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

Coming from an F650GS that just never really used much oil, I got used to checking the F's sight glass before a ride and finding it at least half way, and full for quite some time, after an oil change.

Now, I've got the R and it seems to be using oil or else the checking procedure is a bit different, at least between my two bikes.

I've done a search and some others have suggested topping off with oil before a ride so I am wondering if that is the recommended procedure or is it best to run a while, then check the sight glass? I'm aware that just hopping off after a good warm up run will certainly put oil in the sight glass and distribute it throughout, so I'm really wondering about the oil level when cold, before a ride.

Those oil coolers seem to be the major culprit here in this issue. I think the oil gets trapped up there if the bike has been run to temp and then shut off for a minute and then started back up. If you want to check it after a hot run, be careful you don't forget and start it up to move it, as in away from a gas pump, etc. It just won't read accurately this way.

Check it hot and about 5 minutes after being put on the center stand....on level ground. I noticed after my last change, it was above the center dot. Then after running it, I had to add another third quart or so. And mine has 48K on it. I don't think it was burning it that fast. This has been the most annoying thing about this bike...The oil checking discrepancies.

Boxer wrote:Those oil coolers seem to be the major culprit here in this issue. I think the oil gets trapped up there if the bike has been run to temp and then shut off for a minute and then started back up. If you want to check it after a hot run, be careful you don't forget and start it up to move it, as in away from a gas pump, etc. It just won't read accurately this way.

Check it hot and about 5 minutes after being put on the center stand....on level ground. I noticed after my last change, it was above the center dot. Then after running it, I had to add another third quart or so. And mine has 48K on it. I don't think it was burning it that fast. This has been the most annoying thing about this bike...The oil checking discrepancies.

My current concern is that I took a nice long ride last Sunday, stopped 20-30 min. for dinner, then rode about 5 miles home. Parked her in the garage and did not check oil level till several hours later. At that point, there was really no oil in the signt glass. On the previous weekend's ride, there seemed to be plently of oil, well over half in the sight glass, so I cannot imagine burning that much oil.

I guess I'm wonderin' if I should put some oil in it before starting it up again.

Put it on the sidestand, or lean it over to the side and see if the sight glass is full when you do that. If you see oil in the sight glass when it leans over a little, then it's oaky to ride until it gets hot again for a proper check. The oil may be up in the coolers still, after just riding for 5 miles.

I think it's probably better to ride it this way than to put more in and discover you've overfilled.

Until mine stopped using so much at breakin, I had a systematic ritual of checking the oil the same way each time. Ride the bike til it's VERY hot. At least 20 or 30 minutes. Stop and sidestand it for 3 minutes or so. Put it up on the centerstand. Wait 10 more minutes and check it. Do it this way, each and every time, and you'll get a consistent reading.

what does putting it on the sidestand do?

how long is too long to wait after getting it hot to check the oil on the centerstand?

would it be a problem if it is overfilled a little?

i think the hardest part seems to be judging how much frickin oil to put in judging by how much is on the sightglass. maybe some marks would be hgelpfull like on a dipstick?

drevil wrote:what does putting it on the sidestand do?

how long is too long to wait after getting it hot to check the oil on the centerstand?

would it be a problem if it is overfilled a little?

i think the hardest part seems to be judging how much frickin oil to put in judging by how much is on the sightglass. maybe some marks would be hgelpfull like on a dipstick?

Only the devil knows. These have been asked before and you will get as many answers as there are members.

Sidestand is said to drain the oil coolers so there is no oil locked in the system. I ignore this and only check my oil cool before I ride. It works for me and I think the thing is to always do it the same way.

Over filling as far as I'm conserned the only problem is wasting oil. It will use more if you fill higher than the middle spot on the sight glass.

