Should a new Downtown 350i consume/burn oil?

[Vision4]

I own a relatively new Kymco Downtown 350i 2018.

since the first service at 1000km, i only did 800km, and in that period the oil level decreased significantly. (well below the half point on the oil dipstick, close to the lower level).

i went to the official KYMCO dealership, and they say it's perfectly normal, and if an engine doesn't consume more than 300cc for every 1000km then there's nothing wrong with it.

i think they're lying.

as far as i'm aware of, there's no reason for a 4-stroke engine to burn oil. and if it does that means that there's a problem with the Piston/piston rings, the cylinder, or the valves seals.

Does anyone know if it is indeed normal for that engine to consume that much oil?

[CROSSBOLT]

My experience and MY OPINION(I am YELLING so you can regard my opinion for what it cost ya!)is NONE of the Kymcos in this camp used, burned nor leaked any oil even one that had 20000 miles that was stolen and wrecked. Your dealer is giving you a pantload of BS. Shows his ignorance and arrogance.Honda showed how it was done in the 60's and Kymco has carried that banner into battle as well. Now the question is, where is it going? No chance the bike was not level, was there? The are real, I say, REAL fussy about that 'cause most of the sumps are wide side-to-side and narrow fron-to-back. Smoke out the exhaust? Gobs of oil in the air cleaner box? Puddles? Watch it closely and tell your dealer I said....well, better not tell him THAT! But tell him the field experience, the operating customer experience is they don't leak or burn. Harley's in the old days maybe. Not these.

[DNW]

It shouldn't consume oil with those low miles on it...even if it was run hard during the break in period. You might have a leak in the crank seals or the casing seals...but I doubt it.

[leomagnus]

I agree with Karl, they are feeding you a pants load of BS. I have a 2018 400i xciting and I did not burn any oil. I have done 3 oil changes and no problems whatsoever

Dean

[Stig / Major Tom]

Please tell us about your riding habits.
Are you running mostly full throttle for long periods on major motorways?
Also, have you looked at your airfilter since finding the low oil level?
And, what country are you in?
Stig

[boo]

They are feeding you a line of sh**.

[big blue]

Like they said BS!

[Viper254]

You need to take it back and demand it's swapped with another bike. It's a pup.

[john grinsel]

First read the book on Kymco oil check procedure----bike level, on centerstand, engine run a little, wait for oil to drain back, check level without screwing in dipstick.  Done over several day period, you may get true reading.

Or do oil changes yourself and you will know how much you put in.  My 2019   XTown 300 I----run hard, 8-9 day trip, 2000 miles, oil level went down a little---100cc of oil brought level up....if that was even necessary---changed oil as soon as I got home.


Unless you have dealer who really rides/uses bikes, scooters  and all of the employee ride  bikes/scooter to work, I probably won't trust them for much advice.

[CROSSBOLT]

I cannot WAIT to hear from you what the dealer said in response to these comments! Of course, your option whether to tell him anything or nothing. I am just amazed how many times I hear reports of "It's normal, they all do that, it will change when it gets broken in." Sometimes it is true but not in this case, I feel. These types of comments are to get you gone or off the phone. The intention is the same: they are going to do nothing.

[Vision4]

Thanks for all the replys!

As for the break-in period - i drove through it exactly as recommended by the dealership and some research i did on my own. I did not reach very high revs, i always let the engine warm up in idle for a couple of minutes before driving, i was not aggressive with the throttle, i started slow and chill, i never stayed on a constant RPM for more than a little while, and i let the engine cool down every 15-30 minutes on average for about 10-15 minutes.

about the way i check the oil level - i do always make sure the bike is perfectly leveled, and follow the instructiones as you described, and i also check it very frequently since i noticed the problem, about twice a day. so the readings i get should be reliable. 

john grinsel - i do not trust them for advice one bit, the thing is, i need them to fix it and they won't. because they claim that there's nothing to fix.

this is unbelievebly frustrating. i saved up a long time for time bike, spent well over 8000 dollars, and when there's a problem they feed me BS and avoid helping me.
what's more frustrating is that i have no where else to go, they're the only official KYMCO dealership in the country.

Right now i'm trying to get in touch with the KYMCO head office in Taiwan. they don't seem to respond to my emails. I hope they can help me in any way cuz otherwise im just lost.

anyone ever managed to get in touch with them?

[CROSSBOLT]

OK, you qualified yourself on break-in and operation quite well, I think. I am not surprised you are getting the typical dealer runaround AND you can get NO response from Kymco Taiwan (or Kymco Global as they like). I am currently working on a project to get a Greek dealer to support the warranty for an Athens area customer. It is more than frustrating to try to get these dealers to do ANYTHING besides to give BS and hot air after the sale. Are you in the US? Call Kymco USA in S. Carolina if you are and get your regional sales rep on the problem. This has worked in the past. Members of this forum are more knowledgeable than ANY dealer! You may be able to get your bike replaced since it is an oil problem IF you get the regional guy involved. This problem could be bigger than any other we have faced here before. The reason the dealers don't want to do any warranty is because Kymco is too cheap on labor compensation. They will throw parts all day long but won't pay labor so the two year warranty is about worthless.

So, what do YOU do? Find out where and how much the oil is going. It is either being burned or it is leaking or it is pooling somewhere. Find it. THEN see what it is gonna take to fix it. Get hot on this right away because two years go fast when the dealer is dragging his feet waiting for the warranty to expire. Where are you located? Maybe one of us can ride over and really confuse you in person!

[stuo]

It's easier to see oil smoke from exhaust at night in a car's headlights. Also, synthetic oils don't smoke as much as dinosaur oil, so you might go to non-synthetic for test purposes. Do it at night, have a car follow you.

Suggestion if all else fails: Tell the dealer you will picket his store with a sign saying "Let me tell you about this dealer before buying here" or words to that effect. I once threatened to do it and got results immediately. You must be ready to do it. Here in the US of A it's legal to protest on a public sidewalk as long as you don't impede or obstruct foot traffic and you keep moving, back and forth. Tell him you will call the local newspaper, too, maybe get your picture in the paper in front of the dealership.

[CROSSBOLT]

I think you are on to something, stuo! Now, how do you do the equivalent with the importer, the factory and a fat Greek dealer in Athens? Har, har!

[john grinsel]

Simple fix to start--- do compression test, at least that will tell if rings seated, check castings for leaks (I had new Burgman 400 with porous castings....fix for me was to trade for Yamaha TMAX).   Then, oil is cheap, small displacement engine ain't going to use much.