K1600GT Oil Consumption or not?

[ch2ous]

Has anyone experienced difficulty getting a proper oil level reading on their K

My experience with my new 2013 GT.

Had its first health check and oil change around the 1k mark. All is normal nothing stood out.

~2600 Miles, driving up the NYS Thruway heading to Potsdam. Oil level warning light comes on. I stop at next rest area ~5 miles away.
Set her up on the center stand and go for a kick in the sand box and get a pop. ~10 minutes later I pull the dip stick and find it dry.

A little freaked, I return the stick to the oil reservoir consume my RedBull in three gulps, burp and try again. Nothing, nada, my gasp reverberates from the stick hole.

Luckily MAX BMW is about 30 miles north from my position. I call and they advise me on how to check the oil properly, I comply (already knew), did it again and then to put some oil (Mobil 1 was all the booth had) to get me to the shop. Nearly a quart to get it to close to the max line.

I take off from the rest stop and 30 minutes later a MAX master tech is combing my bike for leaks and computer faults. It did throw a fault so they drain it, change the filter and refill. No sign of a leak and the Warning goes away. However, the oil "OK" symbol never appears. They remark that the computer may have a glitch. They give me a quart and send me on my way instructing me to keep an eye on the level and bring her back for a reprogramming in the very near future. " Don't worry about it" ( lazy Bronx accent) some oil consumption is not uncommon early off... I'm thinkin, OK, sounds reasonable.... We're all accustomed to German autos using a bit of oil but, not in the quantities that their engineers drink beer. So, I leave and drive 220 miles in the early April rain through the Adirondacks to Potsdam. I park her on the Center stand in the Crane School of Music's parking lot. My daughter picked me up in her TDi and took me for a mediocre pasta dinner and dropped me at my scary, dimly lit Bates Motel room where I slept well enough to thoroughly enjoy the visit and my daughter's opera performance as La principessa in Suor Angelica the next day.

Time to leave Sunday Morning after breakfast. Its 36 degrees and I'm half way geared up with my new gift shop goodies strewn about ready to pack in the cases. I confidently pull the dipstick cold and find that it is maybe a half inch from the MIN line on the dipstick.. Wait.... it was full 220 miles ago..... So, I fire her up and continue to apply my under gear and pull my rain suit up to my waste. When the cooling fan comes on, I shut her down. I finish putting my loot in the cases while the oil drains down into the pan and pull my rain suit up over my shoulders. I check again and the same thing...


Now I am really worried I top her off again and get underway. 260 miles south in hard, cold driving rain. Bike performed beautifully. No sign of smoke or lack of power. I actually had to pull the reins back because she goes like a Dragon out of hell not some puny bat. (computer in rain mode)

Get home, center stand, peel off layers and check her again. The oil registers at around 1/2 way between MIN and MAX after several pokes.
I call MAX service and they say bring it in ad they'd notify BMW. After two weeks they say that when they drained the oil there was too much again. They reprogrammed the computer and sent me on my way again. Max himself had no opinion other than his Mercedes Sprinter van was drinking oil and burping in between stops.

My questions are:
1. Are there recesses in this motor that could trap oil and prevent it from draining down when the bike is off?
2. What is normal consumption at this age for the mileage?

Thanks!

 

[lee]

So, I fire her up and continue to apply my under gear and pull my rain suit up to my waste. When the cooling fan comes on, I shut her down. I finish putting my loot in the cases while the oil drains down into the pan and pull my rain suit up over my shoulders. I check again and the same thing...

This won't work for my K1300S which should have the same oil check procedure as the K1600.
To get a good oil check I need to ride at least 20 or 30 miles, stop and let the bike idle 30 seconds or so to let the oil return to the tank. After this I can check the oil in a couple minutes while the bike is on the centerstand.

After a ride if I shut the bike off as soon as I stop, the oil will show low, no matter how long the bike sits.

You may have a bad oil level sensor.

 

[ch2ous]

Interesting.. I had a similar experience with my 1300GT. Checking the oil on that was a bit more cumbersome so I just trusted that the oil sensor would do its job. I know that sounds lame but having to remove the seat was too. Unfortunately, some life circumstances ended my relationship with that beauty sooner than I planned so I didn't get to know it on that level.

Having said that, I just want to know what the proper chain of events are to getting reliable reading. IMHO, If the Warning sensor comes on then it is too late . I'd rather know how much oil my bike is consuming so that I can track any abnormality. What ever that might be and keep the oil volume at a healthy level.

 

[lee]

If the Warning sensor comes on then it is too late . .

No it's not too late, you still have good oil pressure. On my K1300S and my wife's K1300S when the low oil warning comes on the oil level will be at or slightly below the min. mark. It will take .5 to .6 quarts to bring the level up to full.

BTW, I went to the New York State Ranger School about 50 miles south of Potsdam. Nice country in that area

 

[ch2ous]

BTW, I went to the New York State Ranger School about 50 miles south of Potsdam. Nice country in that area

Fort Drum? I have a buddy that was stationed/trained there.

 

[lee]

Fort Drum? I have a buddy that was stationed/trained there.

No, forestry, not military rangers
The school is on Cranberry Lake and the closest town is Wanakena.

 

[ch2ous]

No, forestry, not military rangers
The school is on Cranberry Lake and the closest town is Wanakena.

Right ... Drum is the 10th Mountain division. At least during the 80s.

