Just bought a 2010 RT-S. Limp Home, Check Engine, Low Oil.

[Rdcd111]

Just bought it. 3800 miles on it. Like brand new. But the first ride (25 miles!) these codes came up. Limped home and checked the oil, the way the manual says, 30 seconds after shutting it down at operating temp etc etc. It was way over full and a lot of bubbles in the oil. I drained out about a half quart with my oil evacuator I use for changing oil in my German cars. Topside oil changes. Has any one else had this happen? I'm bringing it to the Dealer, Barneys of Brandon, this Wed to do the 4000 mi service. They will change the oil as part of this service. Even though the owner Had it just changed. It looks like new oil. But who knows what oil they used? I'm thinking about bringing Amsoil 10-40 M\C oil to the dealer and have them use that. Amsoil is all I use in all my cars and believe it's the absolute Best oil hands down. Iv never seen Bubbles in motor oil. Unless there is a coolant leak, or a blown head gasket. And I have neither. How do you guys feel about this problem? I value others opinions. It still has bubbles even after removing approx 1/2 Qt from the bike bringing it to the proper level.
Iv ridden Bikes for 40 years and owned just about every brand known. This RTS is not starting out well with me. Maybe that's why people seem to sell them with such low miles? I guess I'll find out. If it gives me grief I'll get a Gold Wing Trike ASAP. Hope I'm wrong! Thanks Ray.

 

[NancysToy]

On a dry sump engine, bubbles in the return oil stream are noyt uncommon. The scavenger pump that returns oil to the tank pumps continuously, whether it has oil that has collected in the sump or not. It has to have a capacity above and beyond the normal oil flow, or oil would collect in the sump. These bubbles dissipate in the oil tank, provided a good quality oil is used. The oil feed pump pulls from the bottom of the oil tank, while any bubbles float to the top, so the feed pump does not pass these bubbles on.

The 30 seconds of running the engine is done to evacuate any oil that may have drained to the sump when the engine was off. It usually works best to wait an additional 30-60 seconds after shutting the engine off for the bubbles to subside, before checking the oil level. BTW, the "low oil" warning refers to the oil pressure, not the oil level. Barring any drastic situation, you probably have a bad oil pressure switch.

 

[can-am sam]

You may have had your foot on the brake on the drive home. That will cause the messages you got. Be sure your foot is away from the brake pedal. Many of us have had this happen due to the brake being pressed on while driving.

 

[Rdcd111]

Good points

Would the fact of it being over full cause the oil pressure To go out of wack? Causing the Low Oil message to come on? You sound very knowledgeable on this matter. What brand oil do you use in yours? I have owned Harleys with the same oil reservoir (Softail) and Never had bubbles present when checking the oil. Could it be the Can Am Oil? Who the heck makes it for them? I doubt they produce their own oil. Do you do your own oil changes? Thanks, Ray

 

[Rdcd111]

You may have had your foot on the brake on the drive home. That will cause the messages you got. Be sure your foot is away from the brake pedal. Many of us have had this happen due to the brake being pressed on while driving.

No, I definitely didn't ride the brake. Good point though! Now I know about that! These RTs seem to be pretty sensitive from what I'm learning. I just hope it turns out to be a low maintaince reliable bike. We take 2000 mi trips often. With my Goldwing. may be this Can Am if I can learn to trust it? So far no!

 

[Chupaca]

Gotta say..!!

sorry you are so quick to put it on the chopping block. It's used and not set up your way yet but it got you home with no major problems. Now you need to learn this machine like you never owned a bike in your life. I have ridden
/owned bikes from around the world (cars as well) for over 50 years and have never owned a finer machine. If in fact you have had all you mentioned and did some of the work yourself (bikes) you would have seen the bubbles in your oil. You are working it harder that in your car and the early oils with detergents were a pain in bikes. If you get it set up to your liking learn about it you will be a happy camper and will have the time of your life. Imo this machine out performs any trike/side car in handling comfort performance and reliability... Your going to love it...!! hyea:

 

[finless]

From nearly 3 years of experience.
When Scotty says something, ignore at your own peril, listen for your own enlightenment and follow his directives to ensure every thing will work.

