Another one on oil usage

[bmwdebesy]

Hi all,

I recently(6 months ago) purchased my first bmw, a 1993 R100GS which had been kept in a garage and ridden a couple times a year. After i bought it i took it on a a few "mid length" (300 mile) trips along with riding it around town. Before i set out on my trip to Gillette for the national rally i did a routine check up and found that the oil was almost at a critically low level. I thought that it was low because of my not checking it often so i filled it up and went to the rally. Once we got to the rally i decided to check on it again and it was again low. We live about 1500 miles from gilette so i thought this was really weird. On the way back to arizona we stopped at the Top o' the Rockies rally in Paonia and had to top off the oil AGAIN!!! I dont know what the problem is. I didnt notice any oil around the engine and the tailpipe isnt coated with black oil so i dont know where its going!!! I have recieved some suggestions about what the problem is(stuck ring) but i wanted to get some more opinions. I havent been riding it often because of the insane heat down here but i always check the oil before i go now. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Vince

[jdiaz]

Don't top off the oil. Just raise the level to the middle of the dipstick, and then watch your consumption. The bike will use a bit of oil, especially in the heat of the summer.

[Boxerkuh]

I have found that all our bikes have a level of oil that they like. If you overfill it it will find it's way back to were it wants it. This is at least my theory. You need to monitor you oil consumption, maybe: how many miles will it take before you are one quart down? The bikes do use oil and some people think it should be none, but 1/2 a quart between oil changes is not bad. Do you have any "blow-by" on the sides of your carbs? What about on the transmission shelf? You may have some oil loss there without any drops on the ground. What kind of bike, mileage, how much do you ride? Did you change oil brands, viscosity lately? Let us know some more of the specifics.... Has the bike been sitting up for a while?

[bmwdebesy]

It has about 20,000 miles on it and had been sitting on the centerstand in my neighbors garage for this guy to ride a couple of times a year. I ride it around town a couple times a week but no long trips since gilette. The previous owner always used BMW's recommended oil and i continue to use that same oil.

[sdpc2]

Not sure why (although i believe that it was due to improper break in), but mine uses probably about a quart of oil every 3000 miles. But at least i know where mine is going.... my tale pipe is blackened, as is my left turn signal. But it runs good, and i try to change the oil every 3000 to 3500 miles. It now has almost 40,000 miles on it. I may have it looked at this winter to see if it is an issue with the rings.

[bmwdebesy]

yea i doubt the original owner broke it in properly seeing as he was a lufthansa pilot and only rode it a couple of times a year... if this is the case is there anything i can do to properly break it in?