How much oil does it take to fill the site glass?

[schaeftl]

I recently got a new GS. One thing that I am having a lot of trouble reading the bike's true oil level.
I never had much of a problem with oil level on my other bikes. But after hearing the dealers speech I am really confused.
The dealer says that a GS will burn oil during break-in. Infact it could burn a lot of oil during break-in. Then he said that you really can't trust the site glass. Stating the oil might hang up and not show up in the site glass.

Two days ago when I finished riding I put the bike on the center stand. Oil was about in the middle of the site glass.
Not wanting to over react. I waited until my yesterday's ride was finished. I put the bike on the center stand again. Oil level was just a little lower than before. It seemed to be only able to fill the bottom 1/3rd of the site glass.
I then added 400ml of oil. Guess what after riding to work today. The oil fills the site glass. And may have overfilled the motor.

I am planning on doing a 1000 mile ride later this week. Do I need to drain the sump and start over?

It would be great if I knew how much oil it took to move the level through the site glass.

Tim

[jdiaz]

I believe the Oilhead sight glass is only 16oz high....half a quart. I usually tell people to never add more than 4oz at a time, since its unlikely the bike would go thru that much in one day.

[schaeftl]

Originally posted by jdiaz
I believe the Oilhead sight glass is only 16oz high....half a quart. I usually tell people to never add more than 4oz at a time, since its unlikely the bike would go thru that much in one day.

Based on the 16oz rule. I am 6 to 8 oz over full. My next ride is this Friday. Its a 1000 mile ride. I will be trying to do this ride in one day.
The bike currently has 2000 miles on it.
I guess that I should pull the extra oil out.
What do you think.

Thanks for the info.
tim

[dzimbric]

My 2004 RT has 23,000 miles on it. During break-in it used about 250ml per 1000 miles. Now it uses barely any at all unless it is filled to the top of the sight glass. It seems to find it's own level and will use oil until it reaches the middle of the sight glass. BMW recomends that you run the bike for a minimum of 10 minutes to get everything warm then let it set on the centerstand for 10 minutes. Then check the sight glass.

I wouldn't drain it if you can still see an open area at the top of the sightglass when on the centerstand after you have followed the factory approved oil checking procedure.

4 quarts will fill my bike to the top of the glass after a oil and filter change. My factory manual is off because they show less oil needed for a oil/filter change than just a oil change. Why anyone would change the oil and not the filter is beyond me.:dunno

[jdiaz]

Originally posted by schaeftl
Based on the 16oz rule. I am 6 to 8 oz over full. My next ride is this Friday. Its a 1000 mile ride. I will be trying to do this ride in one day.
The bike currently has 2000 miles on it.
I guess that I should pull the extra oil out.
What do you think.

If it were me, I would drain the excess out. Those kinds of things bother me while I ride. :)

[schaeftl]

I did not have a conversion table when I said that I thought that I was 6 to 8 oz over.
After doing the conversions. Worst case I am 3 oz over.
I still have not made up my mind. I will defiantly have to think about sum before Friday.
Thanks
Tim

[Mr. Frank]

You'll burn three ounces in no time. <G>

[rapz]

I purchased my 04 RT in August and I was told at the dealer to make sure I didn't go over the top of the eye glass. He told me that whenever they do a service, they drain and measure the oil quantity because they've found that many owners are overfilling their crankcases. He said that doing such causes problems and may void the warranty so they want to have a record of any overfilling. I thought he said that BMW issued that in one of their service bullentins, but I'm not sure if he actually said it or implied that. In any case, I would drain the excess, you can always add it down the road, especially on a 1000 mile ride.:brow

[lorazepam]

Sounds kinda tough to me, to pull the drain plug and catch 3oz of oil and get the plug back in. If I were truly worried I over filled it, drain the oil, and then refill it with just the right amount.

[j-budimlya]

I have put in a few (2-4) ounces of oil over the top of the sight glass at least 2-3 times and I have never had a problem because of it. This is over 5 years on two different oilheads; '95 R1100 and '01 R11150. I'm not sure where the "problem begins" in terms of overfilling the crankcase, and I'm sure there is a point, but it's more than an ounce or two.

by the way, I thought that when overfilled too much the excess oi would pump over to the air filter and collect in the drain. If so, I have never reached that level.

Has anyone else?? I know it's been reported to occur.

Jim Bud

Go ride the bike.....:bliss