Thirsty 1150 RT

[i2lguy]

I just recently bought my first BMW its an 04 1150RT with 16600 miles on it . Ive already put 1030 miles on it and have added 1 quart of oil.I havent found any leaks . Is this common for an oilhead ?

[wrangler6831]

Between 12 and 20k they should stop using oil. I wouldn't get to excited till after the 20k mark. With the miles you have on it you can start using synthetic now and that may help a little also. Just keep riding and enjoying it.

Rich

[Isamemon]

why would they stop using oil ?

[sugarbearRT]

I had the same thing happen with my 2004 1150RT. Bought it last fall with 14,500 miles on it. I went thru about a quart every 1k until it reached about 20,000 miles. Now at 24,000 miles, I still faithfully check the oil level before heading out. I have not had to top off the oil in a long time. Not to worry, seems like a normal oillhead quirk. I was told that it is just part of the "breaking in" period. Still always a good idea to check your oil level regularly!

[Bfish]

ride it hard, high rpms...don't baby it. vary the load as well.

[Motor31]

why would they stop using oil ?


When the rings finally seat and polish to fit the cylinders they stop passing so much oil to the combustion chambers. The decrease in blow by also helps the bike stop puking it out through the crankcase venting.

The same thing happens in horizontally opposed aircraft engines but it usually takes less time in the plane engines.

[hcmiller52]

Between 12 and 20k they should stop using oil. I wouldn't get to excited till after the 20k mark. With the miles you have on it you can start using synthetic now and that may help a little also. Just keep riding and enjoying it.My '06 1150GS-A has never consumed the quantities I see cited on the lists. If I've added 2 quarts over 14,000 miles since brand new (total between changes), it's a lot. I need to add more to the Briggs & Stratton in my lawnmower.

[Bfish]

My '06 1150GS-A has never consumed the quantities I see cited on the lists. If I've added 2 quarts over 14,000 miles since brand new (total between changes), it's a lot. I need to add more to the Briggs & Stratton in my lawnmower.

in the above instance it may not have been broken in properly by the original owner. oil usage varies by riding style and even geography. undulating terrain would help break in vs deadass flat florida.

[NavyDad]

I bought my 04 RT with 10k on the clock. I took a 1000 mile trip on a long weekend and used about a quart of oil. I now have a little over 18K on the bike and took the same trip last weekend (Skyline Drive-Blue Ridge area) I didn't have to add a drop of oil this time.

[hcmiller52]

in the above instance it may not have been broken in properly by the original owner. oil usage varies by riding style and even geography. undulating terrain would help break in vs deadass flat florida.I AM the original owner and haul ass with the bike over hill and dale, laden and unladen, bouncing off the rev limiter and all that. I've put that 14,000 miles on this bike in 13 months since it was new (it's only one of my four bikes - I ride a lot). This bike just doesn't consume much oil, for whatever reason. I didn't know that was a bad thing until now.

Curt

[Bfish]

I AM the original owner and haul ass with the bike over hill and dale, laden and unladen, bouncing off the rev limiter and all that. I've put that 14,000 miles on this bike in 13 months since it was new (it's only one of my four bikes - I ride a lot). This bike just doesn't consume much oil, for whatever reason. I didn't know that was a bad thing until now.

Curt


my apologies...was referring to the original poster and quoted the wrong post..:D in response to your statement i never meant to categorize non-oil consumption as bad. you're lucky. :) my 2004 RT took about 15k miles to quench it's thirst.

[sugarbearRT]

Note to I2lguy: Since this post is about the BMW RT in particular, another good place to learn about the care and maintenance of the RT is the BMWSportTouring.com website. There is a real good article about the "Wearing In" of your bike in regards to the oil consumption dilema!:nod
Carol

[i2lguy]

I want to thank everybody for their input , now I feel more comfortable. The only reason I posted this was because when I owned my honda I never added a drop of oil , It never needed it. So when I noticed my BMW consuming oil it made me a little nervous.

[HFD190]

I AM the original owner and haul ass with the bike over hill and dale, laden and unladen, bouncing off the rev limiter and all that. I've put that 14,000 miles on this bike in 13 months since it was new (it's only one of my four bikes - I ride a lot). This bike just doesn't consume much oil, for whatever reason. I didn't know that was a bad thing until now.

Curt

Those are impressive numbers!
My RT was using about 1/2 quart between oil changes (3000mi). I hit 14K this spring and it was like someone flipped a switch. No consumption that I can detect at this point...