[Jgeezzy88]

Trying to figure this out. Bike runs fine. It’s always had a cloudy oil sight class when it’s cold out. Today when I opened up the full cap, there was a good deal of white foam in the cap, and I could see a bit on the clutch basket. I know the head isn’t blown, my coolant level is the same. I’ll probably change the oil tonight, but is it dangerous to be driving with the foam in it?

 

[yorkie]

hello, every year in the winter someone writes almost the exact post, the cloudy/milky appearance is due to condensation inside the case, this water mixes with the oil and turns it that colour the more there is the more it turns, as the oil gets chewed up somewhat it turns to white foam. it can be eliminated by regular oil changes (removing the moisture) or running the engine longer until it get hot and therefore evaporates it. this is most common on bikes used for short journeys in cold weather (like commuting) it's mostly unavoidable except by regular oil changes or running the bike for longer when it's cold, doesn't seem to cause any issues in most cases but it's far better to have clean oil in it at the start of cold weather.

 

[ducatiman]

I'd expect the moisure to disappear once the bike is ridden and oil is properly, fully warmed. Takes around 15-20 minutes of riding to fully heat up. As opposed to "warmed up in place" while sitting idle in its resting spot, the oil will never reach full operating temps. Reaching full temp on the coolant gauge greatly differs from fully warmed oil.

 

[Jgeezzy88]

I'd expect the moisure to disappear once the bike is ridden and oil is properly, fully warmed. Takes around 15-20 minutes of riding to fully heat up. As opposed to "warmed up in place" while sitting idle in its resting spot, the ol will never reach full operating temps. Reaching full temp on the coolant gauge greatly differs from fully warmed oil.

I see what you’re saying. I’ve had this issue in the past in the winter. Most of my rides are commutes, so I don’t really ride for that long anyway. My bike also struggles to warm up in the winter anyway. I’ve hard to put cardboard on the radiator in the past to get it to warm up. I guess I’ll change the oil and keep an eye on it.

 

[yorkie]

yes you have all the classic reasons for causing these classic symptoms. short journeys on a engine that never gets warm enough, try changing the oil sooner and if you can take a detour on your way home and get the engine warmed through, I had this very issue on the 305 I ran all winter doing a 6mile commute and that was air cooled so did run warmer than the EX, if the weather was fine I rerouted my way home to add a few miles to really warm it up it did help a lot.

 

[FlipFlop]

Yep was me one year back in 2013, it was a mild winter, rode it 12 minutes one way to work and was not long enough to bake out the moisture. Change the oil, ride it longer problem solved.

Edit: add something to block the radiator might help too, I did not do this.