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Hi: i have been watching my oil and think that i am using about or just under a quarter litre (bottom of site glass to middle) about every 500km (you americans can convert to g's). Is that too much? having previously owned a cruiser and never used oil i dont know if this is "normal" amount. if you think this is too much,..my bike is not burning smoke and was not leaking..except..until yesterday...Here's the second concern.
got back from a ride and noticed on the cylinder around the oil cap there is oil pooled and a bit on top. (this couldnt be from adding oil without a funnel..as i added oil a week ago). and then I checked underneath and there is some oil collecting underneath the cylinder as well and a bit there on the guard on the side. what do you think is causing that?

thanks for your advice!

julia

julia rose wrote:Hi: i have been watching my oil and think that i am using about or just under a quarter litre (bottom of site glass to middle) about every 500km (you americans can convert to g's). Is that too much? having previously owned a cruiser and never used oil i dont know if this is "normal" amount. if you think this is too much,..my bike is not burning smoke and was not leaking..except..until yesterday...Here's the second concern.
got back from a ride and noticed on the cylinder around the oil cap there is oil pooled and a bit on top. (this couldnt be from adding oil without a funnel..as i added oil a week ago). and then I checked underneath and there is some oil collecting underneath the cylinder as well and a bit there on the guard on the side. what do you think is causing that?

thanks for your advice!

julia

Firstly - if you bike isn't fully run in (ie less than 30,000 or so miles), then it will still burn a bit of oil, (the amount sounds roughly right). Also - if you habitually leave the bike on the side stand this wil increase usage.

Second part - you need to ensure the oil filler cap, the rubber seal, and the fitting hole are ABSOLUTELY clean and dry when replacing the filler cap, otherwise the oil filler cap can leak a bit (which is what your problem sounds like).

Why would leaving the bike on the side stand increase oil usage?

julia rose wrote:Hi: i have been watching my oil ............
julia

Are you following the recommended procedure for checking your oil? Lots of threads here on how to do it correctly. Otherwise, it is very possible you are over filling. Basically - after a ride, leave the bike on the side stand for 5 minutes, then put it on the center stand. Check 20-30 min later.

However, I had oil seeping out from the oil filler cap all summer while I was traveling about the Rockies, much as you described. It had just had it's 24,000 mile service done with the oil change - all done at the local dealership. When I returned last month, it was still happening. I cleaned everything like Riceburner suggests, and replaced the rubber seal with a new one. The new rubber seal did not seem snug on the filler cap and sure enough, as soon as I rode again it was still seeping oil. So - since I had a spare filler cap, I changed out the filler cap. Snug fit. No more seeping. I have no explanation for why the filler cap would fit differently after 20,000 miles, but it does. The more scientific minds here could explain that possibly. All I know is that the new seal as well as the old seal had a tighter fit on the spare filler cap than on the old filler cap. Changing the cap solved my problem.

i have been watching my oil

Don't you get TV reception there?

Gabe wrote:Why would leaving the bike on the side stand increase oil usage?

Because the bike is leaning and the cylinder bore is tilted toward the combustion chamber. The oil that was on your cylinder wall pools against the piston rings and gradually seeps past into the combustion chamber where you burn it off the next time you run the bike.

I had one of those leaky filler caps too... bought a whole new assembly... put it in... sometimes it leaked sometimes it didn't... Mostly it leaked during a long high speed ride... maybe because the oil is splashing around more and getting thrown against the bottom of the filler cap continously... As to why the cap might fit different after 20k... it's plastic... when plastic is subjected to pressure and heat, it will distort with time, in which case it doesn't fit like it use to when it was new.

Clean it up well, if that doesn't work buy a new replacement and put it in (being careful to clean all surfaces during installation.

thanks. it is collecting around the filler cap for sure so that sounds like what it is. i know i havent cleaned it well when i add oil so that might be the reason for the leak. thanks for your advice.
i still think i am using oil because i seem to need a lot. can someone tell me how often you are adding oil. ie.how many miles/kms and then how much you are adding. 500km and needing almost quarter litre seems like a lot. okay, i'll help convert for the US folks... every 500km/310miles i need to add .25L/.05g to bring it to level in the site glass. seems like alot for a few k's/miles? and this is city and highway combined if that makes a difference. and not sign i am leaking or blue out the back..its running fine.

