Total Noob 4 stroke question for you seasoned Yammie guys

[Jeff C]

This question is really going to show what a 4 stroke "noob" I am with 4 stroke sleds.


Do you guys bring any extra crankcase oil with you when you ride?

The thinking is that if the motor should use any oil for whatever reason (Roll the sled over and some leaks out, or some unforseen leak somewhere) when you are out miles from a trail, it might go into limp mode if the pressure gets too low, and you would not be able to get out under reduced power.

Or are these motors so consistent with oil levels that you never use any oil and this thought is not even on the radar screen........

 

[bigbird]

I have a small gatorade bottle of oil zip tied under the hood. Have never needed to use it. Yamaha's are pretty forgiving and you would have to lose alot of oil for the light to come on.

 

[NapaMatt]

Well in the perfect world...

Shouldn't need it.. But that would be like riding down a trial.. .. Who does that!!??? lol..

Yes. i have heard of storys, sled rolls over.. and the one way check valve doesn't close and leaks all or most of the oil out

The engine should never burn or use oil.. the only problem would be rolling it over..

Bring a extra two quarts would be a huge ordeal.. but it's extra weight again..

Yes, i would have a case of oil back at the truck if any thing happens you can always send a running sled to grab the oil..

This.. would be like me bring extra oil with my YFZ450. when i go riding.. No, i don't bring any extra oil, doesn't burn, doesn't drip and haven't had it rolled over for a long period of time to see if any would leak out breather line. but i know it would just a matter of time.. being flipped over...!

my .02

 

[Murph]

Yamaha's don't have check valves.

They leak BAD if they are left upside down-- even worse if they are running. Huge mess in belly pan, clutches, belts, etc.

There is a solution though. Buy a Jacobsen roll over kit. It is a tether that kills the engine AND powers a valve that closes the breather. No oil loss. Used a couple for two seasons on a Nytro and a Phazer. No need to carry oil-- never lost a drop using the kit.

 

[steveo10]

been thinking of the rollover valve. makes a mess on the deck or in the garage after riding without it.

are the rollover valves easy to install... i think the Jacobson valves come with a tether as well

 

[Jeff C]

Yamaha's don't have check valves.

They leak BAD if they are left upside down-- even worse if they are running. Huge mess in belly pan, clutches, belts, etc.

There is a solution though. Buy a Jacobsen roll over kit. It is a tether that kills the engine AND powers a valve that closes the breather. No oil loss. Used a couple for two seasons on a Nytro and a Phazer. No need to carry oil-- never lost a drop using the kit.

I am referring to the Cat 1100 motor. It might have the same issues as you describe for the Yamaha engine, I have no clue.

I would hate to get oil all over the place, so if the Cat engine is designed similarly to the Yamaha engine in terms of oil leaking out when rolled over, then I will be getting one of those kits you describe.....

 

[TNytro162]

I am referring to the Cat 1100 motor. It might have the same issues as you describe for the Yamaha engine, I have no clue.

I would hate to get oil all over the place, so if the Cat engine is designed similarly to the Yamaha engine in terms of oil leaking out when rolled over, then I will be getting one of those kits you describe.....

Here is the link Jeff,,These guys run a class act,,The parts are made for yamaha, but they might have a idea for the cat? not sure http://oftracing.com/Store/

 

[TRUEBLUEMAX]

I didn't have a rollover valve the first few rides with my sled and I had a problem losing oil. Since I have had the rollover valve the oil level has stayed the same for the last 500 miles. I would be willing to bet the cat will have similiar issues. I have the OFT rollover valve.

 

[christopher]

I didn't before, but I DO NOW!

On my last ride, my son rolled his Nytro over, and hit the Kill Switch on accident. That deactivated the roll over valve, and the whole dry sump poured out.

We had to send a sled back to the trailer to fetch oil.

I bottle of Yamalube will now accompany all future rides, JUST IN CASE...

