Improving Rate of cylinder glaze busting

Update -Alan Jeffries are being supportive and not telling me to go away, run it in some more and come back if its still drinking at 20k which is what I had feared. They have filled it, asked me not to top up and come back when the sight glass is empty. This looks like it could be after 500 miles at the the 1 litre per 1000 miles rate. I have ridden it hard on the new oil and it is on track to use oil at this rate after 200 miles. They say they will speak to BMW and likely have a peak at the pistons /bores which I think is warranted. Possibly one of the rings is not seating properly in the piston ? The saga continues...
 
There seems to be differing views around re draining the oil cooler. A lot of people say more oil gets to the sump if you put it on the side stand with the engine hot enough to have the thermostat open but the above idea of a closed loop would negate this. Anybody really confident they know how this system will drain (or not) ?

I don't know why they do it but all my GSs have been the same (R100GS, R1100GS, R1150 and the 1200s). If you put it straight on the main stand the oil level will be lower than first leaving it on the side stand. It's always 'fitted in' with my riding as I get home, park on the side stand, take gear off and a few mins later put bike away on the main stand.
 
Originally Posted by davnjud
2013 GSA 2600 miles. Previously owned 2010 GSA 0- 18000 miles

Ran my 2010 in more gently than the new GSA but it only consumed 500 ml of oil between the first and 6k service. GSA was run in two up backwards and forwards over the penines and not sparing the horses..

That isn't ''running it in'' by anyone's definition. Likely thats what has caused high oil consumption.

Thrashing the nuts off a new engine wont do any good and risks damaged piston rings at least. @Davnjud might have over done it (who knows I'm not being critical), but treat it with kid gloves and the engine will end up tight, use more fuel, stall easily at low revs and probably use oil.

My bike was used "briskly" according to BMW rules (by original owner) now at 45K miles uses next to no oil.

My brother has the same model and same age (I know - Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee). His bike was cosseted (so cosmetically nearly perfect) and bumbled about largely on motorways mostly 2 up for holiday tours. He bought it for the FSH blah blah and clearly excellent cosmetic condition.

BUT the engine turned out to be as tight as a duck's bottom. It's taken him at least 10,000 miles of firm use to get the engine free'd up and it still feels tight. However fuel consumption of both bikes is now about the same.

I also had a Fiat Seicento 900 that was painfully slow. It had only ever been used around town so again was tight - and it used (some) oil. About 6 weeks of regular motorway commutes sorted it out. With only 40bhp it basically got thrashed flat out. Fuel and oil consumption improved.
 
My oil consumption does seem to depend a lot on how I ride it. After the service and the invitation to come back when the sight glass is low I rode the bike cruising at 90 mph on dual carriageway and putting in plenty of overtakes and redlining it every 25 miles or so. Yes it drank oil at about 1l per 1000 miles judging by progress down the sight glass. But then if I ride it pottering around it uses very little. I do wonder if those who say my bike uses no oil actually work the engine significantly within its supposed limits.

During the first few hundred miles from new I did stick to the BMW rev limits which are pretty generous and it did seem that within these I was thrashing the bike a bit going up steep inclines two up. If I had my time over again at least for the first 200 miles I would ignore the rev limits, and all those who tell you to run it in by riding hard, and ride it by ear, and more gently as I did the first TC. Incidentally my fuel consumption is really good 53mpg on A roads versus 48 pmg when I first got it so it is definitely not tight anymore.

I can probably live with the oil consumption if I ride as I normally do (brisk but not eye bulging) but it seems a shame to have the idea of having to hold back in your mind. It also doesn't seem right to me that on a new bike for sale in 2013 after 7k miles I can't do a return trip from Cumbria to my in laws in london cruising at 80mph on the mway without the oil level going all the way from full to the the little 'fill up now' oil can warning. Wonder how many have even seen that - I never did on my old TC
 


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