1150rt oil consumption/useage

[dc10bill]

about how much oil should one expect to consume/use between oil changes on a high mileage motor 100,000 ex -P? As recently aquired 1150RT-P oil went from top of bubble to middle in 1000 miles! Is this normal? Had dino oil! Just changed filter and used Mobil 1 15-50 so will keep eye on! Plugs look excellent, mostly short trips/shopping of less than 10 miles each way. 3 months for the 1000 miles!

Is just top overhaul OK on this model? rings, valve grind, guides check, or piston replacement?

[MIXR]

Grab your manual and find the section on checking oil levels. It is not an exact science on the R1150x engines! You may find that you are simply over-filling, and that the oil is just burning down to the correct level. If it keeps holding the mid-glass level, it's probably just an over-fill. If it keeps going lower, then it's a leak or other engine problem.

My money is on the over-fill. Did the same thing with mine for a while in my early ownership days. Hasn't burned a drop in over 110,000 kms since! Used a lot of oil in the first 30,000 kms though. Some was the typical BMW Boxer breaking-in thing, but a lot was me over-filling the damn thing. It kept burning back to the same point on the glass. Funny that.

[boxermania]

Welcome aboard. The topic has been discussd many times, in a nutshell:

The proper oil level is in the middle of the window.
Oil at the top of the window will be burned in the engine, not a desirable occurrence as carbon deposits will ensue faster.

To check the oil level:

After a ride, especially if the weather is temperate, set the bike on the side stand for at least 5 minutes, that allows for the oil in the il coolers to drain back into the cranckcase.

Then set the bike on the center stand (level ground) and let it sit for 5 minutes and check the oil level or you can check it the next morning. Add oil as required......

General consumption:

Once the engine is broken in correctly (wil assume that is the case with a Policxe bike) the consumption between oil changes will be nl or a few cc's between changes.

A well broken in engine with 100K miles should not consume more than 300cc (9-10 oz) of oil between oil changes (assume 3,000 mle change)

[KiwiRR]

Mine only has 53,000km on it so can't comment on 100K plus, but I was getting through half a sight glass over approx 1,800km. Interesting thing is that I was using full synthetic (Shell) from when I purchased the bike at 38,000 on the clock. Over the last year I've switched to dyno oil and interestingly the oil consumption has slowly dropped to the point where I don't need to refill between oil changes.

[riceburner]

My Rockster has 72,000 on the clock - still burns about 1.5 litres over 6000 miles or so.