julia rose wrote:thanks. it is collecting around the filler cap for sure so that sounds like what it is. i know i havent cleaned it well when i add oil so that might be the reason for the leak. thanks for your advice.
i still think i am using oil because i seem to need a lot. can someone tell me how often you are adding oil. ie.how many miles/kms and then how much you are adding. 500km and needing almost quarter litre seems like a lot. okay, i'll help convert for the US folks... every 500km/310miles i need to add .25L/.05g to bring it to level in the site glass. seems like alot for a few k's/miles? and this is city and highway combined if that makes a difference. and not sign i am leaking or blue out the back..its running fine.

The last I checked (a month or two ago), I was using a quart every 2500 miles or so, so 0.95l for 4000km, give or take, or about half of what you're seeing. My bike has 23k miles of fairly light riding, so I assume it's not fully broken in quite yet.

Also, there's a small plastic plug on the bottom of the left side of the airbox (right by the rear shock knob). Open that plug, and see if oil drains out. If so, the oil was overfilled at some point. I need to open up the airbox completely to clean it, since I overfilled mine not too long ago.

I have a recurring problem with a leaky oil filler cap. I have replaced the whole assembly -- neck, cap, and two O rings -- and it still leaked a lot over the summer. I can usually shrug off things like that, but I am using Mobil 1 synthetic and it's not cheap.

There are no oil leaks on my garage floor, and no smoky exhaust, so I know it is coming out of the cap.

In 24500 miles, I have replaced the o-ring under the oil filler cap twice to cure that symptom, and also had to replace the o-ring between the plastic oil-fill tube and the valve cover once after replacing the one under the cap didn't completely stop the leak. That black plastic tube that the cap screws onto can be removed when you have the valve cover off for a valve adjustment by pressing it out from the inside. It might need a gentle tap with a piece of wood to budge it, then clean everything very well and replace that thin o-ring on the outside, put a thin smear of oil on it and pop it back in. It should be as tight as new!

Goto Lowe's/HomeDepot/and esp TractorSupply if you have one near. Buy a FAUCET 1-4C O-ring..
1 3/8 x 1 1/4 x 1/16"...they're in the plumbing dept or segregated O-ring display. Cut it and install in the C-shaped groove (CLEAN!) around the inside of the filler neck. Apply light pressure on the cap when twisting it on.
Voila'...no leaks.....

I have an "02" with about 34k, it uses and has used 8oz per 300 mi, I just live with it, (although I haven't checked the oil filler cap, although I think I would notice that,) I would sell the bike but my conscience won't allow it ( I tried once) I may have broken it in wrong, I took it pretty easy, for the first 1k or so, but after that it was ridden right. I have read that this is not completely unusual for some BMW's, and that 1 qt per 1k is within specs. (I do not know this for a fact, something I read), Although I really enjoy the BMW, I think it will be my last, Good Luck, Den

I have an '02 1150r with 45K Km, over the last week my oil filler started leaking like a sieve. I went for a long ride Tuesday and it blew a fine spray of oil oil all over my boot and the shifter while on the highway. I was considering all sorts of things as fixes based in part on this thread, but decided to try the simplest solution first. I went over to the dealer after work yesterday and purchased another filler cap and O-ring, as I am sure the one I had was original, and got to thinking about deformation after a certain mileage.

I am glad I didn't decide upon the aftermarket screw-in solution which after taxes and shipping and duty and such would have been $90 cdn. The $15 cap and o-ring worked perfect. I knew from the moment I installed it that it was going to be fine, because it fit so much more snugly than the one it replaced.

Funny how a little problem like that can just irritate me until it's fixed.

R

julia rose, you didn't mention how many miles you have on your bike. Mine was an oil hog for about 18000 miles (it has 32000 on it now), then slowed considerably. I will need to buy another quart of Amzoil soon, as I have gone through the 1 extra quart I had left after the last oil change. It has been 4000 miles since that change, so they don't have to use oil, but all of them do before they are broken in. I ride mine pretty hard these days, I think that is one reason why mine is using less oil now, gotta get those rings seated. When I first bought mine I was amazed at how much oil it used, I was sure there was something wrong with the engine, but the dealer told me to wait and see, he was right.
Don