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OIl level in an R1150 bike??

J

j-budimlya

Jim Bud
I know this sounds like a stupid question, but after having an R1100R bike for a few years and never having a problem checking the oil level, I am confused by my new R1150GS bike. When repeadedly parked on the same spot of the flat concrete garage floor, the oil level one day is dead on in the center of the sight glass and the next day it is just barely at the bottom of the glass; then again the next day it is dead on in the center -- of course each day I have ridden the bike.

What gives here, is there a hiding place for the oil that comes and goes??

Any thoughts??
 
j-budimlya said:
What gives here, is there a hiding place for the oil that comes and goes??
Click to expand...
Yeah, the oil cooler. Make sure the bike has sat for a good 10 minutes before you check the oil level. It takes a while for all of it to run down the oil cooler plumbing ...
I park mine in the same spot in the garage every day and the oil level reading is consistent, assuming I let it cool down first.
Hope this helps ...
 
Not that simple

It is not a matter of how long it sits; I've been used to that with the R1100RA bike; I am talking about a difference the next morning... somewhere a couple hundred cc's of oil are hiding..and it only bothers me since it is a "new" bike for me; it is a 2001 1150Gs with only 4,800 miles and I'm tring to figure out how much oil it is using..if any...

Any one else have this occur??
 
I recommend you not worry about it too much. If you can see oil in the window at any time, then you're good to go. Includes sidestand. This is a very religious topic, so I'm sure someone's going to jump on me about the proper procedure for checking oil level. Four oilheads and I haven't blown one yet :):
 
Sometimes it helps to put it on the sidestand for a bit before the centerstand. However you do it, it will drive you crazy. Like Fish says, any oil in the window is OK. Check it several rides and only add oil if it is consistantly low and then only just a little at a time (couple Oz.).

Of course YMMV :dunno

Greg Engle
02 GS
03 K/RS
 
Oil level

When you pull into your parking spot or gas station, put the bike on the center stand and then shut down the engine. Wait about 10 min and check the oil just like at a gas station. You will have a consistant reading this way. Oil is tempature senistive in that it expands with heat. A cold engine can show a lower level that a hot one. Roy:idea
 
2000 R1150GS oil level

I am also concerned about this. My 2000 R1150GS has 25,000 miles. After an oil change, I take a 500-600 mile ride, and the next morning (with the obligatory 30 minutes on the sidestand after shutdown) on the center stand there is no oil in the oil window. If I go out riding, for another day, there will still not be any oil in the window. After 2000 miles of riding, I have added a quart of oil. My dealer says this is considered normal. NA says the same thing and won't do anything to correct the oil consumption under warrenty. Dealer did a leak down test and compression test and reported that both are normal. So when I ride from Upstate NY to Florida and back, I have to carry 2-3 quarts of oil with me to keep the oil in the oil window. BMW considers this acceptable oil usage. What kind of oil are people using? I want to use an oil that is readily available on the road, not BMW oil. :confused: :dunno
 
You will find out that if you are on a long trip that your oil use will be lower than trips local. Last summer I went on a 8000 miles and used just one qt. I use Mobil 1 15-50 and you can buy it at most auto stores and Wall-mart. I went the full distance with out a oil change, since it was mostly highway miles. The oil held up good and the bike ran fine. On normal conditions, I change every 5000 miles. I put the bike on the center stand, and then shut off the engine. I check the oil level about 5 min. latter. just like a gas stop. Ride safe and hard and may God bless. Roy
 
Oil Level Follow-up

Now, I think I know the issue I was observing. When first parked after riding,(sometimes) I get an initial oil level reading and after the bike sits for a while, the oil level drops a bit; maybe 1/8 of the view glass in height. I suspect there may be a bubble somewhere that needs to bubble up. If however, I just check it in the morning, I do get get a consistent reading.
Sometimes, on a new bike, we just pay tooo much attention.
FYI, I am still burning some oil @ 5,650 total miles. I will continue to run it hard and I expect the oil consumption ( 0.75 quarts in 800 miles) to go down with time. Then I can switch to synthetic..

Jim Bud
 
Greg said:
Sometimes it helps to put it on the sidestand for a bit before the centerstand. However you do it, it will drive you crazy. Like Fish says, any oil in the window is OK. Check it several rides and only add oil if it is consistantly low and then only just a little at a time (couple Oz.).

Yes, I do this also. I let it sit on the sidestand for 10 minutes or so, then onto the center stand for a few minutes to check. I have found going straight to the center stand will show less oil due to the oil cooler. Picked this methodology up from the IBMWR several years ago. It prevents me from going through the top of the sightglass level.
Click to expand...
 
oil level

I put it on the center stand and then shut off the engine. This showes the lowest level of oil, so I know I have plenty. These bikes will turn to toast if the oil level gets to low. One of the bike rags toasted their test bike because they did'nt watch the oil level close enought. I never let my bike oil level get below about 1/4 sight glass before I bring it up to at least 1/2 glass. When I change oil and filter I check the valves so I dunp out the valve cover oil and shift the bike to both sides to drain out any oil hiding in there and then put in the book recomended 4 qt and it brings the level up to 7/8 sight glass. Roy:clap
 
Fairly consistent oil level

After trying some our your creative ideas, I have found that the only "fairly consistent oil level" on my bike is an over-night reading. By the next morniig the reading seems to vary by only a few milimeters( no more than one quarter of the sight glass) from day to day. So, if it works that well it is time to leave it alone.

:bliss :wow :bliss
 
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