OK, back to oil... there is a recent thread from "dave" http://forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?73444-2013-R1200RT-oil-missing that describes the same disappearing act on his R. Totally different engine but he raises the same question. Where does the lube go? I remember having concerns with my GSs when the blood in the glass didn't show where it did before I got on it for a short ride. With that engine it was perfectly conceivable that oil would get hung up in the upper recesses of the case and heads and you might have to wiggle and lean it back and forth if you wanted to get a more consistent reading from the glass.

 

[lee]

OK, back to oil....

I forgot to ask, do you let the bike idle for 20 or 30 seconds to fill the oil tank before checking the oil?
If you're doing this, I'm not sure what's going on.

 

[t6pilot]

My bike is a 2012 1600gt I bought as a demo bike with 2000 miles on it, now has 15,000 and has never used any oil. I do change the oil myself at 3000 mile intervals, I have found in the past in both cars and airplanes if you approach the recommended mileage or time interval you will start using some oil
Back to the 1600 every fuel stop bike on center stand, run tell fan comes on for a minute, shut bike off, do your fueling thing then check oil quanity. Checking while bike is cold will give a false reading

 

[ch2ous]

Lee: Yes, I do let it idle prior to checking. I know that you have to give it some time to settle before checking as well. Makes sense. Funny thing is, the tech at MAX was checking the oil while the bike was idling. That surprised me a little. I imagined that it would come bubbling out and make an intense mess but it did nothing of the sort.

t6: I also change at 3k intervals for my bikes. My autos at 5 because they are TDIs and are running synth. VW only recommends 10k service. I can't do that... I just cant.

 

[lee]

Funny thing is, the tech at MAX was checking the oil while the bike was idling. That surprised me a little. .

When the oil is hot from a ride I see very little change in the oil level when the bike is idling and after the bike has sat for 5 minutes after shutdown. The S has a oil site tube that you can see the oil level when the bike is running.

 

[blkfalc4]

Unless there is oil in the condensate drain, which I doubt, or are excessively burning it, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Until I reached about 7k mine did about the same. Just figure it will taper off on the consumption issue. Those nikasil lined cylinders are a bugger to get broken in.
When checking, always check it by the manual after a good ride, needs to be really warmed up. I always check it when I return from a good ride.
What I have found that when cold, looking down the spout the oil will be about .5" or so from the top. But unless I couldn't see it at all wouldn't add oil.

 

[ch2ous]

Thanks all, I will check before and especially after a ride and keep a picture record of what I see.

 

[websterize]

"... You can't get a correct oil level measurement unless the engine is at full operating temperature, as evidenced by the cooling fan being on. You then shut off the engine and wait 60 seconds before taking the oil level measurement with the bike on level land and on the center stand."

? http://www.k1600forum.com/forum/bmw...lf/4966-changing-your-own-oil-tools-tips.html

 

[ch2ous]

"... You can't get a correct oil level measurement unless the engine is at full operating temperature, as evidenced by the cooling fan being on. You then shut off the engine and wait 60 seconds before taking the oil level measurement with the bike on level land and on the center stand."

? http://www.k1600forum.com/forum/bmw...lf/4966-changing-your-own-oil-tools-tips.html

Very nice write up. Love the attention to detail. Your current Super plug is worthy of patenting and I for one would purchase one from you as I would enjoy bonding with my new machine. This type of thing does increase the intimidation factor.
I have performed all the recommended procedures to checking the oil level. You mention that "My dealer told me they use 5 quarts" when filling back up which would seem to indicate that there is a little more room somewhere in the oil sump system to accommodate a little extra. I understand that this is not a recommendation to overfill the oil reservoir as I believe I may have done during this confusing situation but it leaves me with a couple of questions.

1. I would imagine but, asking..., does the dip stick measure the oil level inside the crankcase or the bottom oil pan? I'm asking this again but in a different way because it seems the levels could be different because oil may be collecting in different parts of the reservoirs depending on oil pressure?

2. If the oil level is taken from the sump pan could it mean that more oil is collected in the crank case, unable to drain back down to the lower pan thus a lower level?

3. None of this explains NO oil registering on the dip stick after 1k miles post first oil change triggering my oil level alert. I would imagine even though there was low (NO) level detected, there was enough in the system to lubricate this complicated engine?

Many Thanks

 

[websterize]

Sorry I didn't attribute that quote. That's not me. RL Lemke, a moderator at the K1600 forum and inventor of the super plug, said it. And he's just quoting the oil-check procedure in the manual. As you know, it's a fairly particular process, but if you follow it consistently, you mitigate the risk of oil overfill.

1. Based on the service manual schematic of the K16 engine, the dipstick appears to measure the surface level of the oil at the bottom of the crankcase. Somebody will correct me if I'm wrong.

3. I suspect you waited too long to take the oil measurement after the initial alert. The oil level was low enough to trip an alarm. After 10 minutes, the level most likely dropped below the reach of the dipstick. According to the book, you place the bike on the center stand, run the engine until the fan turns on, let the fan run for a minute and finally shut off the bike and wait an additional minute (not 10 minutes) before reading the dipstick. If it reads MIN on the stick, add half a liter and let her rip. But it's accurate only if the engine oil is at full operating temperature. Checking the oil level first thing on a cold morning, even if the fan turns on, will probably yield a skewed result.

All in all, I wouldn't be concerned. It's a robust and magnificent engine.