03 620 burning a little oil

[acteg]

Hey guys,

New to the boards and ducati's in general.  My ducati is burning a little oil and I'm thinking maybe its the valve seals, but I wanted to run it by some of you experts before I start doing anything about it. 

So I bought this ducati used and it was only running on one cylinder.  The guy who owned the bike dropped it 2 weeks after buying it (slight dent in the tank) and didn't ride it much since then in the 5 years he owned it.  I got it with less than 3k miles on it.  I'm thinking since it sat up alot that theres a good chance that some of the seals dried out?

Anyway, I pull the sparkplug on the front cylinder and the plug is oiled fouled and has a thin covering of oil all around it.  So, I get a new plug and after install she fires up just fine and seems to be running smooth.  However, the exhaust is billowing out white smoke, which I assume is accumulated burn off.  I forgot to mention that there was also some oil seeping out from where the exhaust cannisters meet the exhaust header.  So after a couple trips up and down the block the bike is no longer smoking (oil has burned off).  Fast forward a few weeks later and the bike is still running well and the bike does not have any noticeable white smoke while riding.  However, if I let the bike sit for a week then crank it up there is some white smoke on the initial start for 1 or 2 seconds then its back to normal.  Also, I will occasionally smell burning oil when I'm at a stop light but its a pretty slight odor.  Someone with a lesser sense of smell might not even pick it up.

So, what do you guys think?

The only other strange thing going on is the fuel light is on 24/7.

[ducpainter]

IIRC the 620s were prone to plug fouling occasionally.

I don't think the valve seals are dried up.

I suspect the guy never really ran it hard enough to seat the rings.

Based on the bikes age it should have had the belts replaced. I'd put a set on and, if it doesn't consume a lot of oil and foul plugs, just ride it.

[acteg]

thanks for the tip on the belts.  Ill get on that pronto.

[Howie]

Maybe a fresh oil change too.  If the bike was misfiring for a while the oil might be diluted.