R1200RT Oil check mark

[anchorbend]

I could not find it addressed in my owners manual. What does the check mark mean when the BC reads oil. Does it mean to check the oil level or the oil level is OK. I just have dashes right now but the check mark comes up every now and then. I normally use the sight glass but have not been able to get the bike up on the center stand due to recent shoulder surgery. Also, the Ilium highway pegs makes it difficult to see the sight glass. Need to get a better flashlight .

Thanks!

 

[greenwald]

I could not find it addressed in my owners manual. What does the check mark mean when the BC reads oil. Does it mean to check the oil level or the oil level is OK. I just have dashes right now but the check mark comes up every now and then. I normally use the sight glass but have not been able to get the bike up on the center stand due to recent shoulder surgery. Also, the Ilium highway pegs makes it difficult to see the sight glass. Need to get a better flashlight .

Thanks!

The 'check' mark is an OK symbol - it means your oil level is exactly where it should be.

The dashes mean the bike is not ready to display a level indicator just yet. The engine has to be at a certain temp and the bike level before the bike computer will provide you with that data.

If you see the (!) symbol, the bike computer is telling you you're below optimum oil level. Not necessarily 'low,' but not optimum.

Simply get the bike warm with a moderate ride, sidestand it for several minutes, then center stand it for several more. Add oil with a small dixie cup (just a couple of ounces at a time), until 3/4 of the sight glass shows oil. Done.

Disclaimer: Odds are you will receive 14 other versions of how to check/fill oil or interpret the BC display. Wouldn't be a BMW Forum site if you didn't!

 

[BMW Triumphant]

Adding oil

A friend of mine has a wife who is a nurse. She provides him with a supply of syringes that are about 2 oz capacity. Try your pharmacy, they may have some. I use one to add a small amount of oil when the symbol appears. I believe the sight glass is definitive. Just add small amounts and ride a bit between checks of the glass. Got a (!) once this morning, but it went away...have seen this before, and it's been a while since adding a few ounces. New bike, consumption is normal, I'm told.

 

[32232]

I could not find it addressed in my owners manual.

Pages 56-57 of the 2011 Canadian owner's manual explain the function of the oil level indicator. It should be somewhere near there in the US version.

 

[patiodadio]

The 'check' mark is an OK symbol - it means your oil level is exactly where it should be.

The dashes mean the bike is not ready to display a level indicator just yet. The engine has to be at a certain temp and the bike level before the bike computer will provide you with that data.

If you see the (!) symbol, the bike computer is telling you you're below optimum oil level. Not necessarily 'low,' but not optimum.

Good info ! Thanks for posting !


.

 

[anchorbend]

Check

Thanks for the answer, I'll see if I can get it to work.

 

[lfranklin]

R1200 Oil check mark

A bit of interesting info on oil levels, especially for new BMW boxer engine owners.

I had finished washing and cleaning my bike, started it up and drove it into the garage and parked it on the center stand. Several hours later I went to just check the oil sight glass --- lo and behold, nothing was showing in the sight glass. I had checked it a few days before and it was fine. What in the world I thought, then I remembered the (accepted) process of checking the oil. Ride it for 20 minutes or so until it is good and warm, put it on the side stand for a few minutes and then center stand, give it a few more minutes and check the level --- all OK.

I did not think that running the bike for 30 - 45 seconds while putting it in the garage would trap that much oil in the oil cooler, but I believe that is exactly what happened and it just shows the importance for using the procedure described above.

Leon
08 R1200 RT

 

[patiodadio]

A bit of interesting info on oil levels, especially for new BMW boxer engine owners.

I had finished washing and cleaning my bike, started it up and drove it into the garage and parked it on the center stand. Several hours later I went to just check the oil sight glass --- lo and behold, nothing was showing in the sight glass. I had checked it a few days before and it was fine. What in the world I thought, then I remembered the (accepted) process of checking the oil. Ride it for 20 minutes or so until it is good and warm, put it on the side stand for a few minutes and then center stand, give it a few more minutes and check the level --- all OK.

I did not think that running the bike for 30 - 45 seconds while putting it in the garage would trap that much oil in the oil cooler, but I believe that is exactly what happened and it just shows the importance for using the procedure described above.

Leon
08 R1200 RT

True !

 

[akbeemer]

The oil check function of the on board computer measures oil pressure not oil volume, does it not?

