Low Oil

[Ken H.]

Jeez, I can't believe how guys get so wrapped around the axle over this subject.

Indeed.

 

See oil = ride bike.

[killervache]

Holy crap man, even though I'm new, here:

 

A. Thank the Lord for an excellent dealer (Adventure BMW, Chesapeake, VA). The salesman (and owner) told me more than enough about the bike, including the fact that it would make some noises when starting off (ABS calibration he said) and would loose oil probably until around 15K.

 

B. To my knowledge, the oil cooler has a valve in it (like a thermostat in a car) that does not allow the oil in it to pass it unless it reaches a certain temperature. If the bike gets warm enough, it will stay open shortly after shutoff and allow the oil in the cooler to drain back into the sump, whether it's put on the side stand first or not. If the bike is not completely warm (read "hot"), then the valve will close shortly after shutoff and not allow all oil to return into the sump, which I suppose could make the sidestand method useful in more quickly funneling the oil back down in such a situation. Either way, the oil cooler works great, so good luck overheating the thing. I get my bike nice and hot and put it on my level garage floor ASAP on the centerstand. then wait the 5 minutes.

 

C. "Proper" break-in can take longer for some bikes. Assuming the first 1000 miles are done according to the manual in order to seat the rings, break in cams, etc., that's the most you may be able to do. If your bike is a daily rider (mine is), alot will depend on what kind of riding you do more of (city/highway) and the environment that you ride in. Hence, a guy that rides mostly highway in Texas will have different results from someone in Chicago that rides a fair amount of city.

 

Finally, I agree with the don't fret your panties solution. These bikes area absolutely built like rocks, otherwise you wouldn't see them going 250,000+ miles when maintained properly. Like has been said more than once, and how I was told originally when I bought my bike, "If there's oil in the glass, ride all day".

 

Sorry, I'm new, is this much allowed? Hah.

[Bob Palin]

To my knowledge, the oil cooler has a valve in it (like a thermostat in a car) that does not allow the oil in it to pass it unless it reaches a certain temperature. If the bike gets warm enough, it will stay open shortly after shutoff and allow the oil in the cooler to drain back into the sump

Correct

whether it's put on the side stand first or not.

Incorrect, the oil will not drain from the cooler when on the centre stand whether the valve is open or not, remember it's pumped through the cooler, doesn't rely on gravity.

Either way, the oil cooler works great, so good luck overheating the thing.

Incorrect, just sit in LA traffic for 15 minutes on a 90 degree day - red zone, the oil cooler doesn't do anything if you are not moving regularly. Synthetic oil fixed that for me though I'm not exactly clear on why.

 

Welcome to the board, interesting user name

[DavidEBSmith]

To my knowledge, the oil cooler has a valve in it (like a thermostat in a car) that does not allow the oil in it to pass it unless it reaches a certain temperature.

 

Well, it depends. The early 1100 RTs had a thermostat in the oil cooler system, which provided a place to trap oil. There was a check valve that was there on some models, and not on others. The RT-P models may be different. I think the design got changed again on the 1150 RTs. The oil-trapping problem decreased with later models, but there's still the potential. If you look under the fairing on the RT, the oil cooler is the highest point in the oil system (unless you have the thermostat, then I believe that's higher).

 

Here's a picture (from A&S' parts fiche) that shows the old oil cooling system:

 

 

You can see that's there's lots of hoses and places for oil to get trapped. It was especially a problem if you put the bike on the centerstand immediately after stopping, so that the thermostat and oil cooler were horizontal. It's like the experiment in science class where you fill a U-tube with liquid and turn it upside down and the liquid doesn't come out, because the air pressure is equal on the two ends of the tube. If you leave the bike on the sidestand for a while, so that the oil cooler and thermostat are tilted, the oil tends to drain out better.

 

Post 12/97, the thermostat (#11) and the associated oil lines went away, and the oil-trapping problem started getting better.

