Oil Level ???

After the decision to get rid of the R18,I was hoping we were done with this thread.Again,I certainly don't come on this forum to insult or make light of anyone having issues or problems with the new model R18.That being said,I get more help here than the dealer as they are trying to catch up with all the information presented from BMW.I do come here to learn.Plus it is good for me to share any positive expierences ,if I can.
Many of the folks here have chimed in to help.I am not sure what else we can offer but please don't take it personal as it seems folks are just responding to a question and trying to help.
 
R18C said:
After the decision to get rid of the R18,I was hoping we were done with this thread.Again,I certainly don't come on this forum to insult or make light of anyone having issues or problems with the new model R18.That being said,I get more help here than the dealer as they are trying to catch up with all the information presented from BMW.I do come here to learn.Plus it is good for me to share any positive expierences ,if I can.
Many of the folks here have chimed in to help.I am not sure what else we can offer but please don't take it personal as it seems folks are just responding to a question and trying to help.
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Venting? I have no idea. The facts of the situation are:

1) the bike runs
2) there has never been mention of any warning lights on the dash
3) there is no visible meniscus in the oil level glass, even when the bike is vertical, except several hours after running engine.
4) adding oil didn't help

/yeah, she's overfilled
//thanks for being a positive part of this forum, R18C
 
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tommymck said:
I think that the thing that people are having a hard time trying to "wrap their head around" is the fact that something happens in the sight window over the timespan of hours after shut down. I don't doubt that there was something confusing happening, but it seems more likely that it's something simple such as the possibility that the oil was so clean that it wasn't easy to see. We can't say for sure, but the fact that you are having issues seeing oil even after adding it unless you wait for hours means that there is something more going on than the bike simply being low on oil. Or perhaps we aren't quite understanding the specific chain of events... At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the bike actually has too much oil and you aren't seeing it because it is completely covering the window.
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No, the oil was clean but not that clean, it was LOW !!! I could not get it to show up until I added oil... I can only guess the factory and the local technician failed to check the oil level...
 
buellwinkle said:
No, the oil was clean but not that clean, it was LOW !!! I could not get it to show up until I added oil... I can only guess the factory and the local technician failed to check the oil level...
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It’s always hard to diagnose from a keyboard without pictures. Bikes can burn a bit more oil during break-in as well, so this can also be a factor. Bottom line, if it appears low, even if you don’t expect it to be, add oil in 200ml increments till you see it in the window.

You will find the cadence that makes sense for you. I check all my bikes at least every 2-4 weeks given my normal riding volume on each. I rarely find I need to add at that cadence, but it does give me confidence to monitor the rate at which oil is burning such that I have plenty of time to buy oil before I need it.

As an aside anytime I get a new bike, I always buy an oil filter and enough oil for a full change at the same time as purchase to have on hand since break in is usually where the most oil is burned. Worst case, I have what I need for first oil change, or I have enough to allow for a lot of burning during break-in.
 
This is not my first go around with a dealer who failed on their end. I bought a New to me Used Buell long ago, I still own the bike. They had to make me wait while the service center got around to checking the bike out fully and giving it a test ride, though they knew I was on my way to work and wanted to ride the bike... The next day I checked it out and they had failed to chick tire pressure, the pressure was so low it did not register on ether end of the bike. I had my own air pump.... I was angry they had failed such a simple check.... what else had they failed to check ? Never trust a dealer to do the job right....
 
buellwinkle said:
Half a quart... Did not show up until the next morning, no idea why the big delay.... DO not trust the dealer or the Factory...
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Always a good idea to check levels yourself of course. But if it was only a half-quart low, you would have likely seen the oil in the sight glass so long as the bike was vertical when you checked it. That, coupled with the fact that there isn't any reasonable explanation as to how hours vs minutes could make a difference, points towards a possible mis-interpretation of the initial reading.

In any case, it sounds like you have the process of checking it sorted out now.
 
I agree with you but remember, I had tipped the bike in both directions and no oil showed up with bike sitting vertical in a wheel chock. It only took over many hours before the oil showed up in the sight glass.... I have no idea what is going on in the engine. It is just not right !! jp
 
buellwinkle said:
I agree with you but remember, I had tipped the bike in both directions and no oil showed up with bike sitting vertical in a wheel chock. It only took over many hours before the oil showed up in the sight glass.... I have no idea what is going on in the engine. It is just not right !! jp
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This still sounds like you are low. The manual calls for getting a reading 5 minutes after turning the engine off, not several hours. 5 minutes after turning the motor off, there will still be some oil volume in the top end of the engine, but several hours later all the oil will have drained into the pan.

So you may see variation on reading the engine oil level warm vs cold. But the manual specifically says to check it warm and the sight glass is calibrated for a warm measurement. From your posts, each time it was warm, the oil wasn’t visible in the sight glass & it wasn’t just an issue of being too clean so hard to see which level it was at, nor was it above the sight glass window, so you wouldn’t see an oil line.

Assuming all of that is correct, you are low on oil since you don’t see it at all in the sight glass when warm, but only start to see it when cold.
 
I gotta admit, as annoying as it is to check the oil on my ride its kinda one of those things that gives my bike personality. I owned 8 bikes in my life and every one of them had their quirks. It's Kinda one of them things that will give me fond memories 10 years from now. Like how my 1150RT drank a qt of oil ever 3k miles. Still no idea where the heck it all went!!! Without them it would be a boring bike. With that said I do agree its a bit of an engineering oversight. To be honest, I find the oil thing less annoying then having to navigate through so many menus just to turn on the seat or grip heaters. The last two Harleys not to mention my old 1150RT had a simple switch to turn them on. All the same, just another thing to get use to. Love the bike! So much personality!!!
 
itnetpro said:
I gotta admit, as annoying as it is to check the oil on my ride its kinda one of those things that gives my bike personality. I owned 8 bikes in my life and every one of them had their quirks. It's Kinda one of them things that will give me fond memories 10 years from now. Like how my 1150RT drank a qt of oil ever 3k miles. Still no idea where the heck it all went!!! Without them it would be a boring bike. With that said I do agree its a bit of an engineering oversight. To be honest, I find the oil thing less annoying then having to navigate through so many menus just to turn on the seat or grip heaters. The last two Harleys not to mention my old 1150RT had a simple switch to turn them on. All the same, just another thing to get use to. Love the bike! So much personality!!!
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After your comment I had to look in the owner's manual. I see your bike has the central locking button where the 'Lesser" models have the heated seat settings button. You gain the wonder wheel and the auto cruise control switch on the left that the "Lesser" R18 bikes also do not have. Like your 1150, my GS/A(s) had the best (IMO) separate buttons for adjusting "all the above" functions and when using the "Nav 5 and 6 " allowed not only the mapping, but also an incredible array of bike functions to be displayed on various screens controlled by the wonder wheel. I had 3 of the LC 1200GS/A(s) (14, 16, 17.5) and it was consistent, but my LC 1200RT (15) required me to go into the menu as you describe and had a fraction of the information shared on the Nav unit. Made no sense with both being of an identical generation for all components and while easily adjusted to, for my vote BMW left the wrong system on the shelf for your Model. Anyway, plenty to enjoy on these full figured girls so safe travels!

🍻🍻
 
I can check the oil without issue on my R18C and I have a sidecar.
 
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