1200 Hex Head Burning Oil!!!

[Pikestone]

HI, I am brand new to BMW GS and to the forum. I have just bought a 2011 1200 GS with 12,000 miles on the clock which is the best bike I have ever ridden - love it!

Since buying the bike a month ago, I have put about 800 miles and have burned through 1 litre of oil. I have looked over the bike and could not find any signs of a leak. I have checked where I park the bike at home and work with no pools of oil and is no blue smoke coming out of the exhaust. I have no idea where the oil is going. I have dropped it back to the dealer (BMW Motorrad dealership) who is equally puzzled. They have topped up the oil and asked me to ride for a few more weeks and see what happens to the oil level. The bike was inspected and serviced prior to me taking ownership.

I was wondering if anyone out there has experienced this problem or has any ideas? Could my riding style be causing this?

The dealer has said that if it continues they will whip the heads off and have a look, but before this I just want to make sure I have not missed anything.

Any advice gratefully received.

Thanks,

 

[UpgradeAl]

I've got a 2010 GS now on 24,000 miles. They say that it takes a while for the piston rings to bed in properly to reduce the oil loss which is actually burning through the pots but.....for me, it also depends how you ride it.
If you stick below 5,000 revs it should hardly burn anything, but if you ride it like you should and where it loves it and is most responsive (5-7,500 revs) you WILL burn oil (note the sticker on the instrument panel, if it is still there, which says "check engine oil level regularly"). I can use half a litre in 400 miles riding it like it loves - same with with my old single cam, but not a drop when I am in "pottering" mode.
That's the downside of air/oil-cooled agricultural machinery, but it's a small price to pay, because as it has a dry clutch you don't really have to be TOO sophisticated in terms of the oil you use!!

Hope this helps, even if it is not particularly technical.

ENJOY!!

 

[Wrinkly]

It's all to do with how they've been run in.

Run them in soft they'll burn oil.

Run them in hard they won't.

 

[thebuyer]

It's all to do with how they've been run in.

Run them in soft they'll burn oil.

Run them in hard they won't.

+1 ... Need to cruel to be kind

 

[Guigsy]

1st: 1 litre in 1000 miles when the bike has done less than 10000 miles is normal (although most are less). If yours has had a very gentle life, it would explain quite a bit of the consumption. It'll probably get better with age.

2nd: It's notoriously hard to get a consistent oil level reading on the oil cooled R1200GS and they do hold quite a bit of the golden elixir.

I wouldn't be surprised if the dealer filled it to the minimum (to save a bit of cash), but the bike had been sitting for days when you did the handover, so it fully settled and looked fine. You've then burnt perhaps half a litre. When you've checked, it's not fully settled and there's still another half a litre in the cooler and pipework, so you've squeezed in a litre to get to the same mark. There are dozens of threads with owners giving differing advice about how to measure the oil level... by the way everyone says something different, you can assume it's not an exact science. Just don't over fill it and keep an eye on it.

 

[boatman]

On my 5th GS/ A variant .
While some of these machines are documented as having had mechanical issues some also are reported to burn oil.
My experience ( with a lifetime of various types of engine ) tells me that rather than the engines being oil hungry, there is an issue with the oil levels management
I have had in my experience engines which when kept topped up to the max they will burn /use down to just above min. Keep topping it up and it will keep using, leave it just above the min and it will stay there.

 

[JerseyNeil]

My 2010 GS drinks oil. I have done 13,000 miles but I suspect it was gently run in by first owner (I bought it mint with 1,500 miles on it). Mine does not smoke either. I wouldn't worry about it. Some do and some don't. When away I carry 600ml in a cheap aliminium drinks flask from sports direct. It seals perfectly and won't get squashed in my top box

Neil

 

[Bendy toy]

My 50K mile GSA hardly ever uses any oil. Even a 500 mile blast to London and back is fine - and I came back the scenic route.

My brother's GSA was mollycoddled from new. He bought it with 14K miles, never seen rain, etc, holiday use only, blah, blah. It burnt oil and needed 10K of proper use to free up the engine. It's great now but the lesson is don't pussy foot about on a new 1200 boxer engine.

 

[DrFarkoff]

Stop topping it up!!!