 

As a slight aside, you'll most likely find that you use less oil if you ignore it and fill it up when it gets a quart low, than if you constantly add little bits of oil to keep the level in the middle of the sight glass or above. The Oilheads like to blow excess oil into the airbox, so every time you add that 1/4 liter to top it up, it may blow half of it away. If the oil level's a little bit low, it tends not to get blown away. For a long time I kept adding a little bit here and there and thought the bike was using oil because I was adding a little bit every other time I rode the bike. Then when I got the gospel of "oil in the sight glass, just ride it", I stopped adding little bits, and suddenly I almost never had to add any oil between changes.

[Bob Atkinson]

David

 

Great post! To clear up one point. "As long as you can see Oil in site glass just ride it." This is while the Bike is on the side stand, correct?

[Marty Hill]

That's it. I am so confused that I will not ride anymore...today!

[Tom R.]

[killervache]

Awesome. Thank you Killer and David.

 

Wasn't sure about the oil cooler and drain back, that's why I said "to my knowledge", so I really appreciate proper technical responses. I'm more anal about knowing exactly what's going on and not some scatterbrained guesswork version of it. After all, these are machines that run on the same principles as everything else in the universe.

 

As far overheating and the synthetic, I believe it. Different heat transfer/breakdown properties, but if I'm in stopped traffic and the gauge starts going too high I'll turn it off (I don't get that much here anyway). I meant overheating it on the move, should have clarified, sorry.

 

Thanks for the welcome (and the info). I'm sure I'll have plenty more questions/comments.

 

Oh yeah, my cat's name is Vache (it's french for "cow", don't ask, hah), hence the screenname.

[Ken H.]

This is while the Bike is on the side stand, correct?

Regardless.

 

Because the sight glass is on the same side of the bike as the side stand, if you see oil when on either stand, go riding!

[AZDrifterus]

The underlying assumption for all of you "sidestand guys" is that the oil level shown in the sight glass should include all of the oil in the bike.

It would seem that if BMW says leave it running on the center stand for a bit, shut it off and check 5 mins. later, that the amount of drainback that so occurs, is the amount to be measured by the sightglass level.

When I change my oil,after filling the oil filter and installing it, I add a total of almost 4 quarts to fill to the top of the sightglass after running and cooling a few minutes on the center stand (manual says 3.96 quarts = capacity with filter change).

Why make it complicated? Check the oil before you ride, if you cann't see any in the glass on the center stand, add 1/2 of a pint.

[Marty Hill]

I could swear that this has been mentioned before, perhaps in the ice age.

 

Ken,

I followed you as to not ruffle feathers of others...I know you understand my sick humor.

[Ken H.]

Ken,

I followed you as to not ruffle feathers of others...I know you understand my sick humor.

Sorry, still too busy looking though the bushes trying to find the hitch to pay attention...

 

[DavidEBSmith]

The underlying assumption for all of you "sidestand guys" is that the oil level shown in the sight glass should include all of the oil in the bike.

It would seem that if BMW says leave it running on the center stand for a bit, shut it off and check 5 mins. later, that the amount of drainback that so occurs, is the amount to be measured by the sightglass level.

 

It would seem that if BMW meant for the oil level to be measured by an indeterminate method such as letting it run for "a bit" and then letting some unknown amount of oil drain back into the sump, making the oil level measurement dependent on variables such as the amount of time the bike had been running, the ambient temperature, the temperature of the oil, the weight of the oil used (winter or summer), the speeds at which the engine had been running and churning up the oil, they would have said to do it that way.

 

Why make it complicated? Check the oil before you ride, if you cann't see any in the glass on the center stand, add 1/2 of a pint.

 

Indeed. Why make it complicated by having to screw around with a 1/4 of a bottle of oil? Why kneel down before your bike to check the oil level more often than you need to? Why worry about whether you need to dribble a dab of oil into your bike to keep the oil level within 12 millimeters of the optimum?

