• Welcome Guest! If you are already a member of the BMW MOA, please log in to the forum in the upper right hand corner of this page. Check "Remember Me?" if you wish to stay logged in.

    We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMWMOA forum provides. Why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the club magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMWMOA offers?

    Want to read the MOA monthly magazine for free? Take a 3-month test ride of the magazine; check here for details.

  • NOTE. Some content will be hidden from you. If you want to view all content, you must register for the forum if you are not a member, or if a member, you must be logged in.

oil consumption on 1150rs

  • Thread starter rfisher56@dslextreme.com
  • Start date
R

rfisher56@dslextreme.com

Guest
Just got an '02 1150 rs with 12k on the clock and did an oil change @ 12,600. 800 miles later and I'm having to add about 300cc of oil to top off. Is this normal for an oilhead to "use" oil or have I got a problem? I did the 5 min on the side stand then checked oil level on the centerstand.
 
Top off to what mark? If you are filling to the top of the sight glass you are most likely overfilling. Aim for the dot in the center and see if you oil level stabilizes.
 
Just got an '02 1150 rs with 12k on the clock and did an oil change @ 12,600. 800 miles later and I'm having to add about 300cc of oil to top off. Is this normal for an oilhead to "use" oil or have I got a problem? I did the 5 min on the side stand then checked oil level on the centerstand.

It seems like a lot. You probably did this, but just to be sure, was your motorcycle engine hot from riding when you went parked it using the sidestand? With my 1150 I have to park it hot on the sidestand, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then onto the centerstand for several minutes. At that point I feel I get an accurate, consistent oil level.

Interestingly if I run it on the centerstand after that procedure and shut it off, there is no oil in the sight glass even if I wait overnight.
 
Bottom line is yes, MOST 1100 and 1150's use some oil. Search the forum and you will find several discussions. And I agree, the more miles the less they use, but they almost all burn some.
 
my bike

as reference on this thread, 180K miles, 20w50 V-Twin Mobil, uses 1 qt in a 5000 mile oil-change cycle.
 
Some of the engines have a certain "comfort point" in oil level. They will blow off any amount over a particular point. If you keep refilling to the absolute full mark it will keep blowing it out. Try an experiment and allow it to drop a tad. As long as it is above the bottom of the circle in the sight glass you are OK. See if it stabilizes at a level below full.
 
All above is good advice.

I've also noticed that consumption is remarkably less when doing distance instead of in-town riding. Doesn't matter how I ride - hard acceleration or slow, sustained high-speed or just poodling along - my bike consumes more oil in town. Having said that, on a 5,000 km 20% over the speed limit tour, I used about 1/2 liter of oil whose name and grade shall remain nameless.
 
All above is good advice.

I've also noticed that consumption is remarkably less when doing distance instead of in-town riding. Doesn't matter how I ride - hard acceleration or slow, sustained high-speed or just poodling along - my bike consumes more oil in town. Having said that, on a 5,000 km 20% over the speed limit tour, I used about 1/2 liter of oil whose name and grade shall remain nameless.

You know of course, if you used a different brand or grade, your oil consumption would either be higher, lower, or the same.:brad
 
You know of course, if you used a different brand or grade, your oil consumption would either be higher, lower, or the same.:brad

I want to see empirical proof of this statement. Names, dates, weather conditions, road conditions, motorcycle mileage, rider experience, passenger load, tire pressures, age of spark plugs, fuel load, windscreen height, and the last time you did a spline lube. :D :D
 
I have an 03 RT with 36,XXX miles and I've noticed oil consumption but it's activity specific. Stop and go driving causes greater consumption. Steady trips means little to no consumption. I ride to and from work in DC traffic and on a recommendation from my Mechanic I tried 10W40 non-synthetic for the winter. Even in stop and go I haven't noticed any consumption in the past 1,500 miles. I can't run it in the summer but I may try non-synthetic in the summer to see if that keeps the oil consumption down.
 
It seems like a lot. You probably did this, but just to be sure, was your motorcycle engine hot from riding when you went parked it using the sidestand? With my 1150 I have to park it hot on the sidestand, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then onto the centerstand for several minutes. At that point I feel I get an accurate, consistent oil level.

Interestingly if I run it on the centerstand after that procedure and shut it off, there is no oil in the sight glass even if I wait overnight.

This is the right way to check the oil. If you do it in any other sequence you will get an inaccurate reading.

In 6000 miles my R1100 oilhead would use about 300cc of 20-50 synthetic oil.
 
It took my 02 R1150RS amost 40K for oil consumption to stabilize.

If I put in any above the center line it burns off quick.

Short trips it will burn some. Take off on a trip and will use very very little if any.

And for winter I use Rotella 5W40 Syn. Starts up like summer.

Rod
 
As always, I'm curious how anyone would know their oil consumption this accurately, I quote, "In 6000 miles my R1100 oilhead would use about 300cc of 20-50 synthetic oil." 300cc would be aproximatley half the height in the oil level view window.

I agree that an Oilhead with miles on it above 20,000 will certainly stabilize oil use.
My 94 RS has high miles on it, yet uses very little oil. I go about 5,000 miles between oil changes and I may add about 1/2 quart, maybe, in that time before the next change. On the Oilhead oil sight glass, the distance from the bottom of the view port to the top, with the bike level on the centerstand is about one pint of oil, or about 473ml, which is also equal to 473 cc. So from the bottom or top of the window to the center dot is 236 to 237cc. Not enough to worry about as that much oil is easily held up in the cooler and oil lines. So its good to monitor the oil level, but don't obsess about it, just ride more.
 
Why do they all do that?

Since we have another oil thread going anyway I've always wondered why Oilheads use oil in the first place. I know over filled oilheads will blow out the excess due to crank case pressure but if they are filled correctly, where does the oil go? Just curious...
 
As always, I'm curious how anyone would know their oil consumption this accurately, I quote, "In 6000 miles my R1100 oilhead would use about 300cc of 20-50 synthetic oil." 300cc would be aproximatley half the height in the oil level view window.

I agree that an Oilhead with miles on it above 20,000 will certainly stabilize oil use.
My 94 RS has high miles on it, yet uses very little oil. I go about 5,000 miles between oil changes and I may add about 1/2 quart, maybe, in that time before the next change. On the Oilhead oil sight glass, the distance from the bottom of the view port to the top, with the bike level on the centerstand is about one pint of oil, or about 473ml, which is also equal to 473 cc. So from the bottom or top of the window to the center dot is 236 to 237cc. Not enough to worry about as that much oil is easily held up in the cooler and oil lines. So its good to monitor the oil level, but don't obsess about it, just ride more.

The reason I know is that I carried a 1/2 liter bottle of 20-50 oil with me and in a 6000 mile ride I only had to add slightly over half of the bottle or 300 cc to bring the oil level up to full.
 
As always, I'm curious how anyone would know their oil consumption this accurately, I quote, "In 6000 miles my R1100 oilhead would use about 300cc of 20-50 synthetic oil." 300cc would be aproximatley half the height in the oil level view window.

I know my oil consumption exactly every litre in the last 236,000 km
This also applies to Gasoline, Tires and Brake Pads & rotors
Easy to track on an Excel spread sheet.

Bottom line:
Lots of highway - very low
City riding with lots of heat cycles - 2 to 3 times the oil use
Synthetic burns off less than Dino juice
Oil consumption tends to increase as the oil ages
Running from center of sight glass to bottom burns less than top to center.

Your results may vary.
 
Back
Top