a whiff of burning oil

Went for a spin yesterday while it was 91 degrees. Yay GA. This is a new bike to me (2013 RT) and it was a little low on oil when I picked it up and hadn’t been ridden much by the previous owner ( 9K miles total). When I got home and parked in the garage a little waft of burning oil was smelled. Pretty faint and it was so freaking hot outside. Don’t want to over react, but that should be normal right?

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions yet, strange smells on a new-to-you bike might be normal. You might clean off any oil that has accumulated on the outside of the engine, or any dust and dirt on the exhaust pipe. Check that your brakes (especially rear) don't have excessive drag or disc discoloration from heat.

forgot to mention what is probably an important detail. When I picked up the bike it appeared as if there had been some oil that dripped from the head at the oil fill spot. I rode it home and wiped it off but perhaps some of that oil leaked down further into the recesses that I missed and that is what is burning off?

Ok now I’m a little concerned. I topped off the oil after I picked up the bike because it was low. I didn’t add much but the sight glass showed it at approx 2/3 full. I’ve ridden it a few times since then, just short hr long rides. I checked the oil again tonight after a short ride and the sight glass show about 1/3. That seems like a lot of oil consumption in just a few days.

I assume this is not a liquid cooled engine, since it is posted in the camhead section.

Some of the twin cam oil-cooled engines are known to use oil, but most get better with miles. Mine went through its first quart in 600 miles when new. The next quart lasted 800 miles. At 17,000 it was using about 1 ounce per 100 miles, or about 3200 miles to the quart. I believe BMW considers anything more than 800 miles to the quart “normal” for these engines.
Not all these engines burn oil from new. From personal observation, break-in does not seem to be a factor. I suspect the cylinders are going slightly out of round at temperature due to the cam chain tunnel, but that’s just my opinion. You get used to adding oil after a while.

jharpphoto said:

Ok now I’m a little concerned. I topped off the oil after I picked up the bike because it was low. I didn’t add much but the sight glass showed it at approx 2/3 full. I’ve ridden it a few times since then, just short hr long rides. I checked the oil again tonight after a short ride and the sight glass show about 1/3. That seems like a lot of oil consumption in just a few days.

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Sight glass oil level readings can be somewhat inconsistent. Check your owner’s manual for the exact recommended sequence for checking the level and follow it, but even with a consistent methodology the level may fluctuate some.

Best,
DeVern

Burning oil

I learned with my oilhead that the most accurate way to check my oil level is to park the bike on the side stand after a ride for about 15 minutes. Just enough time to take of my riding gear. I then put the bike on the center stand and let the oil level and then check the site glass. Putting the bike on the side stand while hot allows the oil cooler to drain while oil lines are open. About the oil around the filler cap, Beemer Boneyard sells an oil change kit that contains all the "O" rings you need including the ring for the fill cap. Replacing this ring every 6000 miles will keep the engine clean. My R1200RT does burn about a half liter of oil between changes.

a little oil seepage/leak at a bolt has me worried.

Today I thought it might be a good idea to apply some degreaser to the bottom of my RT engine to clean up any crud/oil that might be causing the slight scent of burning oil I have occasionally encountered after riding. When I got down under the engine and started looking around I noticed a small amount of oil that seeped out of the bolt in the photo I am attaching here. There is some dried black (probably oil) around the area of the oil filter that I was planning to use the degreaser for. Obviously ANY leaking oil is not a good thing so can you wise gentlemen take a look at this photo and let me know your thoughts about the severity of this leak/seepage? It is worth noting that there is NO drips or puddles of oil under the bike so there is very little oil seeping out from this bolt.

Put a wrench on it and it was definitely not tight. Got about a 2/3 of a turn on it to snug it up.

Maybe it is the orientation of the camera or perhaps because I have a 2009 RT, but it is unclear to me what exactly the picture is showing. What did you end up tightening?

GTRider said:

Sight glass oil level readings can be somewhat inconsistent. Check your owner’s manual for the exact recommended sequence for checking the level and follow it, but even with a consistent methodology the level may fluctuate some.

Best,
DeVern

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While checking owners manual, also learn the capacity difference between top of circle and bottom of circle on sight gauge. You may find it way less than you expect.

Typical oil leak areas are valve cover gaskets, especially the round one around spark plug and … rear main seal/balancer shaft. You’ll likely learn to live with the latter. Mine were replaced when the bike was still under warranty and haven’t leaked since.

jharpphoto said:

Put a wrench on it and it was definitely not tight. Got about a 2/3 of a turn on it to snug it up.

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I also have a '13 R1200RT (43k miles) and recently had the fuel pump replaced under a factory recall; the technician who did the work also noticed the cam chain tensioner bolt (top of left cylinder) was loose as had been leaking very slightly. He tightened it the best he could and it seems to be fine.

Check the rear shock too

Burning oil on my '12 RT turned out to be a leaking rear shock. It was within warranty, thank goodness. My cam chain tensioner also leaked later in the bikes life as it somehow loosened itself up.