 

BMW owners, you can set yourselves free. You can free yourself from your bondage to the oil level. You needn't feel the compulsion to throw your bike up onto the centerstand every time you stop for two minutes to take a leak. People will not think less of you if you refuse to clean the inside of your fairing - or for that matter, the outside. You can use synthetic oil if you want, or dino oil if you want, of even a mixture, just so long as there's 3 quarts or so in there. You don't have to lube your splines every thousand miles just to be part of the crowd. If you spend $18K on a motorcycle, you don't have to buy a new windshield, new seat, new GPS, new FRS, new Autocom, new XM and a Kermit chair before you've ridden the thing 50 miles and found out whether any of the stock stuff works for you, just because everybody else here had a gadget fetish. It's OK to have blue pipes, because that's what happens to metal when it gets hot. It's OK to have mud on the belly pan, because that's what happens when you ride it. To break your bike you'll either have to really beat the crap out of it, or have bad luck, and there's nothing you can do about bad luck. Just ride it, enjoy it, don't obsess about it, relax and have fun.

[SWB]

BMW owners, you can set yourselves free. You can free yourself from your bondage to the oil level. You needn't feel the compulsion to throw your bike up onto the centerstand every time you stop for two minutes to take a leak. People will not think less of you if you refuse to clean the inside of your fairing - or for that matter, the outside. You can use synthetic oil if you want, or dino oil if you want, of even a mixture, just so long as there's 3 quarts or so in there. You don't have to lube your splines every thousand miles just to be part of the crowd. If you spend $18K on a motorcycle, you don't have to buy a new windshield, new seat, new GPS, new FRS, new Autocom, new XM and a Kermit chair before you've ridden the thing 50 miles and found out whether any of the stock stuff works for you, just because everybody else here had a gadget fetish. It's OK to have blue pipes, because that's what happens to metal when it gets hot. It's OK to have mud on the belly pan, because that's what happens when you ride it. To break your bike you'll either have to really beat the crap out of it, or have bad luck, and there's nothing you can do about bad luck. Just ride it, enjoy it, don't obsess about it, relax and have fun.

 

Is this guy nuts?? Some people are just plain scary!

 

Now, where's my farkle list and 1/4 quart of pure, Grade AA, synthetic oil .....

[Bill_Walker]

BMW owners, you can set yourselves free. You can free yourself from your bondage to the oil level. You needn't feel the compulsion to throw your bike up onto the centerstand every time you stop for two minutes to take a leak. People will not think less of you if you refuse to clean the inside of your fairing - or for that matter, the outside. You can use synthetic oil if you want, or dino oil if you want, of even a mixture, just so long as there's 3 quarts or so in there. You don't have to lube your splines every thousand miles just to be part of the crowd. If you spend $18K on a motorcycle, you don't have to buy a new windshield, new seat, new GPS, new FRS, new Autocom, new XM and a Kermit chair before you've ridden the thing 50 miles and found out whether any of the stock stuff works for you, just because everybody else here had a gadget fetish.

 

Blasphemer!!! Infidel!!! Traitor to the One True Motorcycle Faith!!!

 

Officers! Take away his IBA license frame and cancel his invitation!

 

 

[Firefight911]

BMW owners, you can set yourselves free. You can free yourself from your bondage to the oil level. You needn't feel the compulsion to throw your bike up onto the centerstand every time you stop for two minutes to take a leak. People will not think less of you if you refuse to clean the inside of your fairing - or for that matter, the outside. You can use synthetic oil if you want, or dino oil if you want, of even a mixture, just so long as there's 3 quarts or so in there. You don't have to lube your splines every thousand miles just to be part of the crowd. If you spend $18K on a motorcycle, you don't have to buy a new windshield, new seat, new GPS, new FRS, new Autocom, new XM and a Kermit chair before you've ridden the thing 50 miles and found out whether any of the stock stuff works for you, just because everybody else here had a gadget fetish. It's OK to have blue pipes, because that's what happens to metal when it gets hot. It's OK to have mud on the belly pan, because that's what happens when you ride it. To break your bike you'll either have to really beat the crap out of it, or have bad luck, and there's nothing you can do about bad luck. Just ride it, enjoy it, don't obsess about it, relax and have fun.

 

I fart in your general direction!!! Go away before I set the holy grenade off by counting to 3!!

 

Now, where was that special gadget that makes the air in the tires smell good when I change it after every 12 miles. You don't want to chance tarnishing the inside of those rims, ya know!!!

 

Oh and by the way! Check out that guys website under his profile. So glad you did not "modify/gadgetize" you RT!!

