Oil...again

[smiliebiker]

Well - where to start!

Get up - look out of window - glorious sunday - take the bike for a spin?

tyre pressures - check
Oil - quick spin - check - needs more - fill - check replace cap - check?
dog walk - check
get gear - check
money - check

Sorted - trip up to Devil's bridge - back road's - check
2 miles up road - what the F**K
oil all over bike - all over me - quick as poss pull over - no oil filler cap F**K it throws some oil out when the caps gone AWOL
Nice lady pulls over in car and ask if I dropped a cap 100 yds back - check.

Walked back and found the cap - fitted cap (properly) check

Back home - full clean of bike - change kit (oil all over the left leg!)
check oil - for some strange reason the bikes used at least 1/2 litre in less than 2 miles - fill again - fit cap properly again! check.

Some days things go wrong but fortunately no harm done (well apart from when I kicked myself!)

Back on road and had a wonderful run up to Kirby Lonsdale and back through some beautiful countryside.

[theseadog]

You'll see......

Sproggs forget it old chap, this is a fellow who doesn't appear to understand that aircooled engines have wider tolerances than water cooled machines, hence the .....

"It also states that maximum oil consumption is 1 litre per 1000km.
I had the read that over a few times and find it hard to believe that any manufacturer would consider this acceptable in the 21st century.
I have just bought a 2003 r1100s and if it even approaches that sort of consumption I won't be keeping it for long. I travelled 300,000 hard and fast miles on my last three bikes (2 x 130k ntvs and 40k 750VFR) and never needed topping up between 8000 miles changes. They were still not using oil when I sold them. "

shall we say, discourse !

Perhaps there are more people who don't know/understand/grasp the concept of air versus water and tolerance gaps, and more importantly why they differ; than we realise....... ?

Bedw --- best advice, take a deap breath and come back later with a willingness to listen to people who on the subject of boxers obviously have far greater experience. You'll find most members of this forum exceptionally helpfull and friendly, and if you really want to know why the engines use oil we'll explain that too If not then I'd suggest trying your troll anticts elsewhere, hopefully it'll be option 1 you'll choose and if so welcome to the group.


Toodle Pip

[Bedw]

I'll continue to evaluate whatever I ride as I have done for the last 45 years accepting that all bikes have good and not so good points. I reiterate that it is appalling that BMW cop out of their responsibilities by stating that 1 litre/1000km is acceptable. Hell, that means putting in half a litre at every other petrol stop. Tedious and time consuming to say nothing of the expense.
As to blaming the consumption on air cooling, of course all my Bonnevilles and Lightnings drank oil but never at that sort of rate however hard they were hammered. That however was 40 years ago on engines that had had little development since the fifties. My commandos however were not too bad on oil consumption.
If the committed one make enthusiasts accept this and even praise it, where is the incentive for BMW to improve. I'll ride anything but the attitude of "my brand is 100% perfect, all others are crap" is not for me. It seems to me that any criticism of any aspect of BMW motorcycles is taken personally by some members of this forum.

[Gromit]

It seems to me that any criticism of any aspect of BMW motorcycles is taken personally by some members of this forum.

Take a little look around some of the other forums on the www - I can guarantee you won't find many (if any) where the contributors are as honest and un-blinkered to a bike's faults as folk are on here. Whether we chose to accept those limitations/design quirks/faults (delete as applicable) is our own choice. I once dared to criticise my old VFR800 on the VFR Club site and got virtually ex-communicated.

The Boxer motors burn oil, that's a fact. So do Yamaha R1's and R6's. My old Harley Streetrod (ie the w/c 8-valver) used to burn oil like crazy when I first got it but that soon subsided once past 10k miles. A lot of the Boxer's oil consumption has also been put down to the method of running-in.

[Black Knight]

Thanks for earlier advice.

IIRC I've read the HD mneral oil is pretty good stuff?
Might ask a friend in Leeds to ferry some over for me.

[Gromit]

Thanks for earlier advice.

IIRC I've read the HD mneral oil is pretty good stuff?
Might ask a friend in Leeds to ferry some over for me.

The HD oil's fine - does the job no problems. I did an oil change on my BCR at 3000 miles (I sold it at 10.5k) using it and immediately noticed a decrease in engine noise and, over the next 1000 miles, slightly lower oil consumption. The oil seemed to stay cleaner in the sight glass aswell which was a surprise.

Tbh though, any good quality branded 20w50 mineral oil will be fine in the Boxer engine.

[Stevie]

...... I'll ride anything but the attitude of "my brand is 100% perfect, all others are crap" is not for me.

Great, then you'll fit right in here then. Anyone coming on here with that attitude will have a VERY hard time of it

It seems to me that any criticism of any aspect of BMW motorcycles is taken personally by some members of this forum.

It seems to me that it was more your lecturing, I-know-best style of post writing that was taken poorly rather than any criticisms that you made.

Like many others, I came on here to learn about my R1100S after many years of riding other marques (principally Yamaha) and it has been incredibly useful to me. Collectively, this forum contains a (probably) unique body of knowledge of how the R1100S works, warts and all. If you wish to learn, you will, if you wish to hector, do a search on BMW-Fahrer.

[theseadog]

Richard, horse water drink............


Can you add a do not feed the troll emoticon perhaps ? ? ?

[winger]

It seems to me that any criticism of any aspect of BMW motorcycles is taken personally by some members of this forum.

Take a little look around some of the other forums on the www - I can guarantee you won't find many (if any) where the contributors are as honest and un-blinkered to a bike's faults as folk are on here. Whether we chose to accept those limitations/design quirks/faults (delete as applicable) is our own choice. I once dared to criticise my old VFR800 on the VFR Club site and got virtually ex-communicated.

The Boxer motors burn oil, that's a fact. So do Yamaha R1's and R6's. My old Harley Streetrod (ie the w/c 8-valver) used to burn oil like crazy when I first got it but that soon subsided once past 10k miles. A lot of the Boxer's oil consumption has also been put down to the method of running-in.

Ditto on all of the above,infact i'd take exception to ever being biased about my S!!!!,have a look at some of my postings,my new job,e'r did a say job,well you know what i mean takes me all over the place,picked up 25,000 grands worth of custom bike down in Wiltshire today,he deals mostly with SS engines,had an interesting chat about oil,he stocks Morris they do a V Twin 20/50 and a 10/40 semi syn,but trotted out the the old one liner which i used for years in my FJ1200's for years Turbo Diesel oil!!!.

[theseadog]

Foook,

he's in trouble now, he's riled the brummie mafia ....

[Bedw]

It seems to me that it was more your lecturing, I-know-best style of post writing that was taken poorly rather than any criticisms that you made.

I've read thru all the to & fro with Sproggy from the start and I reckon it weren't I wot was lecturing. The criticisms I made were personal opinions about the bike but I had the temerity to disagree with him on one small technical point. Nitpicking perhaps but it certainly earned a bucketful of condescension.

[gus]

Bedw
Look mate,you,ve asked some questions about your new S and got some good honest replies.However in the words of mr reeves and mr mortimer "you wouldnt let it lie"
Take or leave the advice and explanations,its your choice.But dont go start winding people up.We are (mostly )a nice bunch on here and like to help anybody who has a query or problem.
For someone who has been riding and maintaining bikes for 45 years you should know that you learn a great deal by listening to people who have been there before.
all the best
gus