Mine has been doing that for awhile now...took the airfilter out not to long ago and noticed a good puddle of oil in the air box...thats why i did the crank case mod to it...I still check my oil everytime I ride it and its low sometimes...I am going to get a new set of rings hopefully soon..I can't be to upset I have over 19,000 miles on her now so it's about time...I wanted to wait to get a 351 big bore kit but it's looking like that can't happen anytime soon so just going to throw new ring in her and go from there.

 

How bout that little reservoir down by the bottom of the bike? Is that plugged off? I removed the clear bottle but plugged it. Unplugged it one day, and man...all this disgusting mung came spewing out on my hand.

 

You mean the collector for gas and or oil, mine broke off the first time I put it on the bike stand. Some stupid greenie idea.

 

Yup mine has been gone since the first ride off road I took...maybe three days after I bought the bike...

 

So that's what is supposed to be on the end of that tube!....lol....My bike was a demo leftover and the sales-rep had been driving it back and forth to work, but when I bought it, all that was left of that canister you speak of is the nub the hose fits over...haha. At least now i know it wasn't anything important.

 

ill have to check that after I wash it.

 

I don't get this kind of thinking. Rings last longer than 19,000 miles. These are 4 stroke engines and with sufficient maintenance they should go forever. Mileage means nothing. I guess running wide open all the time can take it's toll but rings at 19k is just uncool in my book.

 

19,000 miles on a small 250 bike ridden on the road is alot. Plus...who says dirt did't get in through oil, air filter, etc and do a little extra chewing on it?

 

That would be a maintenance issue. The rings glide on a thin layer of oil. It's not like a 250's pistons go up & down more times than a bigger engine. If you're wide open in lower gears of course you'll do more wear & tear as opposed to low RPM cruising on the Highway. Either way 19K is nothing for a properly maintained engine. Plus IMO the Mototune break-in is a big cause of premature engine wear. All that metal in the filter at the first oil change is thousands of miles lost in engine life.

 

The logic being.. they're 250's so you have to run them harder = higher RPMS = more times for the piston to move.

And yes the rings run off of oil, however, nothing is perfect. The oil breaks down and loses protective values, plus, dirt/dust will ALWAYS get through somehow. Most likely through the air filter.

So if you kept your bike in a hospital-like room, changed the oil every 1,000 miles with synthetic, wore surgical clothing, used the stock super thick foam filter and road on the road only and changed it every ride......then yeah, your bike will last nearly forever. But those are circumstances few people can compete with.