 

Disclaimer: (afterall, he is an attorney as well) The above verbage was determined to be legal in all 50 states and the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Any connection, or similarity, to any person, or animal, is purely for the amusement of those who laugh (at your expense, of course!)

 

No human was harmed in the making of this post.

[Mulepick]

I'm with the grouch.

 

Throw me into this '99 R1100RT briar patch!

 

After living with a '79 Goldwing (4cyl, 4 carbs, 4 float bowls, 2 coils, points, condenser). Plop age on top of the above and the bugs in my beemer are few, while complicated (and EVERYTHING is expensive). I'll just have to keep reading and riding and she'll be right.

 

Bob

[philbytx]

We must be vigilant! If anyone starts posting pictures of the Sight Glass (genuflection here!), we may have to start a Holy War against the unbeliever !

 

There are many of other makes that do not believe in or kneel before the sight glass...let them not mock us !

[BereIsland]

My friend, who has just bought his first beemer, asked me how to check his oil level, I just printed out this thread for him, 7 or 8 pages of it ,

 

Steve Carter

[Paul Mihalka]

My friend, who has just bought his first beemer, asked me how to check his oil level, I just printed out this thread for him, 7 or 8 pages of it ,

 

Steve Carter

And you call him your friend?

[BereIsland]

My friend, who has just bought his first beemer, asked me how to check his oil level, I just printed out this thread for him, 7 or 8 pages of it ,

 

Steve Carter

And you call him your friend?

 

 

He was my friend

 

Steve

[grizzly660fan]

early in the thread BMW was knocked for using sight glass vs dip stick. BMW is not the only bike on the market using sight glass. I have some "metric" bikes that also check oil by sight glass.

 

Also, there is a forum similar to this one for ATV'ers. I don't know of an ATV with sight glass as they seem to prefer dip sticks to check oil. the debate over there is do you check oil on diptick by screwing down tight or setting on top without threading it down?

 

as you can see the oil check debate spans other brands and types of vehicles and I just wanted to add that its not BMW alone using this method.

 

PS, I kind of like the sight glass check method.

 

Garry

[bmweerman]

No offense, but I've only been following this tedious but somtimes amusing thread because I'm trapped at my desk and it's more fun than working

 

...but....

 

Wouldn't it be more fun to just go riding now?!

 

I mean...I'm just saying

 

beemers rule!!!

[Couchrocket]

Okay... for those of you with a truly sick sense of humor, and who are not bored to death with this yet... or still trapped in the snow, as am I . . . Here's my post from about a year ago on "The Oil Dance."

 

OK, I'll bite!

 

Nevets.... here's how the dance goes!

You see, once upon a time BMW invented the "Oil Head" configuration wherein there is a cooling circuit that feeds oil up to the oil cooler and back down. See diagram:

 

 

Now, when they designed this cooling system they put in magic check valves. These check valves actually have a magical property. They can hide oil! One time you ride and there's lots of oil in the sight glass. Next time you ride you look and say, "O my, whereth be the oil? Hath the magic oil fairy consumeth my oil?" Or words to that effect. So, being a BMW Newbie, you get out your manual and read up and decide that you need to add oil. So you "fill 'er up." Next time you ride the oil sight glass is full to the top and beyond. And, wonder of wonders, if you were to look in your air box, you'd discover that you've pumped a bunch of magic oil up there too -- making a helluva nice mess.

 

So, in search of special wisdom you join up to the Mystical Union of BMW Oil Checkers ( Also known as BMWSporttouring.com ), hoping that someone will show you the secret handshake (DAMHIKT).

 

After taking the appropriate amount of abuse from the brother/sisterhood for not doing a search, listening to the various spleen ventings (didn't they used to tell fortunes with chicken spleens or something? ), and generally be made to feel like the fool you are.....

 

Some kind soul 'splains it all to you. To wit....

 

If you come in from a ride you should park your bike on the side stand first. Let it sit there for 5 minutes while you stand on one foot and "hop" around in a circle in the clockwise direction ( unless you're from down under in which case you must rotate anti-clockwise because of the well know coriolis effect ) all the while reciting the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. Then, when the 5 minutes are up, you put your bike on the center stand and wait another five minutes, though this time you must recite one of the dialogs you learned in Spanish II in High-school. "Donde esta la biblioteca, Juan?" etc., while facing approximately in the direction of BMW's plant in Germany.

