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Oil Consumption? '09 RT


Woodie

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New to me 2009 R1200RT. 101k.

 

I've ridden (commuted) on this for about 1500 miles, and I've had to put in about a quart of oil (so far) (1/2 quart, 2 times. Checked the oil right before, and sightglass showed down 1/2 quart.

 

It doesn't appear to smoke. I see no oil spots under it either at home or at work.

 

What should I be looking for? Should I be worried?

 

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You should see black around the bevel at the end of the muffler indicating it is burning oil. It won't smoke but someone riding behind you will be able to smell it, and I can too when warming it up in underground garage. Some of these bikes burn oil. Bmws usage in the manual goes up to 1qt/1k mi. :(

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:(. Never had this particular thing yet. Maybe 1 qt in 3000 miles in the past. I guess I'll just adjust...but it seems like a lot to me

 

I'll check the muffler as soon as I'm off my chat w/ the "help desk"

 

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Dave_in_TX
New to me 2009 R1200RT. 101k.

 

I've ridden (commuted) on this for about 1500 miles, and I've had to put in about a quart of oil (so far) (1/2 quart, 2 times. Checked the oil right before, and sightglass showed down 1/2 quart.

 

It doesn't appear to smoke. I see no oil spots under it either at home or at work.

 

What should I be looking for? Should I be worried?

How many miles on it?

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New to me 2009 R1200RT. 101k.

 

I've ridden (commuted) on this for about 1500 miles, and I've had to put in about a quart of oil (so far) (1/2 quart, 2 times. Checked the oil right before, and sightglass showed down 1/2 quart.

 

It doesn't appear to smoke. I see no oil spots under it either at home or at work.

 

What should I be looking for? Should I be worried?

 

Evening Woodie

 

At 101K a little oil usage wouldn't be out of reason but a quart in 1500 miles is pretty excessive.

 

Are you SURE that it was low when you added oil? It is very easy on the BMW boxer to get a low looking level in the sights glass & even easier to overfill a little when adding oil.

 

A good rule on the BMW boxer is not add any oil to the crankcase until it shows low 3 readings in a row.

 

"Checking the oil level with the

engine cold or after no more than

a short ride will lead to misinterpretation;

 

this in turn, means that

the engine will be operated with

the incorrect quantity of oil.

In order to ensure that the engine

oil level is read correctly,

check the oil level only after a

lengthy trip.

 

Switch off the engine when it is

at operating temperature.

Make sure the ground is level

and firm and place the motorcycle

on its centre stand.

 

Wait five minutes for the oil to

drain into the oil pan.

 

If the oil level is below the MIN

mark: Top up the engine oil"

 

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I'm SURE it was low both times. Checked after my commute home (30+ minutes), did the dance.

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What sticks out to me is you saying it showed 1/2 qt. Low.

 

What are you basing that on ?

 

The sightglass top to bottom, if you see some oil at the very bottom to the very top is about 8oz. (I said about)

 

If you slowly add oil, to use a technical term, one glug at a time, then give it a minute or so to dribble down, you can gauge this much better until you get fully used to the bike.

 

The level you are looking for is half way up.

 

Many Japanese bikes that use a sightglass including my Kawasaki Z1, my ex ZRX1200R, a Honda I just serviced the oil level was near the very top of the sightglass.

 

I see you own or owned an R11RT, and the technique is the same as your 1200

 

Edited by Tri750
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Per the manual, if oil level is below the MIN on the sight glass, then top up with 1/2 quart.

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Per the manual, if oil level is below the MIN on the sight glass, then top up with 1/2 quart.

 

Morning Woodie

 

Yes, that is pretty close, on the 1200 hexhead the sight glass top to bottom is around .5 liters.

 

I think Tri is thinking about the older oilhead that only fills to center dot of sight glass.

 

PiiPoEB.jpg

 

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Sorry, yes I was. But I would sure be reluctant to just pour in 1/2 qt . I would ease in the oil on a bike new to me bit by bit.

But, maybe the low to correct is is that cut and dry every time.

 

Now I know about the hex oil level, thx.

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At 36K my 04/2005 R1200ST is unfortunately still an oil burner, but only with a lot of urban riding, i.e. stop-start, low-gear work, getting off the clutch at low RPM a lot. I can do tens of thousands of miles of blue highway work and not burn much but when I'm using it for my in-town travel I have to top it up fairly regularly, and yes, I get the black inset tip on the stock muffler. Kind of a bummer.

 

I never had the experience of it "hiding oil" until my latest oil change this spring when i decided to try Liqui-Moly full-syn 10w60 for summer riding. Made it quieter during hot afternoon traffic jams but for the first time I started getting below-the-sight-glass misreads if I let it cool down completely on the side stand before checking.

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Interesting behavior you're seeing. I'm commuting four days/week, just over twenty miles each way. Definitely getting the low gears, low shifts thing.

 

I'll keep a careful eye on it, and not panic yet.

 

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It's an inexact science for all the above reasons but if you can take it for some long rides see if you can get a sense of whether that makes a difference. My least favorite thing about this engine is the way it hates being asked to do any real work below about 3000 RPM. Combine that with the tall FD ratio on the civilian street models and just about any city riding involves a choice between slipping the clutch or lugging. Personally I'm not looking forward to splitting my bike in half to service the clutch, so...

 

See if it continues to use oil at the same rate when those miles are spent zinging rather than thudding.

Edited by WarpShatner7
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At 36K my 04/2005 R1200ST is unfortunately still an oil burner, but only with a lot of urban riding, i.e. stop-start, low-gear work, getting off the clutch at low RPM a lot. I can do tens of thousands of miles of blue highway work and not burn much but when I'm using it for my in-town travel I have to top it up fairly regularly, and yes, I get the black inset tip on the stock muffler. Kind of a bummer.

 

I never had the experience of it "hiding oil" until my latest oil change this spring when i decided to try Liqui-Moly full-syn 10w60 for summer riding. Made it quieter during hot afternoon traffic jams but for the first time I started getting below-the-sight-glass misreads if I let it cool down completely on the side stand before checking.

As was posted above, the 1200rt oil level should be checked with these parameters (see below) as per the owners manual, and as luck would have it, these can be met at just about every gas up. There is nothing in the manual about letting the engine cool down or having to lean it over to drain the oil pump.

 

Switch off the engine when it is

at operating temperature.

Make sure the ground is level

and firm and place the motorcycle

on its centre stand.

 

Wait five minutes for the oil to

drain into the oil pan.

 

If the oil level is below the MIN

mark: Top up the engine oil"

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