BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Because of my initial problem with burning oil (half quart after 220 miles) I spoke with both my salesman (who owns a '99 R1150R) and my technician. Both gave me an "unofficial" suggestion; to run the bike with a "full load" periodically, taking the RPM's up to about 5,500 (but not for more than a short burst). And other than that, keep the RPM's at about, or maybe a little over 4k. They claim that the motor will break-in and rings will seat faster that way.

Are you guys farmiliar with this "unofficial" break-in?


Harry

Harry, I've not heard of that. Maybe some of the mechanical gurus out there will reply........

I've owned 19 Beemers since 1976: Fifteen were twins and the other four were K-Bikes. Most were new and most of the used ones had less than 3-4k miles. I broke in every one of them using the method that you have described. All of them quit using oil between 8-11k miles. For the last 15 years, I have used nothing but synthetic oil in the bikes. Never a leak and they have broken in just like the ones that had dino oil. Never had a problem.

I first learned of this method from a BMW mechanic who owned a dealership when I bought my first Beemer (R90S). I've met many a BMW rider who has used this same method and have read quite a few posts on BMW slanted internet sites re. using this method so it's a pretty well-known method that has been used by a lot of riders for a long time.
Good luck.

Because of my initial problem with burning oil (half quart after 220 miles) I spoke with both my salesman (who owns a '99 R1150R) and my technician. Both gave me an "unofficial" suggestion; to run the bike with a "full load" periodically, taking the RPM's up to about 5,500 (but not for more than a short burst). And other than that, keep the RPM's at about, or maybe a little over 4k. They claim that the motor will break-in and rings will seat faster that way.

Yes, that is the way to do a run in of your Boxer Beemer. The rings have to hone themselves against the very hard cylinder walls. As the combustion pressure increases, (higher throttle settings) the ring/piston design increases the lateral pressure of the rings against the cylinder walls. The brief run up at high throttle settings ( big putts,ie hi combustion pressures) followed by reducing throttle allows the rings to properly seat with out creating any hot spots in your new engine. This method is most valuable in the earlier part of the run in process, after 100 miles briefly touch 6K RPM with a high throttle setting in the first 5 gears. I usually change my oil the first time at about the 200 mile mark, no need to change the filter at this time. Those who baby their Beemer engine during this time burn more oil for a longer period and cause thicker carbon deposites in the combustion chamber resulting in pinging. My R1150R, never surged, never used oil, did not ping and ran extremely well. My R1200ST runs the same as well.

I switched my R1150R to Mobil 1 15/50 Synthetic at 6,000 miles and my R1200ST at 4,700 miles. Don't belive the old wives tale of waiting to switch to Synth at some high milage.

The best thing that you can do for your Boxer is a good old fashion West Texas Tune UP.

Another important point, no need to keep your engine at some elevated RPM, ie 4,000 or so. Running at this higher RPM in lower gears with a very light throttle setting insures very hard carbon build up in the combustion chamber, unneccessarly hot running and glazing of the Cylinder walls, read high oil consumption and pinging andsurging on the single spark models. You can run the Beemer Oilhead and Hexhead Boxer engines at 1,500 RPM all day in up to 5th gear with out any harm, remember, "Lugging" is low R's with high throttle settings, not just low R's.

Deans BMW wrote:

....
Another important point, no need to keep your engine at some elevated RPM, ie 4,000 or so. Running at this higher RPM in lower gears with a very light throttle setting insures very hard carbon build up in the combustion chamber, unneccessarly hot running and glazing of the Cylinder walls, read high oil consumption and pinging andsurging on the single spark models. You can run the Beemer Oilhead and Hexhead Boxer engines at 1,500 RPM all day in up to 5th gear with out any harm, remember, "Lugging" is low R's with high throttle settings, not just low R's.

Wot???
A voice of reason??
What about all those dudes who say '....spin it up to redline regularly' or
'...I do twisties at 5000~6000rpm all day long' (what gear are THEY in, I wonder?) or '...ride around the surge (does this exist??) by dropping a gear and raising your revs...'
or such advice.
I'm not one them, mind you...I run consistently in 3000~4500rpm range (the sweet spot, I feel), occasionally touching 5000 when I shift. I accell hard, but get to a higher gear asap to stay in the sweet range. Never as low as 1500 unless accelerating from a stop, but that's just me.
Thanx, Dean...