 

Now you're ready for the 'oil check.'

 

Get a small flash light. Get down on your knees on the port side of the bike (if you don't like port, chablis will do nicely). Thank the diety of your choice for the wisdom you were given that lead you to purchase such a paragon of teutonic virtue in the first place.

 

Now......

 

Peer into the sight glass....

 

Be-eth there oil there? How mucheth? The senior oil sages here sayeth that precisely on the dot in the center of the sight glass is perfection, Nirvana, the "self actualization" of oildom. In other words, enougheth to bathe the moving parts sufficiently to prevent the wear demons from destroying your motor-eth... but not sooooo mucheth that it pumpeth up into the air box-eth.

 

All this to say that leaving the bike on the side-stand for a while is supposed to allow the oil to drain into the crankcase from the cooling circuit and not be trapped by the check valves. Then, when you put it up on the center-stand and wait for a few minutes, you'll get "as accurate" a reading as your gonna get from this oil hiding and consuming powerplant.

 

Conventional wisdom also says that these suckers will burn oil while breaking in.... with "breaking in" being the obfuscative, but none the less operative word... with estimates of "break in" running from 12-24k miles! Holy cow-eth. It is also not uncommon for these boxers to consume some oil "forever" but usually ( after aforementioned "break in" ) not enough to require adding oil between 3k oil change intervals ( which is also a topic of much discussion, derision, dissension, dyspepsia, and the like).

 

Now, if you're not into ritual, you can just check the oil before you ride by putting the bike on the side stand. If you can see oil in the sight glass "at all" you're good to go. These suckers hold a short ton of oil in the crankcase for their displacement, etc. and you can "run quite low" w/o actually "shorting" the engine of both proper lubrication and cooling.

 

Oh, and I forgot, if you hold your left pinky to your nose when doing the "hop rotation" you'll get an even more accurate reading!

[Ken H.]

Moderators, what's the record for the longest, "How to check your oil?" thread?

[tonyla]

These have all been very informative and entertaning. all eight pages. I still have one question.

 

How do I check the oil in my oilhead?

[Wooster]

How do I check the oil in my oilhead?

 

As card carrying member of the 'well basically' club, well basically if you see oil in glass, you're good to go. Some with leftist leanings see site glass on side stand; others of us, more uprite, see glass on center stand.

Recall, Rancity (OP) was three quarts low; oil in site glass was not the issue, there was very low level of motor oil, triggering oil pressure lite.

I think Jerry's right: Rancity's oil wasn't checked for four thousand miles; not preferred breakin.

 

Wooster

 

Buddist dentist doesn't novacain; he uses transcend dental medication

[philbytx]

 

This is all well and good but I just had another thought...What happens if my I want to ride and my sight glass is VERY dirty or the plastic has crazed so that I can't see the level properly and my nearest BMW dealer is 3 hours away?

a. Is it best to drain and refill (and do I use a new filter???????) and ride to my dealer to obtain a new sight glass? This is provided I have a filter, the correct BMW oil grade and a drain plug washer and a torque wrench!

b. Do I just dump a quart of the correct grade BMW oil in and worry about cleaning up my airbox (maybe?) and then order the sight glass via the internet?

c. Do I order a sight glass via the Internet and not ride until I get it, just in case I am a microgram of oil shy of the correct level in the oil glass?

 

I am severely troubled and cannot sleep....help me! Should I call the BMW assistance line

[chrisstroh]

My friend, who has just bought his first beemer, asked me how to check his oil level, I just printed out this thread for him, 7 or 8 pages of it ,

 

Steve Carter

............................................................LOL!!!

[SWB]

I am severely troubled and cannot sleep....help me! Should I call the BMW assistance line

 

Certainly. And don't forget to mention that you're worried about the condition of your bike's transmission drive splines as well. BMW Motorrad Customer Service reps need entertainment too, and spline talk always gets 'em.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

You think you got troubles? My freakin' R1100S doesn't even HAVE a center stand. It's the SBX model. I have to find a friendly tree to lean the right bar end weight against, or a nearby SUV, heh, heh. Then I get to bend down amidst much creaking of knees and twinging of lumbar muscles and peer in there. All the while trying to avoid sticking my cheek against the hot exhaust pipe.

