20/50 is not on bmw's recommendation list for the twin cam.
Sorry.. DOHC oil question.
- Thread starter GSgirl
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I use Bel Ray 20w50 as does my dealer. Also used this oil for my previous GS.
Oil's not leaking out anywhere I can see, also no blue smoke or really black exhaust exit.
Nobody else have a high oil consumption camshaft bike here? I thought I wouldn't be alone ..
Oil's not leaking out anywhere I can see, also no blue smoke or really black exhaust exit.
Nobody else have a high oil consumption camshaft bike here? I thought I wouldn't be alone ..
Deleted account 211025001
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I reckon, given you are using a fairly 'thick' oil there is an issue worth pursuing with the dealer? The Boxer engines do seem variable in terms of oil consumption but yours seems to me to be unacceptable.
Yours is using more than WMBs upper limit is it not? Therefore they need to take your issue seriously and investigate. Ultimately I feel you have a good case for them to sort the problem and resolve it to your satisfaction, whatever it may take to do so.......I certainly wouldn't be happy with things as they stand.
Good luck.
Andres
Yours is using more than WMBs upper limit is it not? Therefore they need to take your issue seriously and investigate. Ultimately I feel you have a good case for them to sort the problem and resolve it to your satisfaction, whatever it may take to do so.......I certainly wouldn't be happy with things as they stand.
Good luck.
Andres
Oil consumption
My DOHC has done 9200 miles and has used no oil including running in period
Used it to the full from start but kept within rev limits just pushed it hard to get there I each gear .Use rec oil Castrol fully synthetic
My DOHC has done 9200 miles and has used no oil including running in period
Used it to the full from start but kept within rev limits just pushed it hard to get there I each gear .Use rec oil Castrol fully synthetic
It brings up the old running in debate. Do you run it in as per the manual or cane it using something like the Motorman technique?
I personally run all my new bikes in using the Motorman technique and none of them use any oil at all.
No doubt we'll get the usual detractors saying "BMW knows best" blah blah blah....
I personally run all my new bikes in using the Motorman technique and none of them use any oil at all.
No doubt we'll get the usual detractors saying "BMW knows best" blah blah blah....
Georgeeboi
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Mines done 1800 miles now never used any upto the service and none after, I rode it fairly hard running in, I don't suppose this is any help!
Nobody else have a high oil consumption camshaft bike here? I thought I wouldn't be alone ..
I think it's fair to say that the twin cams generally use very little oil. Mine gets through 1/2 litre every 6000 miles. Far better than the previous two GSs that I also bought new and ran-in in exactly the same way.
Seem to remember a dealer telling me the Dohc typically burn very little oil.
Deleted account 211025001
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I do too...........but...........reading through posts over the years re oil consumption it does not explain why some boxers use loads and others don't. Plenty of people run in their bikes 'by the book' and have no issues.
Andres
Luck of the draw - I did it by the book 3 times with very different results. Latest twin cam by far the best.
rodders
Registered user
By the book on twin cam is quite hard on revs...
I rode it harder whilst runing in than I do generally.. Rarely go to red line since run in... Not had to top up between oil changes ..
AberdeenAngus
Registered user
Ran mine in hard and it doesn't use a drop.
I cannot believe the oil consumption of these bikes has anything to do with how you run them in. I've run in several myself, all by the book, all with different results, this camshaft one being the worst by very far.
I know people who run their GS(A) in hard, I know people who run them in by the book, I know people who ride professionally, lots of miles, commuters, cruisers, and always the conversation at some point turns to the oil consumption. I've never ever been able to find any consistency or correlation between how they're run in and how much oil they use.
I'm with APE on this one, I think it's the luck of the draw, I think something like 70-80% of them use little to no oil, so whatever your break-in technique, you're right, it doesn't use any oil and you can't help but think that's because of how you did it.
What I need to figure out is, do I need a complete engine overhaul? Will that be covered by my warranty? I think this much oil is simply not right, not by any measure. Thought there would be more people with this problem and I hoped to learn from their solutions. Guess I'm glad though there's so few! Good news for you all.
it's rings or valve guides, and i'd say it's probably rings. can't really be much else.
it's not a massive job, but not one you'd expect to do on a new bike. find out what the allowable consumption is in the manual, and make sure that is less than what you tell the dealer.
well rather than start a new thread. ive just done 600 miles n my new GSA and rran it in fairly hard and per BMWs guidelines. its has used just under half the window in oil, how much does this equate to? if its excessive then i want to be telling the dealer so at my first service in a few days. they have said its normal
mine can use a quarter litre in 3/400 miles, then nothing at all for 1000. i can't predict it's oil use based on riding style either really. my last one was the same too.
it's weird.
it's weird.
jeff garnett
Registered user
I'd say that's normal for the first 600 miles - 1/4 litre...
Thanks Cookie. I think manual says 1 lit/1000km. But that is an absurd amount. An avarage Alps tour for me is about 4-5000km so that means I bring 4 liter cans with me. In fact, I just posted a couple of liters to the hotel in the Dolomites where we staying in last June..
What is noticeable though is that the oil level goes down a lot slower when on the motorway. I usually cruise the speed limit there in 6th gear, so around 4-5000rpm. When in the hilly country rpms go up and so does the oil consumption.
And all this oil it burns, does it leave residue in the engine, dirty the spark plugs etc? Is that an additional worry? It sometimes coughs when I start it up, a kind of hiccup and dies. Surely can't be the battery yet.
I've even attached a tool tube to the bike so I can have a liter of oil with me at all times. I dare not ride on much now when the oil icon comes up on the dash. With previous GS I would just finish a ride with it on, even over 200km. Won't dream of doing that with this one.
What is noticeable though is that the oil level goes down a lot slower when on the motorway. I usually cruise the speed limit there in 6th gear, so around 4-5000rpm. When in the hilly country rpms go up and so does the oil consumption.
And all this oil it burns, does it leave residue in the engine, dirty the spark plugs etc? Is that an additional worry? It sometimes coughs when I start it up, a kind of hiccup and dies. Surely can't be the battery yet.
I've even attached a tool tube to the bike so I can have a liter of oil with me at all times. I dare not ride on much now when the oil icon comes up on the dash. With previous GS I would just finish a ride with it on, even over 200km. Won't dream of doing that with this one.
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