Next time I buy a new bike (I have my eye on the 2010 R1200R ), I am going to follow Dean's advice. Unfortunately, I bought mine used and it has suffered some oil use, now greatly diminished.

I just got back from a 60 mile ride and blasted her briefly a few times just as I did yesterday. I got her up to 95mph in sixth gear at about 5,800rpm and then *quickly* brought it back down to 4k.

I didn't see any smoke on start-up today and the oil level has remained ALMOST unchanged from yesterday. I've got just over 350 miles on it now and maybe it's just my imagination, but the engine's already feeling less "congested" and more alive! I'll continue with this new routine.

You guys have given me some great information. Thanks a million!

jm1515, I understand what you are saying...........however.........you will find that running your bike that way will increase any potential combustion chamber deposites. This engine is perfectly happy to run at red line all day with good airflow across the cylinders. You just need to understand what you are doing. Slow speeds thru town or whatever especially on a hot summer day are perfectly fine and in fact are best for keeping the engine temp down, 30 MPH in traffic should be in a gear to keep the revs 1500 to 2500 will result in keeping the engine cool. playing Go Fast all day at 5,000 RPM to the rev limiter is equally all right. Riding as I described will get the maximum life, serviceability, lowest oil, consumption and least problems. when putting down a country road smelling the flowers at say 55 MPH snick it up into 6th, all will be right with the world.

Now just to be clear, playing Go Fast with the R1150 or R1100 engine rearely creates a situation where you hit the rev limiter as the engine power drops off at about the 6,500 to 7,000 RPM range so you usually shift in that range. The ST on the other hand is a different animal with the power bump comming on strong at about 6,200 R's and not deminishing until the rev limiter is hit at 8,300 RPM. So when playing Go Fast with the ST or even more so on the up comming R1200S you hit the revlimiter all the time as the power never drops off. My ST at 8,000 ft elevation will easily hit the rev limiter in 6th gear.

The engines that garner the most complaints and problems are, I hate to say, the ones thar are run similar to yours. By the way, the sweet spot on the R1150R engine is 5,200 to 6,000, but don't do that when just traveling slow. The cam rush on the R1150R/GS engine begins at 5,200 and extends to about 6,500 to 6,600 R's on a stock engine.

I'm not one them, mind you...I run consistently in 3000~4500rpm range (the sweet spot, I feel), occasionally touching 5000 when I shift. I accell hard, but get to a higher gear asap to stay in the sweet range. Never as low as 1500 unless accelerating from a stop, but that's just me.

When you have a chance, ask Pat how he ran his RR and how many miles it had when he sold it and what condition his motor was in.

Harry, sounds like you are doing it correctly.

Just ride it .......Its that simple.

jm1515.....I guess by your definition I'm one of hose dudes.....and as such I feel the need to clear the air.

Let me sufice to say that internal combustion and rotating equipment are the essence of my life, I live and breathe the stuff.....no, I'm not a know it all but when I provide my oppinion it is based either on technical fact of personal experience.

My personal goal, regarding this board is to get owners more intimately familiar with their bikes which not only will enhance their riding experience but might save them some agravation in the future. I'm sure that thosemembers that have met me personally or I have interacted with via this board can attest to the above.

That being said.......everything that Dean said is true to a T.....specially hitting the rev limiter, on a well tuned Boxer,those revs come up fairly quickly......

My bike ceased to consume excessive amounts of oli at 5700 miles, as a matter of fact right after the Beakster Bash I, where we ran our bikes in the Deals Gap and Cherohala Highway area of TN.

Technically speaking the Boxers, being air cooled and based on their design do not have a constantl temperature gradient from the front to the rear of the cylinder as a water cooled engine would. This instance makes for the cylinder not to be a perfect circle and so will be the piston, hence the potential for some oil to get past the rings.......this is what Dean and other of the knowledgeable/experienced folks that lurk this site, like CYCLEROB, darthrider, Dallara, New2BMW, Pat , etc alude to on their posts.

Yes, the Boxers will carbon up, see CYCLEROB's 47 k mile teardown, the key is how you run them and what you run through them......have you heard of Sea Foam, MMO, Techron.....well the prudent addition of these components to your gasoline and the proper running of your bike will greatly inhibit the process of carbonization.