 

I know 9K miles is too long to not add oil, I only got 2.6 quarts back when I did that. 2K miles is too short, it is still in the sight glass at that point. I just dump 8 oz into it at about the 4K point and let it take care of itself, changing the oil somewhere between 6 and 8K. Screw it, if it blows up, I'll fix it.

 

Just some information, the Blackbird has a dip stick and it's no better. Shows the top quart or so in the sump. 4 quarts in there as well. Of course, it doesn't seem to use any oil so I don't worry overmuch about it either. Still requires putting the bike on the center stand and waiting a bit if the motor has been running.

 

In the best of all worlds, the sump should include a long, vertically oriented sight glass that would show at least the top 70% of the amount of oil. Something about 3" long would be nice. Maybe on the 2012 models.

[Ken/OC]

Oh, and I forgot, if you hold your left pinky to your nose when doing the "hop rotation" you'll get an even more accurate reading!

 

This is, of course, a simplified version of the BMW oil chants or "steps" described in your owners' manual. They vary somewhat depending on VIN series.

[JamesW]

This little thread is most interesting and a bit entertaining as well. I looked in my Haynes Service and Repair Manual to see what it says about checking engine oil level and it says,

"Before you start take motorcycle on a short run to allow it to reach operating temperature. Stop the engine and support the motorcycle on its centre stand, making sure it is in an upright position on level ground. Allow it to stand undisturbed for at least ten minutes to allow the oil level to stabilize. This time period is important and must be adhered to, otherwise the oil from the cooler will not have drained down, giving an incorrect level in the window. Note that the rate at which the oil returns from the oil cooler can be increased by fitting a vent valve in the oil pipe under the engine's front cover - refer to a BMW dealer for details."

 

WooHoo, this sounds like a plan. If one can fit a vent valve to facilitate better draining of the cooler then it would be interesting to check the oil level after placing the machine on the side stand first to see if that still makes a difference after installation of this vent valve. You gotta admit, these beemer are a riot.

[Paul Mihalka]

Whenever possible, I like the KISS method of doing things. I don't like the idea of having my oil a full quart down like Ed says, even if it is safe. This is how I check my oil: When I get home or to the overnight motel, I leave the bike on the sidestand. Next morning I look at the window. If the window is full, I don't need oil. If you see the oil line close to the center dot, put in a pint. End of story.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

For clarification, I don't advocate running a full quart down. That level will show a gap above the oil when the bike is on the side stand. You can easily verify this by putting in 2.75 quarts instead of 3 on your next oil change. Check the level when on the side stand and then put the other quart in before riding off.

 

It is merely an indicator. I do just what Paul does, no choice actually, no center stand on an 1100SBX. Less than a quart low, will not be indicated by anything other than a full glass while on the side stand. There is more than adequate oil in the sump at the 1 quart down level to supply the engine's needs but I wouldn't want to run that low either. At 52K miles, I have a good handle on my engine's consumption and don't worry about oil level at all anymore. In fact, I rarely check it at all. Just add 8oz every 3K or so.

[TampaJim]

Nobody has explained why the "warm engine, wait 10" method is always recomended over a cold engine.

 

This seems to be the case on every bike I've ever owned--not just BMW.

[Davis]

So you can check the oil when you stop for gas without having to wait hours for the engine to be cold?

[Bob Atkinson]

Why stop now? For the record when oil is hot it expands.

If you fill your Oil Head to center dot when cold (after PROPER OIL DANCE). Now take you bike for a short ride, (do the OIL DANCE again) now your oil level is now at 3/4 of the site glass (about 4 ozs more oil !!! Now let it cool and it's back to the dot!

This only for those that don't have any thing better to do

[BereIsland]

I have just printed out another 2 pages on oil level checking and gave it to my friend, he just screamed at me to f off, and said he's taking the bike back to the shop, I've had enough he said

 

Steve Carter

[bmweerman]

Screw it, if it blows up, I'll fix it.

