Looking for Running in Advice Please

[Tartanleathers]

Just ordered a New 08 Model 12GS & am due to pick it up Thursday.
(Slate Grey with Premium Pack, Panniers & Akrapovic Silencer)

What advice would be best for running the bike in.

Trading in a Triumph Sprint ST 1050 which has used no oil at all in 10,000 hard miles (including three track days).

I have heard somewhere that the 12GS uses alot of oil. Would the dealer supply an extra litre, or is it advisable to buy oil on delivery?

Anything else to look for?

And how easy (or hard) would it be to fit my Autocom system to the bike, as bein Scots born I don't wanna pay BMW labour rates to fit it. However I hear that the GS has Can-Bus wiring (which workin in the Motor Trade I know is an absolute nightmare) so I dinnae wanna bugger it up on day 1!

Any Help or advice that can be offered would be great.

 

[nedflanders]

Took mine easy for the first 200miles then increased the revs by a thou every hundred miles, mines used just over a litre of oil in 7000miles. You could follow the guidelines from the manual but remember the manufacturer doesn't care about how much oil you use just how long the engine lasts (i.e will it reach the end of it's warranty). It's up to you but remember take it to easy and you'll glaze the bores and end up using lots of oil.

I fitted an intaride intercom to mine, don't worry about the wiring, it's relatively easy to plumb into. I fitted a centech fusepanel via a relay thats operated off the ancillary socket, it powers the GPS, intercom and foglights all with no problems.

 

[EggChaser]

Your dealer will probably say keep it below 4000 rpm and make sure you aren't sitting in one gear at one rev position - up to the 600mile service anyway - which more or less translates as keep it below 75 and make sure you ride up country roads and stay off the motorways. However if you go over 4000 rpm don't panick as it shouldn't cause a problem.

If you do a search you will find others have asked more or less the same question and some riders have more or less thrashed their bikes from new and others have been very careful to stick on the dealers recommendation with most riders kind of somewhere in between.

Oil wise I used to have an R1100S with the boxer engine and it did use a little oil even from reasonably new, however I have so far done 1800miles on my R1200GS and although I have checked the oil a lot I haven't needed to put any in - that said it does vary from bike to bike and the comsumption should in theory reduce as the bike gets worn in. Note the boxer engine can take most 4 stroke car oils so you don't really need to worry about finding specialist bike oil if you are out and about and haven't bought any oil - although a general recommedation is to try and use an Organic oil early in the life of the bike as Synthetic oils can be so effective that rough bits in the engine do not get smoothed out.

Enjoy the bike when you get it and just keep an eye on the oil.

With regards the CANBUS - depending on the current drain of the Autocom you might be able to use the auxiliary socket under the seat, there is also a trailing lead available from BMW that will fit the spare CANBUS socket the is at the front of the bike. Other than that wire a small fuse box direct to the battery and then wire the autocom into that - I believe places like Nippy Normans sell suitable fuse boxes.

 

[Malcvtr]

I think the biggest danger with running in is that you're too careful and so the pistons don't form a good seal with the bores. So whilst I wouldn't recommend the "take it to the rev limiter in every gear, every ride" approach, I would certainly not be afraid to use almost the full rev range of the engine from early on and get it up and down all six gears.

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to say I'm talking bollocks and give you completely different advice You pays yer money and takes yer choice

Welcome to the world of GS-ing, by the way.

 

[Deleted Member I]

Just ordered a New 08 Model 12GS & am due to pick it up Thursday.
(Slate Grey with Premium Pack, Panniers & Akrapovic Silencer)

What advice would be best for running the bike in.

Trading in a Triumph Sprint ST 1050 which has used no oil at all in 10,000 hard miles (including three track days).

I have heard somewhere that the 12GS uses alot of oil. Would the dealer supply an extra litre, or is it advisable to buy oil on delivery?

Anything else to look for?

And how easy (or hard) would it be to fit my Autocom system to the bike, as bein Scots born I don't wanna pay BMW labour rates to fit it. However I hear that the GS has Can-Bus wiring (which workin in the Motor Trade I know is an absolute nightmare) so I dinnae wanna bugger it up on day 1!

Any Help or advice that can be offered would be great.

This is what I found in owning 4 BMW bikes ...

Bike 1 .. new to bikes and BMW .. didn't break in the bike properly. kept it under the revs but always doing constant revs. Bike used oil and did not "settle" until over 10k miles

Bike 2 .. only had a for few weeks before I sold ... so no idea

Bike 3 .. Bought second hand at 4-5k miles. Never needed topping up at all. I was told by dealer the previous owner was a careful owner ..

Bike 4 .. realise you need to break in the bike with variable loads and revs. Got a route from Wapping and went out one sunday to get it over 600 miles. Oil has dropped slightly between service by only by a quarter of the viewing glass. So not topped up. Done 5000 miles in 10days and 2600 miles in 10 days ... took oil with me but never needed to open it


I think the advice about variable load and revs to get the bike to 600 miles seem the most sound for breaking in the bike. I would use that route again if I needed to break in a new bike.

 

[BeemerBaz]

Thats roughly what I did. Upto first service, I didnt thrash it, nor idle, but I exceeded the speed limit on a few occasions !!

After 1st service at 1500 miles I can now ride it like I stole it, should I so wish !!

 

[streaky]

Just ordered a New 08 Model 12GS & am due to pick it up Thursday.
(Slate Grey with Premium Pack, Panniers & Akrapovic Silencer)

What advice would be best for running the bike in.

Trading in a Triumph Sprint ST 1050 which has used no oil at all in 10,000 hard miles (including three track days).