That may sound over the top, but sincerely it isn't.

With my small experience here I have to say the same thing! :bowdown:

I am glad I own the same make, year, and model as Scotty! I know his past posts will help me one day!

Bob

 

[NancysToy]

Would the fact of it being over full cause the oil pressure To go out of wack? Causing the Low Oil message to come on? You sound very knowledgeable on this matter. What brand oil do you use in yours? I have owned Harleys with the same oil reservoir (Softail) and Never had bubbles present when checking the oil. Could it be the Can Am Oil? Who the heck makes it for them? I doubt they produce their own oil. Do you do your own oil changes? Thanks, Ray

A high oil level will not cause low oil pressure. Your dealer should check to see if your problem is actually low oil pressure or a bad switch. I use any good quality motorcycle oil which meets the specs. That has included the BRP blended oil, Castrol RS R4, and Amsoil. I prefer the Amsoil, but I don't always have it available. Some brands do retain the bubbles more than others. Don't know about your Softail, but my old Harleys, Indian, Triumphs, and BSAs always had some bubblingand spurting in the return oil . Modern detergent oils bubble more than the oil straight weight non-detergent dino oils of my youth did. As far as I know Castrol makes the BRP oil. I do my own oil changes. If you are serious about doing as much of your own service as you can, and better understanding the Spyder, I'd suggest you purchase a shop manual online.

 

[Rdcd111]

sorry you are so quick to put it on the chopping block. It's used and not set up your way yet but it got you home with no major problems. Now you need to learn this machine like you never owned a bike in your life. I have ridden
/owned bikes from around the world (cars as well) for over 50 years and have never owned a finer machine. If in fact you have had all you mentioned and did some of the work yourself (bikes) you would have seen the bubbles in your oil. You are working it harder that in your car and the early oils with detergents were a pain in bikes. If you get it set up to your liking learn about it you will be a happy camper and will have the time of your life. Imo this machine out performs any trike/side car in handling comfort performance and reliability... Your going to love it...!! hyea:

Ridding it is no problem. Iv owned Quads, Snowmobiles, Motorcycles, Trikes, sports cars, 45 foot tag axel Bus! That we travel in, etc. I'm talking about a 2010 unit with 3800 miles on it having these issues happening. Not a very good start. That's a fact! When I get it back from the dealer next week I'll put a lot of miles on it and see what happens. It's just very unusual for a low mile bike to have these problems. That's what I'm talking about. Not the ridding experience. Iv owned a number of Gold Wings. 1 had 130,000 some odd miles when I sold one, with just oil changes and reg maintenance. Never these issues!

 

[Rdcd111]

A high oil level will not cause low oil pressure. Your dealer should check to see if your problem is actually low oil pressure or a bad switch. I use any good quality motorcycle oil which meets the specs. That has included the BRP blended oil, Castrol RS R4, and Amsoil. I prefer the Amsoil, but I don't always have it available. Some brands do retain the bubbles more than others. Don't know about your Softail, but my old Harleys, Indian, Triumphs, and BSAs always had some bubblingand spurting in the return oil . Modern detergent oils bubble more than the oil straight weight non-detergent dino oils of my youth did. As far as I know Castrol makes the BRP oil. I do my own oil changes. If you are serious about doing as much of your own service as you can, and better understanding the Spyder, I'd suggest you purchase a shop manual online.

I do prefer to do my own oil changes. Not because of saving any money, but by knowing it was done correctly and the oil I want and filter, was actually installed. Something as simple as an oil change can be a disaster if not done correctly. Ie, overfilling! I'll repost what the dealer finds next week after he runs the codes. Thanks for your help. Ray