To comment on your oil level after a ride, You do have to keep an eye on it because it can go down quick. A long fast ride seems to be the worst

This business about the proper way to check the oil seems odd to me.
What is the difference in oil level between a bike that has been ridden to temp, stopped, check the glass 15 minutes afterwards and a bike that is bone cold? Seems to me that the oil level isn't going to be much different between the 2, as oil will have fallen from the coolers in both cases.
A fully cold bike should show the same level as a semi-cooled bike unless I am missing something.
As for me, I check it cold. If its under half the glass, I put some in.
Putting a full 4 quarts in when changing the oil will put the level above the glass. The manual states the capacity as 4 qts.
I think all this oil fixation is just our inner German Engineer crying for help.

I check the sight glass before a ride, If I see ANY oil in the glass I go for the ride, If i see no oil I add 8 oz this always ( i do not know why) puts the oil in the center of the sight glass. Also I would like to say my "R" was still using oil at about 18 K( I did not think a bike of this quality should continue to use oil) and it was starting to get to me, so I said the he-- with it and started rideing it like hard, I hate to say it, but I pounded on it, I never did really "baby" the bike, but I was getting tired of the "ritual" of checking the oil, I am of the opinion these bikes have to be broken in "hard". It seemed to help, as it is using very little now. Den

I just checked mine and it has oil. Not only do I not know how much to put in there I have no idea what grade it uses! Just to complicate things a little more...the last service said semi-synthetic so I guess I have to buy the same to top it up. Now I know why the label on the bars says to check oil levels before every ride.

the owners manual does state specifically to check on centerstand hot after letting it sit 5 minutes or something like that doesn't it?

The manual indeed states that. My question is: is the reading after 5 minutes any different than the reading after 15 minutes? 30 minutes? 2 hours?
Is there an oil goblin hiding in the coolers whose job it is to fool us into thinking we have more or less oil than we do? And he sleeps for exactly one minute after the bike has cooled for 5 minutes so we can get an accurate reading only then, and only for that minute?
Seems odd to me is all.

Wass wrote:The manual indeed states that. My question is: is the reading after 5 minutes any different than the reading after 15 minutes? 30 minutes? 2 hours?
Is there an oil goblin hiding in the coolers whose job it is to fool us into thinking we have more or less oil than we do? And he sleeps for exactly one minute after the bike has cooled for 5 minutes so we can get an accurate reading only then, and only for that minute?
Seems odd to me is all.

The reason you want to do the oil dance when the oil is warm is that cold oil will contract (thicken up), & appear to have a lower volume in the sight glass.
This may lead to an anally-inacurate reading, and could lead to to overfilling.

JM -
I'll keep an eagle eye out for that .5mm in difference from expansion.

My R has been "using" for all of its 70000km. I understand that there is a risk of engine damage if the oil level is too high so I never never overfill. I don't worry so much about the level in glass being low or even invisible for a few days. Owners of air-cooled VWs will remember the same issue - I happily ran my 72 beetle low on oil but I wouldn't even start the engine if the level was too high.

To get an accurate read when the level is lowish I put the bike on the sidestand when the engine is hot (or leave it on the sidestand overnight). I then normally can see the oil above half way. Then I gently bring the bike closer to upright by pushing on the left grip whilst squatting next to the bike. This way I can see where the oil is at when the bike is close to vertical. This is best done on level ground and the bike must be in gear.

Tom

With 8000 miles on my bike, it still uses some oil. I bought the bike new a year ago and have only put two quarts in it total between oil changes. The service manager and mechanic at the shop I go to told me not to lug the engine at all and that it would help if I shifted around 5000 5500rpm, not 4000 like I was. This did help. Revving higher than this though seems to almost increase the use. I also have taken to arriving home from a ride and leaving the bike on the side stand while I get my gear off and put it away. By the time this is all done and I have grabbed a drink, about 5-10 minutes have passed and then I put the bike on the center stand, let it sit for a minute and it seems I get a much better reading, more consistent day to day. It seems that leaving it on the side stand for a few minutes gives the oil a direciton to go out of the coolers. Mechanic also told me that oil will expand some when hot, that is why they want it checked hot, so you dont put too much cold oil in and then have it expand and cause problems later.