I have heard somewhere that the 12GS uses alot of oil. Would the dealer supply an extra litre, or is it advisable to buy oil on delivery?

Anything else to look for?

And how easy (or hard) would it be to fit my Autocom system to the bike, as bein Scots born I don't wanna pay BMW labour rates to fit it. However I hear that the GS has Can-Bus wiring (which workin in the Motor Trade I know is an absolute nightmare) so I dinnae wanna bugger it up on day 1!

Any Help or advice that can be offered would be great.[/QUOTE
just ride it ,you will feel it reving more freely the more miles you get on it,done that with both my 12 gs;s and none of them used any oil,current 12 gs has now 16543 miles on it, hope this helps

 

[Tartanleathers]

Thanks for the advice folks.

The variable loads & revs was roughly what I did when running in the Sprint.
Just wasn't sure cause I've mainly had 4 cylinder bikes before the Triple, and never owned a twin before.

Need to get miles on quickly cause I've got a long weekend big run planned for 2 Weekend in August that'll probably add 1000 miles.

Looking forward to Thursday, just hope it doesn't frickin rain!

 

[Deleted Member I]

Thanks for the advice folks.

The variable loads & revs was roughly what I did when running in the Sprint.
Just wasn't sure cause I've mainly had 4 cylinder bikes before the Triple, and never owned a twin before.

Need to get miles on quickly cause I've got a long weekend big run planned for 2 Weekend in August that'll probably add 1000 miles.

Looking forward to Thursday, just hope it doesn't frickin rain!

Don't RIDE IT IN THE RAIN. BMW MELT IN THE RAIN!

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Running in

Four years ago I ran in my 1200 exactly in accordance with the instructions/advice in the handbook. In four years I never topped up the oil in between services;

 

[Dave T]

Four years ago I ran in my 1200 exactly in accordance with the instructions/advice in the handbook. In four years I never topped up the oil in between services;

Almost the same for me. Ran it in as per manual/dealer advice, had it serviced on the button, and I've probably added about half a litre over the course of 14k miles, and then only because I check the oil regularly and maybe add 100ml here and there just to keep the level somewhere in the top half of the sight glass (never right to the top though). Probably haven't NEEDED to top it up though - probaby would have got service to service each time without ever running low, but I'm just a bit fussy about keeping my cars and bikes topped up.
Read the manual, ride it (the bike, not the manual ) and enjoy it.
HTH.
Dave.

 

[Jon P]

I am on my 10th new BMW in 18 years and just ride normal for the first few hundred miles avoiding revving the nuts off it and avoiding chugging along in top at low speed.

I have never 'nursed' them along............just ride normal.

As for oil consumption - I always found my 80GS, my 100R, my 100GS and my 100GSPD used a bit with sustained 80mph+. I also found that if I maintained the oil level just below the top mark on the dip stick then they didn't use any.

My first 1100GS in '94 used a bit for the first 10,000 miles but then stopped and never used another drop for the next 60,000.

My second 1100GS, my 1150 GS, my 1150 Rockster, my 1150GSA and my current 1200GSA never really used any oil during run in or since............although I seem to remember a high speed (120mph) dash in Germnay for a couple of hours used a bit on my 1100GS

 

[Max]

RE fitting the Autocom its very very straightforward on a GS. The easiest way to power it is to plug it into the accessory socket under the seat. I know this sounds a bit basic but having seen how a BMW mechanic spliced into the side light feed I am happy with this solution. The control unit sits above the battery in the little cradle that was designed for the owners manual. You can just about see the power light when the seat is back on. Any spare leads go under the tool kit.

 

[tonedef]

I did a search and found a post re connecting the Autocom into the back of the Aux socket so I did it that way, the positive for the Autocom is spliced into the red/green wire to the socket, the negative wire is connected direct to the battery. Works fine, powers up with the ignition etc. and as Max says I sat the control unit in the manual bracket. Keeps all the wiring very neat and tidy.

Only snag I found is that when I connected the BMW battery conditioner to the Aux socket the charger was showing an Error light, this cleared as soon as I disconnected the negative Autocom wire from the battery. No problem, after all I only put the charger on when I come away to work.

 

[Tartanleathers]

Cool that'll do me, will have a look if I can collect the bike Thursday.
Thanks for all the info.

 

[jonnie comet]

Four years ago I ran in my 1200 exactly in accordance with the instructions/advice in the handbook. In four years I never topped up the oil in between services;

...+1......With both an 1150 and a 1200.....NEVER needed to top 'em up.....

 

[Sot1200]

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

Have a look at this

 

[MattSwain]

Mine uses more oil than petrol...well almost!

Done around 3,000 miles on my 2008 GS and since the 600 mile service it's got it's way through a full litre of oil. I guess it proves that they're all slightly different and it doesn't matter what anyone else does; you've got to keep an eye on your bike.

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Done around 3,000 miles on my 2008 GS and since the 600 mile service it's got it's way through a full litre of oil. I guess it proves that they're all slightly different and it doesn't matter what anyone else does; you've got to keep an eye on your bike.

I think that one of the 'problems' is that it is not too straightforward to read the oil level. It is important to establish a drill (as outlined in the handbook) and not top up unless necessary - which is when you can see the level is WELL BELOW the line. Sometimes you look at the gauge and it seems to register empty. Lean the bike on its prop stand and it seems to be overfull!

 

[Ali-bear]

...+1......With both an 1150 and a 1200.....NEVER needed to top 'em up.....

+1 on my '07 1200, followed instructions exactly, not needed to top up yet in 3k miles.

Anyone want to buy 5 litres of 15W50 ?