My motor has worms

[Formula390]

Started my first service interval work today... oil change was all I accomplished before I retreated back inside to the AC... but not before I got a bit of a surprise in one of the screens. My motor has worms!



I'm honestly not surprised, and expected to see more gasket bits, chips, and shavings...


I suppose compared to some, my findings from the first oil change are hardly of real note, but that's what I found in my motor...

 

[reenmachine]

Looks just like mine. I had a couple of worms on the small screen but not as many. Large screen looks the same. 385 miles in my case.

 

[Tito_gsx]

Is this something to worry about?

 

[Formula390]

Is this something to worry about?

If it continued to show up beyond the second oil change it might be something to consider being cautious of, but it shouldn't really be a problem long term as once the excess material breaks loose there isn't any more to cause issues... What it means is somebody is being careless during motor assembly and applying too much sealant. The excess squeezes out once the halves are put together, leaving these "worms" on both sides of the case (in and out) so you can ignore the ones on the outside. The ones on the inside are caught by the screens, and the only real worry would be if they plugged an oil passage. Particularly ones leading to the head or the bottom of the piston. If that happened, failure would be following soon after. Given they are caught by the screen, and that's what they are there for, it's not AS much of a concern. It's intrinsic of carelessness during assembly, but the engineers accounted for that... which is likely why we have TWO screens in the motor in the first place.

It is another example of why changing your oil initially probably isn't a terrible idea, tho I continued until I hit the initial service interval just knowing I likely had some serious crap building up on the screens and filter so took it a bit easier in the latter half of the initial service mileage.

 

[Formula390]

It seems everybody here on the ranch wants to help with wrenching on the RC390!!!

 

[gbabyracing]

After my 3rd oil change, change 4 and 5 are basically only finding transmission shavings. Oil change 6 coming up in July.

 

[paige]

what kind of oil are you guys using at oil changes? sticking with the motorex? i'm thinking about the 300v...

 

[gbabyracing]

I switched the KTM to Motul 300V so I only need one race bike oil.

 

[reenmachine]

what kind of oil are you guys using at oil changes? sticking with the motorex? i'm thinking about the 300v...

I used the Motorex Formula 15w-50 (OEM recommendation) because it was in stock at my local shop.

 

[Formula390]

what kind of oil are you guys using at oil changes? sticking with the motorex? i'm thinking about the 300v...

This is an almost religious discussion point of "what oil" so really, use whatever you want. Generally, if the bikes clutch tolerates synthetic, you can use that. Some don't. My old Honda Hawk GT650 racebike wouldn't use synthetic unless you added an extra friction and steel plate into the clutch stack. With Dino oil, it wasn't an issue... but as soon as you dropped synthetic in there the clutch just would NOT hold at all anymore. I have seen folks using synthetic without a problem, so for the RC390, whatever you want should be fine. The service intervals are short enough that even with Dino oil you will be just fine. If you WANTED to skip oil changes and go with synthetic, then that would be fine. If you are using synthetic and NOT skipping oil change intervals (not talking about the 1st or 2nd here! Those are imperative!!!) I would say, from a personal standpoint, you are wasting your money and should buy the cheaper Dino oil. For brands, folks will make all sorts of claims, but really, again, considering the short service intervals, it just doesn't matter. Not one bit. Any oil is going to last long enough that you won't see any problems with it breaking down. Once my motor has 4 changes in under it's belt then I'll start skipping swapping the filter between changes and just do the filter every OTHER oil change, but I still am changing it regularly.

Some will say Synthetic is required for racing type applications. That's BS. You are changing the oil WAY sooner than Dino oil would be breaking down if you're racing. Heck I would drop my oil every other race weekend, and have MAYBE a few hundred miles on it after 6-7 days on the track.

For weight of oil, in cold climates going with a 10w50 is fine or stick with the 15w50. Here in Central Texas, where temps are regularly at 100F and lows are around 85F I didn't bat an eye at going with a 20W50. Once winter rolls around, I'll search about a bit more and see if I can find a 10w50 or 15w50. This same 390 motor had previously called for 10w40 or 10w50 in the manual (for the Duke) so even going with a 40w if that's all you can find should be just fine for the street. I dunno if I'd race with a 40w if I wasn't also planning on dropping the oil every race weekend, but even that weight of oil should EASILY last a few hundred miles even at WFO the full time.

 

[chxmp]

I had a similar worm show up on the smaller filter. This was at a 224 mile oil change.

 

[chxmp]

Started my first service interval work today... oil change was all I accomplished before I retreated back inside to the AC... but not before I got a bit of a surprise in one of the screens. My motor has worms!

View attachment 807

I'm honestly not surprised, and expected to see more gasket bits, chips, and shavings...
View attachment 808

I suppose compared to some, my findings from the first oil change are hardly of real note, but that's what I found in my motor...

Just discovered today: those are remnants of the engine adhesive/sealant(?). I found similar strips on the engine case where the engine halves are joined together. If it's happening on the outside, its probably happening on the inside as well.

 

[Formula390]

Just discovered today: those are remnants of the engine adhesive/sealant(?). I found similar strips on the engine case where the engine halves are joined together. If it's happening on the outside, its probably happening on the inside as well.

Correct. Which seems a bit odd given the ability to EXACTLY dispense fluids/sealant for their to be as much squeeze out as there is. Somebody is being careless, either with the application of the sealer, or the configuration of the dispenser. Just more quality control issues for KTM to address as they get better at producing the 390 engines in India. Eventually the "worms" should stop showing up on the screens. As long as they aren't able to plug an oil passage, it should be fine... and if they do plug an oil passage and a motor goes kaboom, it's WELL documented where said blocker came from for the warranty claim.

 

[Backmarker]

I just did my first oil change after a busy track and race weekend, 380k on the bike 220k at the track. I can report no worms, no filings, no coloured material. Everything looked good. Happy me.

 

[Formula390]

I just did my first oil change after a busy track and race weekend, 380k on the bike 220k at the track. I can report no worms, no filings, no coloured material. Everything looked good. Happy me.

???! Nothing?! You pulled BOTH screens, right?

 

[Backmarker]

Both screens and filter.