My 2 cents, works for me.

Thanks for the many helpful replies. I felt better this evening as I took the R off the center stand and on to the side stand as I was installing a small tankbag. I then checked the glass and the sight glass was just about completely black. This is still cold, so I guess oil can get "stuck" in the oil coolers and putting on its side stand allows it to run down and the sight glass looks normal again. I took it out for a short ride of about an hour or less, stopped to buy a quart of oil at the auto shop, drove home and put 'er on the center stand, as is my habit. I'll check it again tomorrow and expect to see the same "empty" sight glass until I get it on the side stand.

Still, I feel a lot better having asked and gotten many mostly consistent views, not to mention relief that it was not burning all that oil.

With the risk of starting an old debate... I have 2004 with about 9000 miles... and I run it hard every time I take it out.

I follow the side-stand-for-10-to-30-minutes-hot-then-center-stand procedure, and get very consistent site glass readings every time.

I dont follow the conventional wisdom regarding filling to the half sight glass level, however. I tried half way, and also top of site glass (never over fill!), many times in the past (no longer), and have noticed absolutely no difference in oil consumption whether I fill it to the top or mid section.

Others?

all the info in this thread was super helpful to me. i recently bought an 02 r1150r. it had about 7,500 miles on it when i bought and i've put almost 3,000 on it. before, i had a '73 r60/5 and obviously checked the oil with a dip stick so getting used to the sight glass is taking some time.

right after i bought the bike i took it in to the dealer and had it serviced, including oil change. i've only tried to check the sight glass when the bike is cold and on the center stand but i have to say, i'm not sure if i see any oil in there. the window is pretty dirty and i haven't had much luck cleaning it but this weekend i tried to check it and i'm pretty sure there's no oil to be seen. since buying it, i've checked the oil here and there before riding and have always been a bit uncomfortable with what i see (or don't see) in the window. even shortly after having it serviced i checked the oil and thought i didn't see any but brushed off my concern because i had just had it serviced.

from reading the posts in this thread it seems typical that the bike will need topping off. if i have concerns that bike is low on oil, how much should i start off putting in the bike to top it off?

Jason wrote:all the info in this thread was super helpful to me. i recently bought an 02 r1150r. it had about 7,500 miles on it when i bought and i've put almost 3,000 on it. before, i had a '73 r60/5 and obviously checked the oil with a dip stick so getting used to the sight glass is taking some time.

right after i bought the bike i took it in to the dealer and had it serviced, including oil change. i've only tried to check the sight glass when the bike is cold and on the center stand but i have to say, i'm not sure if i see any oil in there. the window is pretty dirty and i haven't had much luck cleaning it but this weekend i tried to check it and i'm pretty sure there's no oil to be seen. since buying it, i've checked the oil here and there before riding and have always been a bit uncomfortable with what i see (or don't see) in the window. even shortly after having it serviced i checked the oil and thought i didn't see any but brushed off my concern because i had just had it serviced.

from reading the posts in this thread it seems typical that the bike will need topping off. if i have concerns that bike is low on oil, how much should i start off putting in the bike to top it off?

Jason: per my message above, it is important to let the bike rest on the side stand. I was in the habit of coming off a ride and garaging the R, on the center stand. That seems to allow the oil to stay in the oil coolers and not flow down to where you can get an accurate reading on the sight glass. When you put it on the side stand, that oil then runs down, apparently, for a more accurate reading. Also, if your sight glass seems very dark and you are unable to read it, it might be that it is totally full. It is pretty obvious when you see the oil level in the sight glass but if it is totally full, you might not see the top of the oil in the sight glass.

Hope this helps. This thread is indeed helpful.

Boxer wrote:...This has been the most annoying thing about this bike...The oil checking discrepancies.

I could not agree more. This is the ONLY thing bothering me about the 'R'. If that was not an issue though, I'm pretty sure I'd look for something else to piss me off. Maybe the seat??