 

[greenwald]

The oil check function of the on board computer measures oil pressure not oil volume, does it not?

Correct. But the 'optimum' quantity of oil is necessary for you to get the 'OK' check mark on the BC.

Actual oil level is what the sight glass displays, if proper procedures are followed prior to viewing.

In otherwords, the two are inter-related. Proper quantity as monitored in the sight window = the happy check mark on the computer screen.

If not brothers, they are at least cousins!

 

[32232]

The oil check function of the on board computer measures oil pressure not oil volume, does it not?

According to page 56 of the owner's manual, the check mark symbol is a measurement of oil volume, not pressure.

Oil-level indicator 1 gives you
an indication of the engine oil
level. You can call up this reading
only when the motorcycle is
at a standstill.
The preconditions for the oil level
check are as follows:
Engine at operating temperature.
Engine idling for at least 30
seconds.
Side stand retracted.
Make sure the motorcycle is
upright.

 

[greenwald]

We're all dancing around the same fire here.

 

[lkchris]

If oil level is measured by function of oil pressure it's the first auto industry utilization of this technique.

It's not.

 

[Hammam]

Oil level and sight glass

This has probably been said before, and I may have said it myself before, but I think it's always worth reminding: using the proper checking technique as descibed above, the oil level is good as long as there is oil showing in the sighting glass, no matter where the top line shows. If you add oil, never, ever, go all the way up without leaving a little empty space at the top, because if there isn't any space left, you will not know if you haven't added too much oil. And too much oil is very damageable. So, the only way to make sure, is to always leave a little empty space, adding only a small mount at a time, and be patient until it settles.

My $0.02.

 

[sloride]

Owners manual '08RT

Oil-can symbol appears on
the display.
The oil pressure in the lube-oil
system is too low. Stop immediately
and switch off the engine.
The insufficient oil pressure
warning does not fulfil
the function of an oil gauge. The
only way of checking whether the
oil level is correct is to check the
oil sight glass

 

[greenwald]

Oil-can symbol appears on
the display.
The oil pressure in the lube-oil
system is too low. Stop immediately
and switch off the engine.
The insufficient oil pressure
warning does not fulfil
the function of an oil gauge. The
only way of checking whether the
oil level is correct is to check the
oil sight glass

 

[jgsmith]

Hypothetically speaking, what would happen if you over-filled the oil? Not saying I did this. No sir. Just asking for...a friend...ya, that's it.

Jim

 

[marchyman]

Hypothetically speaking, what would happen if you over-filled the oil? Not saying I did this. No sir. Just asking for...a friend...ya, that's it.

Jim

Define over-fill. If an extra quart or three were added I'd let some out. If the level is slightly above the sight glass (you can see the top of the oil when bike is leaned a bit to the side opposite the sight glass) then you ignore it and ride on.

 

[David13]

That's what I do. Put 4 quarts, and maybe a bit extra, it comes to near the top, or over the top of the sight glass. Then I ride it and don''t worry about it, except for once, til I need it changed.
No reason to check the oil on a bike or car that doesn't burn an iota of oil.
If I ever had a real oil burner, or oil leaker, then I would check it.
I think it is absurd to get out there with an eye dropper and try to count out the exact appropriate number of drops of oil to get it to the ideal level.
dc

 

[greenwald]

Just an observation here - then back to our regularly scheduled channel.

One thing I've noticed over the years is the plethora of possibilities than BMW owners will obsess about reference their bikes.

For some, it's all about suspension - they will invest thousands of dollars to switch to Ohlin or some other brand of high-tech shock to 'tweak' something in their ride that most of us wouldn't notice if our life depended on it.

Others will toy with the pressures in their tires twice a day, or hold on to (pardon the pun) 2-3 different 'styles' of braking or take a passionate stand on helmet legislation or noise ordinances to the point of nearly armed conflict.

For some, it's their seats.

Others, tires.

My point is that each of us (except the "recommendations/Owners Manual be damned" crowd, who just feel you should dump in a bunch of oil, squirt some air in those tires, never wash the bike and just ride it like you stole it till it breaks!) probably fixate on one or two elements of these complex machines that concern us and that we take pride in managing in great detail.

For many, that is oil - the life blood of the motorcycle. And no, I don't own an eye dropper.

Just sayin.'