 

You know...I think I'm going to make that my entire philosophy of life.

And to think of all the existential angst I could have saved myself.

 

Thanks Ed!!

[philbytx]

Ohhh, I just thought....We might be confusing you on the other side of the pond!!!

Isn't the sight glass on the RH side in the U.K.. I bet they just use a blanking plate on the LH side, just like UK cars

Hmmm, he might think he has a full sight glass when, in fact, it's solid, just like a freeze plug

 

[Ken H.]

said he's taking the bike back to the shop,

Now there's an answer - When you need the oil checked, just take the bike into your local friendly BMW dealer.

 

It's easier on the knees!

[Rancity]

Wow!!!! Ask a question

 

BMW riders seem to be as varied as oil checking methods

 

I think the leson here is that checking the level evey once in awhile is not the best interval. It is now part of my pre/post ride inspection.

[SpaceKing]

Indeed. Why make it complicated by having to screw around with a 1/4 of a bottle of oil? Why kneel down before your bike to check the oil level more often than you need to? Why worry about whether you need to dribble a dab of oil into your bike to keep the oil level within 12 millimeters of the optimum?

 

BMW owners, you can set yourselves free. You can free yourself from your bondage to the oil level. You needn't feel the compulsion to throw your bike up onto the centerstand every time you stop for two minutes to take a leak. People will not think less of you if you refuse to clean the inside of your fairing - or for that matter, the outside. You can use synthetic oil if you want, or dino oil if you want, of even a mixture, just so long as there's 3 quarts or so in there. You don't have to lube your splines every thousand miles just to be part of the crowd. If you spend $18K on a motorcycle, you don't have to buy a new windshield, new seat, new GPS, new FRS, new Autocom, new XM and a Kermit chair before you've ridden the thing 50 miles and found out whether any of the stock stuff works for you, just because everybody else here had a gadget fetish. It's OK to have blue pipes, because that's what happens to metal when it gets hot. It's OK to have mud on the belly pan, because that's what happens when you ride it. To break your bike you'll either have to really beat the crap out of it, or have bad luck, and there's nothing you can do about bad luck. Just ride it, enjoy it, don't obsess about it, relax and have fun.

In my year of reading thousands of posts, I would nominate this one as representing the most sage advice.

Thanks David

Beno

[Mulepick]

Thanks.

 

I'm a newbie and thought it was about time to clean and wax the wheel wells. Screw that ABS light. So long as nothing will happen to me if the ABS isn't working, I'm pulling the bulb out.

 

Now, fat butt seat, bar backs, peg lowers, Kisan lighting control, highway pegs, luggage, and clear turn signals are "must haves".

 

Going to be turning that black to something from HOK this summer too.

[bmweerman]

Indeed. Why make it complicated by having to screw around with a 1/4 of a bottle of oil? Why kneel down before your bike to check the oil level more often than you need to? Why worry about whether you need to dribble a dab of oil into your bike to keep the oil level within 12 millimeters of the optimum?

 

BMW owners, you can set yourselves free. You can free yourself from your bondage to the oil level. You needn't feel the compulsion to throw your bike up onto the centerstand every time you stop for two minutes to take a leak. People will not think less of you if you refuse to clean the inside of your fairing - or for that matter, the outside. You can use synthetic oil if you want, or dino oil if you want, of even a mixture, just so long as there's 3 quarts or so in there. You don't have to lube your splines every thousand miles just to be part of the crowd. If you spend $18K on a motorcycle, you don't have to buy a new windshield, new seat, new GPS, new FRS, new Autocom, new XM and a Kermit chair before you've ridden the thing 50 miles and found out whether any of the stock stuff works for you, just because everybody else here had a gadget fetish. It's OK to have blue pipes, because that's what happens to metal when it gets hot. It's OK to have mud on the belly pan, because that's what happens when you ride it. To break your bike you'll either have to really beat the crap out of it, or have bad luck, and there's nothing you can do about bad luck. Just ride it, enjoy it, don't obsess about it, relax and have fun.

In my year of reading thousands of posts, I would nominate this one as representing the most sage advice.

Thanks David

Beno

 

AMEN!!!

 

And thanks from me too!!!!