To add a bit to Deans recomendation, make mine "run yoour bike like you stole it" you will be pleasently surprised as to how the bike's running will improve......good luck........and happy riding.......

the secret of the HARD BREAK IN is that the bike MOST BE FULLY WARMED UP!(at least 20 minutes) and then 5 to 6 hard full thoroddle in 3rd gear and then ride normal the rest of you ride,,you do that maybe 5x and your done!

Dean -

"Lugging" is low R's with high throttle settings, not just low R's.

You know, I never thought of the difference but that explains it well.

And Dean, thanks also for the reference to the synthetic oil. I am thinking of making the switch and if the Mobil 1 is good enough for you, it is good enough for me. Saves me a search!

Vann, thanks for the kind words. Chris at San Jose BMW is also a believer of Mobil 1 Synthetic. When I switched over at 4,700 miles on my R1200ST, oil consumption went up for about 500 miles then settled down to the point of adding no oil between changes at between 4 and 5,500 miles.

Deans BMW wrote:Vann, thanks for the kind words. Chris at San Jose BMW is also a believer of Mobil 1 Synthetic. When I switched over at 4,700 miles on my R1200ST, oil consumption went up for about 500 miles then settled down to the point of adding no oil between changes at between 4 and 5,500 miles.

So, you guys have me pondering the synthetic switch. My bike has just under 10k miles and it burns a bit still, well within the normal range. My question is why switch t synthetic? What are the advantages and disadvantages considering the oil gets changed every 6k miles.

Granpa Hoon:

Quick update: I just got back fro another 100 mile jaunt in 39 degree weather here in Maryland and as you suggested, I touched 6k briefly in gears 1 thru 5...and even in 6th(grin). Other than those short bursts, I kept the RPM's mostly below 3k and continued varying throttle settings throughout.

She blew NO smoke on cold start up today and I've lost no oil in the last 200 miles:-)))

P.S. Is there any particular mileage you suggest that I use an additive to prevent carbon built up, ie: "sea foam" etc.?

Keep the breeze to the knees.

Silverr

For the sake of simplicity let's just say that Synthetic oil adheres better to the metal internals of the engine, providing not only added protection but a slicker contact surface, hence less friction, heat, wear, etc......

Our riding group runs Royal Purple, on just about everything......no, don't do it on wet clutch applications........and the cost just avaerages out because we run the Synthetic twice the miles of the organic or 6000 miles.

We start the season on a fresh oil change, change it if we go past 6000 miles, if not we change it again at the begining of the season......sounds kind of weird but several of us ride more than one bike.....it just works for us.

Another point to add to the excellent write ups by boxermania is the fact that with a cold soaked engine, the bike cranks and starts up easier.

Re, my practice on engine additives, one, the way that I operate my Boxers leads to minimal combustion chamber build ups and two, I occasionaly use Chevron gas that has Techroline.

On the other hand, you can add gas additives at any time

Grandpa Hoon, Boxermania et al:

Thanks.

There's one very important thing these accelerated break-ins seem to overlook. Overlook hell. They completely IGNORE it. The weakest link in the new engine's heavy throttle and high RPM quickee break-in. It's the connecting rod bearings. When new, the clearance involves a perfectly round connecting rod crank journal and a not so round 2 piece rod bearing made of soft materials. These surfaces must not be overloaded with prolonged heavy throttle or any kind of high RPM's. The high RPM's generate lots of heat on the thin as ever bearing surface oil film and the thin film's flow may not be able to carry the heat away. The thin oil film overheats, breaks down, then the bearing parts touch and there is rapid bearing material removal. The oil clearance is much larger now. This is why the OEM's say to take it easy according to the Owner's Manual. The high and rough surfaces must be lightly polished down slowly by the light throttle and under 4,000 RPM restrictions. If the fast and quick way worked, ALL the OEM's would provide a detailed description of how to do it. Listen to the hot idle of a "broken in fast" engine. It'll be a little bit (or a lot) noisier than one broken in like BMW said to. See all the glitter in the first oil change's pan bottom. Yes, the noisy, loose motor will also make more HP, but . . . . it's service life was worn away fast when the break-in was accelerated. Break-in miles are not all about the piston rings.