Go out on the bike and do 20 miles or more

Come back in

Park it on sidestand immediately you are getting off and leave it there for 10 - 15 mins while you get gear off etc etc

Then park it up in Garage or shed or wherever on Centre stand

and check the oil

If its anywhere above a third of the sightglass Do NOT top it up

Just let it be, unless its below a third of the sightglass then add 250 cc or thereabouts to get just back over half of the sightglass

These bikes seem to burn oil to their own peculiar level

I used to be topping up mine up thinking keeping plenty of oil in it was good then I started the above system and in 5,000 miles its sat at the 1/2 to 1/3 level and hasn't needed any oil at all

 

[JerseyNeil]

I don't keep topping it up and do know how to check it properly Dr!

I only top it up when it gets down to the bottom of the sight glass which commuting in jersey, is not very often.

 

[MattW]

My new to me 2012 TC is also a bit of a drinker. It had about 4k on it when I got it, it's now about 8.
Having surprised me with its consumption on a trip to Scotland earlier this year, I took a couple of litres with me on a two up trip to the French Alps and Corsica in September.

Over the whole trip (about 2400 miles) it used about a 1.3 litres (and yes, I'm anal about using exactly the same procedure every time I check - for me, park on the sidestand overnight from hot and check on the centre stand in the morning). I found that consumption varied markedly depending on the riding I was doing - sustained 130kph Autoroute thrashes used very little, nadgery alpine passes (up and down between first and third, lots of engine braking) used much more.

While I'd prefer that it didn't use so much, at least I know what to expect and to take oil with me on long trips - it's also less than BMW's upper limit of 1 litre / 1000 miles. Subjectively however, the oil consumption seems to be improving in my ownership - I assume that it was mollycoddled in its first few thousand miles (and might have been run on fully synth oil), I've not been mollycoddling and am not using fully synthetic oil

One other thing is that I ran it on 98 'super' fuel all trip. This made a big difference to how it ran and improved the fuel consumption - I've stuck with it now I'm back home.

 

[Pikestone]

My daily commute is about 50 miles there and back, so I will see what happens over the next week or so. I take what you say about not topping it up, but I have had the oil warning symbol appear which started this whole saga off. The bike took a full litre of oil, which in my book can't be right as that means it was nearly out of oil. My only theory is that the dealer didn't check or fill the oil level up and that it has been sitting in a showroom for sometime. All this aside thank you so much for the advice and the swift responses.

 

[Pikestone]

Good point about the fuel type as well will give it a go. Most of my commute is around small twistys before I hit traffic. I wonder if the up and down the gears is having an effect?

 

[UpgradeAl]

One other thing is that I ran it on 98 'super' fuel all trip. This made a big difference to how it ran and improved the fuel consumption - I've stuck with it now I'm back home.

Me too, I use it all the time. also, the improved fuel consumption outweighs the extra cost of the fuel, so more miles to the pound.....

 

[misterlaffer]

Additional points:

Check it on centre stand 5 mins after returning from a good ride. level ground a must.
The bottom to the top of the sight glass is only 0.5L
Castrol R1 15/50 gives best oil consumption - Covered 6K and barely uses any oil now. It's pricey, but will save you money in the end.

 

[DrFarkoff]

I wasn't talking to you! But to The New Blerk from My part of the world

Its amazing how many folks Just park on centre stand and see half a sightglass and immediately top it up to within a mm of the top of the window

Whilst failing to realise that there is at least half a litre in the oil cooler that can't escape Well until the first time you leave it on a side stand that is

Oh Look! Cue Post 15

I don't keep topping it up and do know how to check it properly Dr!

I only top it up when it gets down to the bottom of the sight glass which commuting in jersey, is not very often.

 

[JerseyNeil]

I stand corrected, said the man in the orthopedic shoes.

 

[Mad_Accountant]

Certainly don't overfill it but there is one more possibility

An earlier poster referred to using less oil when pootling and suddenly uses more when ridden enthusiastically. What is probably happening is that a normal rate of oil use is happening whilst pootling but it is replenishing itself with condensation. A good thrashing will burn off the condensation and cause a sudden level drop which will mislead the rider. The answer is more frequent harder riding / anticipate the effect and be ready to top up during or after a blast.

 

[Bendy toy]

An engine with enough water to affect the oil level would turn the oil sludgy brown. Condensation is unlikely to build up that badly.
Slow speeds don't automatically mean short runs where the engine never gets to working temperature.
My 2.0 Renault turbo uses very little oil at local road speeds but do a few hundred motorway miles and its best to check the oil level.

 

[Tam]

I bought a 2010 this year and have done 5500 miles this summer and the oils never moved,gong by the comment above mine must have had a thrashing from new.