 

[..SNAKEBIT..]

while riding in the trees, a stick has hit the handle bar mounted kill switch and caused me to get stuck in some odd places. I ordered the OFT roll-over kit with the kill switch delete and would never go back!!
OFT guys are GREAT to deal with, I left a message one time and they called me back from out west (think they were testing the new skins frt end) and answered all my questions and ship my part out. ..SNAKEBIT..

 

[motojunkie101]

I had a similar thing happen with my kill switch, but it broke the top off! It took some creative thinking but I eventually got it pulled out so I could keep riding. I am looking at the OFT kit to replace my kill switch and add the roll over kit as well.

Back on topic...I don't carry any oil on the sled, but we always have some in the truck.

 

[MTN_VIPER]

Jeff C

Let me know if your Cat has the same issue. It may not have the same roll-over oil leak issue as the Nytro/Phazers. Depends on how the engine crankcase and oil tank breather system is set-up.
I have not had a chance to see the new Cat yet, however if oil loss becomes an issue I can probably build a kit for it. I would just need to either look at one in person(prefered) or have some detailed pic's so that I could study how the breather system operates on the Cats.
The local Cat dealer has ordered several M1100s and I ride with a bunch of Cat guys, hopefully I'll be able to check them out!

I have made some custom kits in the past (RX-1).
http://fourstrokesolutionsllc.webs.com/rollovervalvefeatures.htm

Bill

 

[pylon]

YES ! if you ride a Yamaha you NEED to carry oil ! i carry a 1 litre of yamalube wrapped in foam ( so the container does not rub through ) in the nose of my sled . I'm sure i used around 6 litres in roll overs this winter . It really comes in handy to share with others that need 4 stroke oil in their 2 stroke turbos

 

[christopher]

i carry a 1 litre of yamalube wrapped in foam ( so the container does not rub through ) in the nose of my sled .

Thats just not a pleasant thought at all.

 

[Bubbles]

Buying a rool over kit over the summer, but I carry a liter straped under my lunch bag on the gas rack.

 

[Thistledoo]

YES ! if you ride a Yamaha you NEED to carry oil ! i carry a 1 litre of yamalube wrapped in foam ( so the container does not rub through ) in the nose of my sled . I'm sure i used around 6 litres in roll overs this winter . It really comes in handy to share with others that need 4 stroke oil in their 2 stroke turbos

get a roll over tether man....easy fix to that mess.

 

[05REVSTER]

I have an OFT valve which works great when the tether is pulled. However there were a couple of times descending that I rolled the sled too far onto it's side...not getting ejected the sled and it stayed running. A small amount of oil came out before I found the tether and pulled it. I still had enough to finish the day but it still made a mess. I think I'm going to start carrying some as well.

I have K&N intake and I think I'm going to look at extending the hose that comes out of the oil tank so I have a little more room for error.

But the ROV is a must if you ride off trail!

 

[steveo10]

the tether has to be pulled on this kits in order to function correctly? i assumed they were like a check-valve

 

[MTN_VIPER]

the tether has to be pulled on this kits in order to function correctly? i assumed they were like a check-valve

Yes it does, it works when the key is on and the tether is pulled. It stops the engine (like a normal tether) and applies power to the solenoid shut-off valve to close it. The shut-off valve is a normally open valve, meaning that anytime that there is no voltage to the solenoid it is open and normal oil tank venting can occur.
A nomally open valve is much safer to use, as it's default mode is open or normal venting. This prevents the system from being closed while the engine is running.

One of my first designs used the kill switch for controlling the valve instead of a tether. It worked well, however I found that if I used a tether for control it was more of an "automatic" type of control. The roll-over system can be activated simply by falling off of the sled, instead of trying to reach for the kill switch. The other advantage is that the tether and kill switch can be used independantly from each other.

Bill

 

[steveo10]

its a good idea in theory but i dont ride with a tether.... yes i know, its a bad practice but mite have to change my ways