V4 Oil Smell When Acceleraton Hard

Discussion in 'Multistrada' started by DucatiChappie, Jul 26, 2026 at 4:23 PM.

  1. Greetings all, it's been a while since I've posted.

    I'm just back from a week-long tour round the Ardennes, Mosel, Black Forest and Vosges on my 2024 V4S, which was fabulous and, as always, just the right tool for the job.

    One issue has cropped up, however which is new: during the trip I noticed a smell of oil around the "cockpit area" (for want of a better name) when acceleraring hard - the type of acceleration which gives that fantastic BRRRAAAAARRRRPPP from the airbox when overtaking or diving between corners. This is new, and does not occur in normal riding. At first I thought it was oil smoke from one of the two B*Ws I was riding with, but when it happened when I was on point I knew it had to be me!

    It is not a burning oil smell, rather just hot engine oil. I am wondering if there is a breather somehwere which is prone to blockage or whether there is something else I should be looking for. Oil level remains normal, and there is no obvious sign of misting around the engine (from what I can see without dismantling anything).

    I will probably have to get it into the dealer to get it checked out. The bike is <2 years old with 8,000 miles or so on it now.

    The other issue it has had since new is that the tank seems to positively pressurise in use, resulting in a pop when I open the cap to refuel - at least I think it is positively pressurised rather than under vacuum. A vaccum would make more sense if the tank breather was blocked. It is hard to tell and I always forget to check when I stop to refuel!. It has done this since it was new. It did have a tracker fitted prior to delivery by the dealer, and I'm guessing that they would have had the tank cover and tank off to bury it somewhere in the bowels of the bike. I'm guessing that if a breather where to get pinched it would be then, rather than at manufacturing.

    Any thoughts or experiences welcome!

    Cheers

    James
     
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