Started bike without oil

[WingVetteStromTenere]

Pulled the stupidest stunt I've ever done in my life after 51 years of wrenching on bikes. Details not important, but started my bike without any oil in it and ran it for about 30-45 seconds. During this time I put it into and out of 1st gear a couple times, and ran it mostly at idle before I realized my error and quickly shut it off.
I filled it with oil after this, ran it for five minutes. Dumped the new oil and refilled again. I checked my magnetic drain plug and it showed no metal particles. The bike seems to sound fine while running with no evident problems.
What are the chances I've done some long term damage to the motor?

 

[kschachn]

A few previous threads on this somewhat popular topic. Many of these are automobiles but the difference between those and a bike are not quantifiable, same as "what are the chances I've done some long term damage to the motor" question.

Engine running without oil in pan

What abbout those engines you see running at swap meets etc without oil in pan ( drain plug removed etc) Is this snake oil?

bobistheoilguy.com

How long can an engine run without oil?

Just got back from dropping my Audi S4 off at the shop. Had it faltbedded back from NJ. On my way back from NY, I couldn't avoid a large object that fell off a truck in front of me. Turned out to be the pad form an outrigger. Unfortunately my car was too low and it put a huge hole in the cast...

bobistheoilguy.com

Running an engine without oil!

how long will it take to damage the internal engine parts, the reason i ask, is that this weekend i was changing my oil and i could not take off the oil filter for some reason, i damaged it, and had to take it to a local jiffy lube that is about 10min from my house, i put oil in the engine but...

bobistheoilguy.com

How far can the car go without oil?

I just ran into an interesting post here. Here's an excerpt from one of user TRD VVTi's posts on that page: Quote:How far can the car go without oil? It really depends. I've seen cars go for 30 miles without oil and have seen cars that locked up after just seconds of running. For some reason...

bobistheoilguy.com

Ran tiller with NO OIL? Any suggestions?

I came to work and was telling a buddy I'd just switched my Troybilt tiller over to Schaeffer oil and he said "I ran mine without oil and seized it up today." Says its an Airens 5HP about 10 yrs old and he'd drained oil this am, got sidetracked and did something else and then started it up and...

bobistheoilguy.com

Car was driven with no oil... what damage is done?

Okay so my father changed the oil in my moms 2001 Grand Prix GT (3.8L v6) to Mobil 1 10w30 and an AC Delco UPF52 filter. He drove it and everything was fine. The next day, my mom comes home from the store and says her engine is making a lot of noise, her low oil light is on, and it smells...

bobistheoilguy.com

New mower run with NO OIL!!

Bought a Craftsman 6.75 hp self propelles mower to use for trimming. My 15 year old son decided to try it out while I was @ work. . He ran it and seized it up. When I got home and he told me the mower was broken, I tried to pull it and it was seized. You know that bottle of oil they come...

bobistheoilguy.com

Possible engine damage from oil loss

So to make a long story short a couple months ago I struck an object in the road with my Golf R which broke the oil pan, spewing my freshly changed oil all over the road. I of course chut the car off as soon as I got stopped by the side of the road. Once off there was still oil draining from...

bobistheoilguy.com

Honda runs with no oil!

I was supposed to do an oil change on a 1997 or 1998 Civic today and when I removed the drain plug there was no oil to drain! Not even a drop. The oil light was not on when I pulled it into the shop and the engine sounded as it should. Installed a new washer and snugged up the drain plug. I...

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[JohnnyG]

Run it till it breaks.

 

[BeerCan]

My dad just did something similar with the F150. Started the truck with no oil to drive it on ramps. I quickly yelled and he shut it off within 30 seconds. Not super worried about this I think it will survive

 

[BusyLittleShop]

What are the chances I've done some long term damage to the motor?

In a plain bearing engine the odds are 50% chance for long term damage and 50% chance no long term damage... to 100% know for sure open up the cases and inspect or install new bearings...

 

[alarmguy]

Im glad its not my bike and it will always be a thought on your mind but think you will be fine. Its done, ride it and enjoy, chances are it will be a distant memory in a short while.

 

[mrsilv04]

This happens thousands of times, every day at dealers and oil change places... and the owner never knows a thing about it.

Unless it was knocking, I'd move on with life.

 

[Oliveoil2]

You did the right thing after you remembered the oil. Now Just ride it.

 

[ZeeOSix]

In a plain bearing engine the odds are 50% chance for long term damage and 50% chance no long term damage... to 100% know for sure open up the cases and inspect or install new bearings...

Same thing with running too low a viscosity, only it just takes longer to happen. 😄

 

[ZeeOSix]

Pulled the stupidest stunt I've ever done in my life after 51 years of wrenching on bikes. Details not important, but started my bike without any oil in it and ran it for about 30-45 seconds. During this time I put it into and out of 1st gear a couple times, and ran it mostly at idle before I realized my error and quickly shut it off.

Not ran long enough, and if only idled it probably didn't do any real damage. Might have caused a little bit of extra wear but I wouldn't worry about it ... keep riding.

 

[tc1446]

Not ran long enough, and if only idled it probably didn't do any real damage. Might have caused a little bit of extra wear but I wouldn't worry about it ... keep riding.

How long had it been sitting without oil before you started it?

 

[Bonz]

The above post is a legitimate one. If it had been sitting for days then you may lose some oil film. However if it was shortly after draining I would fill her up and ride it. You aren't gonna tear the engine down to check for any type of wear so just get on it and enjoy.

 

[ZeeOSix]

How long had it been sitting without oil before you started it?

It would take a pretty long time for oil captured in the bearings to leak out ... there is always a film left over.

 

[JWC86]

What bike and how long was it without oil before you started it?

 

[WingVetteStromTenere]

How long had it been sitting without oil before you started it?

About three days.

 

[WingVetteStromTenere]

What bike and how long was it without oil before you started it?

Suzuki DL650 VStrom. About three days with no oil. Was rebuilding the clutch.

 

[JWC86]

Suzuki DL650 VStrom. About three days with no oil. Was rebuilding the clutch.

You could run that motor for 15min at a idle without oil and probably not have any issues.

I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.

 

[Dinoburner]

With the run it crowd here. Only if you had run it down the road would there be any concerns IMHO.

 

[DGXR]

IMO it's probably just fine. Maybe a little extra wear, maybe... but you say it was mostly idle so cylinder pressures were minimal. Run it.

 

[Cujet]

Something to consider, even though there is no oil pressure during a start with no oil, it's likely that some residual oil was in the oil pump and galleries (along with the oil filter if it was installed and full) and so on. The oil pump moved air, and along with that air pushed some residual oil into the rod bearing. At least for a time. It is good to know that oil presence is what matters, and I'm guessing you had some residual oil.

So your situation could be completely fine.