excess oil consumption

[hybridmoose]

Guys,

My Roc only has 15K km on the clock but seems to be using an excessive amount of oil. The manual says that it is within spec if it burns up to 1litre per 1000km, which is about what my bike is burning. This seems way excessive to me, especially coming from a yamaha which burnt maybe 150ml between services. What are your thoughts?

[leno]

They all do that. Sorry but it's not a sushi bike and they do burn oil. If you are lucky it may get less as it ages but you will hear conflicting advice on how to get to that state.

[Yahoo-Boy]

Mine actually burns a little more than average, but the shop has been through it multiple times and that is just how mine consumes oil. I know it seems crazy (I came from a Suzuki) but that is how it is. Just remember to keep an eye on it. It's easy for me to forget to top it off regularly.

~Scott

[cammy]

Only 6300 mls on the Rock at the mo, using about a litre of Castrol GP mineral per 1000 mls.

[Dred80]

Mine isn't quite as high as the upper limit of "normal" but it does burn it. I'm told that parking it on the side stand is part of the problem but that's not the whole deal. Mine will burn down to the middle dot then stay there for two or three thousand miles then it will burn half a quart in 1000 or so miles. I just keep some on hand and always take a quart with me on long trips. My old K-bike does the same thing and it's got over 100,000 miles on it.

[fnfalman]

Mine burned oil exactly as the manual said for the first 1000-miles. Nowadays, it burns a bit less, but it still burns.

[boxermania]

One more time.....this has been addressed several times before on the old site.

Oil level at the center of the bullseye, no more, measured on the center stand.....be carefull, sometimes weather conditopns are such the the oil cooler thermostat will not open, trapping oil in the system, the result is that upon looking at the bullseye it would appear that the engine needs oil........wrong, as you will notice the next time when the level is way past the bullseye. In any event, I woulkd not run the bike if the oil level is not seen on the window.

alusil or nicosil as the cylinder coating - hard, long wearing

Rings seat against the cylinder wall which is hard to begin with......

Solution:

Run the bike hard, tach it throught the gears. These bikes are made to run. Running hard means up and down, not WOT for hours on end.

If done in the above fashion the bike will cease major oil consumption around 6K miles, if you are burning oil at 20K miles you have babied the bike and it will take a long time to seat the rings or there is something wrong with the engine.

[Dred80]

Yeah, this issue has been addressed everywhere, including here and everyone has a different opinion. Fill the oil to here, don't fill it at this point, pay attention to the manual, ignore the manual, shade tree guy knows more than trained mechanic. ect. ect. ad nauseum....

I've never babied this bike, I've run the crap out of it in fact, and at almost 36,000 miles, it still burns about a quart of oil between oil changes.

[Leno]

Mine isn't quite as high as the upper limit of "normal" but it does burn it. I'm told that parking it on the side stand is part of the problem but that's not the whole deal. Mine will burn down to the middle dot then stay there for two or three thousand miles then it will burn half a quart in 1000 or so miles. I just keep some on hand and always take a quart with me on long trips. My old K-bike does the same thing and it's got over 100,000 miles on it.

If you fill past the dot then it will burn more because it is over filled. But then if you don't it will be under filled quickly.

[Dred80]

If you fill past the dot then it will burn more because it is over filled. But then if you don't it will be under filled quickly.

Once again, this opinion differs from so many others that I'm skeptical of all. BMW manuals say fill it to the top of the circle, Leno says not, but every dealer I've ever had service my BMW's fills it to the top. This debate is endless and will never be resolved.

[riceburner]

Yeah, this issue has been addressed everywhere, including here and everyone has a different opinion. Fill the oil to here, don't fill it at this point, pay attention to the manual, ignore the manual, shade tree guy knows more than trained mechanic. ect. ect. ad nauseum....

I've never babied this bike, I've run the crap out of it in fact, and at almost 36,000 miles, it still burns about a quart of oil between oil changes.

ditto.

[Rockster_Cyp]

I had this question too..

My bike has 10000 km and burns 0,5 Litre between the oil changes ( i do this every 3000 km)

Untill now I was usind mineral castrol oil but now i will be changin to PJ1 semi synthetic oil.

A friend of mine with R1150R has around 32000 km on his bike and he recently changed to full synthetic PJ1 and has found it excellent.

No extra oil is needed now, the gears are smoother and also he feels the bike that works more calmly.

Who knows...

I will try it too and tell you my comments too. I will be using the semi synthetic for up to 30000 km and then change to full synthetic.

[hybridmoose]

Thanks guy,

The Roc is booked into the dealer on Monday to have a look at the excess oil and carry out warranty work on the fuel lines.

I have heard that a change to fully synthetic oil will reduce the oil consumption, but it was suggested to wait until 20K km. It might be worth a try to see if it reduces the consumption.

[whip]

I have just returned from a 4000 mile trip from California to Memphis and back and my rockster ('04 with 20,000 miles) used less than 1/4 of a quart. Runnig the interstate at 80+ for 14 hours comming back to California in very hot conditions in places.
I run it hard and the plugs are clean with no carbon to speak of. Use dino oil no additives. Almost as good as a Honda
Cheers All

[DJ Downunder]

I have heard that a change to fully synthetic oil will reduce the oil consumption, but it was suggested to wait until 20K km.

I changed to fully synthetic after only 1000 klms (600miles)...it's now almost 4yrs and 40,000klms with no probs.

DJ

[hybridmoose]

Guys,

Roc is back in the shop after my trip for the 20000K service and to have "a deeper look" at the oil consumption. I will keep you informed of the progress. No news yet. They have had the bike for 3 days so far.

[captainK]

It has to be said that BMW are hardly shy about telling owners that their bikes will consume oil ... there are numerous warnings in the owner's manual, my bike has a decal on the gas cap as a reminder to regularly check the oil level, and when I was taking delivery of the bike the dealer explicitly mentioned the need to check the oil.

I figure it's just something you learn to live with -- and while most newer vehicles don't burn much oil these days, they certainly did when I first started riding. I will be interested to hear the reports on whether the switch to mineral oil makes a difference though ...

[R4R&R]

I had an air cooled Yamaha that burned oil. I had a water cooled Suzuki that didn't seem to burn a drop between oil changes. I have an air cooled BMW that burns oil. I think I see a pattern.

Mine is within spec, but I do need to keep an eye on it.

[boxermania]

Yes...I see a pattern too...

1st one - yes, 2nd one - no, 3rd one - yes......