R1200 Smoking

[tpfeffer]

I have a new-to-me 2013 R1200RT I purchased with 3,500 miles, that now has just over 6,000 miles. I was at the BMW Rally in Paonia a week ago. All was fine, with one exception. On Saturday we went for a spirited 200 mile route in the mountains that ended with a sprint on the interstate. After cooling down, we drove to eat. On starting the bike following dinner, oil colored blue/white smoke billowed out the left exhaust exhaust pipe.

 

During dinner, the bike was on its sidestand. I know that this can happen on old airheads left on their sidestand and has rarely happened to me on my 1983 R100RS. This has never happened to my knowledge during 14 years on my 2000 R1100. It is more than a little disconcerting that it happened on a "new" but well broken in 2013 model.

 

Oil and filter was changed just prior to the Rally and one time earlier by the dealer at about 3500 miles. My change was motorcycle grade Valvoline 20w-50 with BMW oil filter.

 

So, the question (finally!!) is has anyone else had this smoking experience?

[dirtrider]

Morning Tom

 

See if it does it again.

 

A few possibilities.

 

One-- is, with bike on side stand, & L/H piston out towards TDC, some hot thin oil ran past the piston rings.

 

Or, with that spirited riding your engine blew a little oil out the breather (rear of L/H cyl head) & that oil in the air box ran down the L/H intake tube when parked on side stand.

 

Or, you had a slightly dripping fuel injector that dripped into one of the cylinders when hot parked.

 

Neither something to worry about useless it happens often.

[mneblett]

It is more than a little disconcerting that it happened on a "new" but well broken in 2013 model.

An R12 with 6K on it is just *beginning* to break in -- they often go 15K-18K before they stop using significant oil between changes. And the more you baby the motor, the longer it will take to complete break in.

 

I suspect Dirt Rider nailed it -- hot oil, rings not fully seated -- I'm not surprised to hear some oil smoke emerged. Absent other signs (bad mechanical noises, truly excessive oil consumption (1qt./1K mi.), etc.), this individual episode should not be a concern.

[Dave_in_TX]

An R12 with 6K on it is just *beginning* to break in -- they often go 15K-18K before they stop using significant oil between changes. (1qt./1K mi.), etc.)

 

My 2007 and 2011 R12s were well past the point of any significant oil usage at 6K. The long break-in period was a characteristic of the earlier oilheads

[eddd]

My R1100RT did that 3 times over its 175,000 miles. With such a small sample it is hard to detect any pattern, but I don't recall any unusual circumstance that could account for the times it smoked. We are not alone in this situation. It has come up before with no consensus as to a cause.

[mneblett]

An R12 with 6K on it is just *beginning* to break in -- they often go 15K-18K before they stop using significant oil between changes. (1qt./1K mi.), etc.)

 

My 2007 and 2011 R12s were well past the point of any significant oil usage at 6K. The long break-in period was a characteristic of the earlier oilheads

My 2005 & 2006 K12LT's and 2009 and 2012 R12RT's continued to consume diminishing amounts of oil well past 10K -- and I didn't baby the motors.

 

I suspect individual experiences are somewhat meaningless, but that does not matter in this context: my point was that at only 3500 miles, the engine is not yet "well broken-in."

[lkchris]

An R12 with 6K on it is just *beginning* to break in -- they often go 15K-18K before they stop using significant oil between changes. (1qt./1K mi.), etc.)

 

My 2007 and 2011 R12s were well past the point of any significant oil usage at 6K. The long break-in period was a characteristic of the earlier oilheads

My 2005 & 2006 K12LT's and 2009 and 2012 R12RT's continued to consume diminishing amounts of oil well past 10K -- and I didn't baby the motors.

 

I suspect individual experiences are somewhat meaningless, but that does not matter in this context: my point was that at only 3500 miles, the engine is not yet "well broken-in."

 

In the 21st century it's fairly safe to assume engines come from the factory broken in.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_break-in

http://www.crxsi.com/info/engine-mechanical/Plateau-Cylinder-Bore-Finishes.htm

 

I once saw a BMW M5 new on a showroom floor with an additional window sticker ... "one of first 10 in USA: + $10,000."

 

Do you suppose the guy that bought that or bought a new $100K + AMG Mercedes or new Porsche 911 wants to wait X miles before he uses any of the performance? Not in the 21st century. When I observed in person a new AMG 6.3 V8 being built in 2006, the next step after the assembler affixed his personal signature plate was a trip to a cell where the engine was attached to an electric motor to spin it up for testing. It was then broken in. These motors come with full synthetic motor oil factory filled.

 

Lot of BMW guys are lost in the 1950s, but am pretty sure BMW isn't.

 

My Camhead got full synthetic at 6K miles and isn't excessively consuming oil.

[soggybottom]

K 1100's and 750's did the side stand oil drip into cyl's. I often wondered why BMW didn't put the head on the right side, it would never smoke with that arrangement on the side stand. Of course the only cure for a boxer is center stand.

[dirtrider]

Afternoon Kent

 

Break-In is still in the BMW riders manual-- So BMW doesn't seem to think they come pre broken in (BMW calls it run-in).

 

[tallman]

This.

 

And while some might say it is CYA lawyerspeak, I think

BMW has a reason for this POV.

 

Seems we will always have the break it in per manual

or RILYSI POV.

 

[mneblett]

In the 21st century it's fairly safe to assume engines come from the factory broken in.

 

...

 

When I observed in person a new AMG 6.3 V8 being built in 2006, the next step after the assembler affixed his personal signature plate was a trip to a cell where the engine was attached to an electric motor to spin it up for testing. It was then broken in. These motors come with full synthetic motor oil factory filled.

 

Lot of BMW guys are lost in the 1950s, but am pretty sure BMW isn't.

Using that standard, engines have been "run-in" for decades (certainly since "the 1950's"), at a minimum as the completed vehicles are driven from the assembly line to/from storage lots and transporters.

 

While a short run, either on the stand or in the vehicle, may knock off the roughest edges in an engine, that doesn't mean the engine is completely broken-in. Alternatively stated, doing an additional few minutes of engine-stand running may improve product quality by catching detects early, and may let the manufacturer tell a customer they can hammer the engine from day one, but that does *not* mean that all of the engines parts have completed "mating" to one another, a process that can take several thousand miles, even with the best of today's engines.

 

The only real differences between the 1950's and now are better lubricants, better filtration, better materials (e.g., Nikasil and harder, lighter rings) and tighter tolerances produced by improvements in design and machining capability -- none of which magically create instant or near-instant mating/conforming of parts to one another.

 

Some of us may have a toe back in the 1950's, but we also don't have our heads in the sand.

[6speedTi]

Remember that the boxer engine is a air cooled engine. It has looser tolerances than a normal 100% water cooled. And before someone says the 2014 is water cooled.... The boxer engine is still primarily air cooled. The liquid medium for supplemental cooling was exchanged from oil to ethylene glycol. Of course the newer design is improved from the previous and so was the camhead prior to hexhead and oilhead. So if bmw recommends a specific break in procedure and recommends non synthetic oil during the break in period so be it. BMW did design and build the engine. One would think they would be the final authority on the break in recommendations.