km now). When I first got it it didn't burn any oil between oil changes either, but (unfortunately) eventually there's engine wear and it starts to consume a bit. Obviously if I don't keep topping mine up then I'm eventually going to end up with a seized engine since the bikes don't have any form of low oil protection; thus I consider the low point on the stick the lowest I'm prepared to go. When it hit's the mark I can either add about 50 to 75ml to get it to the high mark or I can add 150ml and get it to where yours is now (and to where it goes after adding 800ml after an oil change -- which I do every 4000km). The ONLY difference is that doing that means I only need to top it up 1/2 or 1/3 as often, and it gives me a bit more of a safety margin in the meantime.

Don't assume. Mine is a 7 year-old bike with 70,000 km, albeit lesser mileage than your bike but definitely not a low mileage bike as you assumed.

Your last paragraph proves that your bike and mine are not the same, as in, both bikes do not exhibit the same phenomenon. Like I've said before, at least it's observable on your dipstick that the oil level fluctuates, between the high and low marks. I repeat, on my bike, that doesn't happen at all. It's always above the high mark. That's the difference.

That's it, there's nothing more to discuss about this issue. Thanks for your input thus far.

[Coasting]

Like I've said before, at least it's observable on your dipstick that the oil level fluctuates, between the high and low marks. I repeat, on my bike, that doesn't happen at all. It's always above the high mark. That's the difference.

From where I'm sitting there aren't many possibilities, either;

1. Adding 800ml puts the level where you're seeing it & it's not burning any oil between changes (a great thing at 70,000km), or

2. You're adding 800ml putting the level where you see it - it's burning off - but the burned off oil is being replaced by some other fluid (anything much above that level would probably end up getting ejected via the crankcase breather tube -- so might pay to see what that looks like).

Have you considered removing a quantity of oil so that it correctly aligns with the full mark on the dipstick and see what happens from there? If it didn't change then you can deduce that #1 is correct -- if it rises back up then option #2 is correct.

Senario #2 is highly unlikely; even fuel leaking into it would evaporate quickly.

For what it's worth, even at 80,000km my oil consumption is minimal doing just city running (<50km/hr) - it's when I'm at wide open throttle for extended periods that the oil consumption increases considerably. Not sure how yours is mostly used ... and I won't make any assumptions or I might get told off again

[Ganglylamb]

For what it's worth, even at 80,000km my oil consumption is minimal doing just city running (<50km/hr) - it's when I'm at wide open throttle for extended periods that the oil consumption increases considerably.

I experience exactly the same at 30 000 km. My commute is 25 kms, 20 of it at WOT (90km/h road but everyone goes around 110 so to keep up I just am at WOT all the time). I check the oil level on a weekly basis and top of when needed. On average now around 100ml / 500km but I am not concerned about this. Maybe I should, but oil is cheap and so is the PCX so I just ride like I stole it, the way it's meant to be ridden .

[Coasting]

I experience exactly the same at 30 000 km. My commute is 25 kms, 20 of it at WOT (90km/h road but everyone goes around 110 so to keep up I just am at WOT all the time). I check the oil level on a weekly basis and top of when needed. On average now around 100ml / 500km but I am not concerned about this. Maybe I should, but oil is cheap and so is the PCX so I just ride like I stole it, the way it's meant to be ridden .

From the "if it helps dept", I used to track my oil consumption and it was around the 30,000km mark that it started to roughly double between every 4000km oil change (I even used to weigh it to get a more accurate indication of quantity).

I was getting a bit worried given the trend, but at some point it started geting better - and now, at 80,000km, I think it's about the same as yours (I don't really track it anymore). I suspect that the reduction in consumption was probably due to me doing less WOT running. My daily commute is about 15km into town and same back - with one or two shorter trips throughout the day. The WOT route only saves about 2 minutes but drops my fuel consumption down from around 45km/l to about 29 km/l - so in the end I mostly just stick with the 50 -> 60km/hr running unless I'm in a hurry.

I usually make a point of checking the oil after refilling, with one or 2 spot checks inbetween. I aim to keep it pretty much where it sits on the OP's dipstick; when it gets down to the full mark I make a mental note to "check it again in a couple of days". If the reading is high and I pop across to the next city (about a 130km ride at WOT) then it's near the low mark when I get there - so I have to be careful to carry extra oil if I'm doing long runs at WOT now - but apart from that it's still "business as usual"; no blue smoke and no plug fouling (I change plugs about every 50,000km).

I suspect that the bike would keep going well beyond it disappearing off the bottom of the stick (given that the bottom of the stick is nowhere near the bottom of the sump), but I'm also aware that I only need to screw up once to wrect the engine; so I figure that if I can keep the level where I can see it then I'm erring on the safe side. I'm anticipating that at some point over the 100,000km mark I'll probably need to fit a new cylinder, piston, and ring kit but they're cheap enough so I'm not too worried about it.

I'm the same as you when it comes to riding; as far as I'm concerned it's a workhorse; it gets used for commuting, touring, family "taxi", moving anything from computers and monitors to even 1.07m lengths of timber (stropped to the pillion portion of the seat).