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R1200RT smoking

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oil r1200
4K views 19 replies 11 participants last post by  Teach 
#1 ·
I have a new-to-me 2013 R1200RT I purchased with 3,500 miles, that now has just over 6,000 miles. I was at the BMW Rally in Paonia a week ago. All was fine, with one exception. On Saturday we went for a spirited 200 mile route in the mountains that ended with a sprint on the interstate. After cooling down, we drove to eat. On starting the bike following dinner, oil colored blue/white smoke billowed out the left exhaust exhaust pipe.

During dinner, the bike was on its sidestand. I know that this can happen on old airheads left on their sidestand and has rarely happened to me on my 1983 R100RS. This has never happened to my knowledge during 14 years on my 2000 R1100. It is more than a little disconcerting that it happened on a "new" but well broken in 2013 model.

Oil and filter was changed just prior to the Rally and one time earlier by the dealer at about 3500 miles. My change was motorcycle grade Valvoline 20w-50 with BMW oil filter.

So, the question (finally!!) is has anyone else had this smoking experience?
 
#2 ·
Sounds like condensation smoke, not oil smoke. You got everything really hot and when it cooled condensation formed near the butterfly valve and pooled. When you fired it back up, it blew the condensation.
My advice is don't worry about it. Next time you notice the smoke, look in the area of the butterfly valve and see if you have a little drip from the clamp. My guess is you will. Mine does it when there is a big temp swing.
 
#11 ·
Keep in mind that you change the filter because oil passing through it is depositing contaminants in the filter. Ergo, if the oil loss was through burning, why would you need to even think about filter change?
As a matter of fact, you are replacing the loss oil with fresh clean oil, making the overall cleanliness better.
 
#9 ·
I've had good spells when I hardly used any oil, but it always reverts back to using a 1/2 quart every 1k. According to one long time BMW tech my bike should go forever at this rate, lol...
I replace oil & filter per maintenance schedule, but I always carry at least a 1/2 quart in the saddlebag.
 
#10 ·
I did the hard break-in procedure and bike uses very little oil. I used less than half a quart while doing a 5,000 mile ride. I now have 16,000 total miles on this RT and just switched to synthetic last week so we'll see how it does on consumption. Before I hear it, I know lots of guys on this forum don't agree with either one of these steps (break-in & dino oil to begin with); just what I like to do.
 
#12 ·
My '14 RT was the first bike that I had broken in (not counting the ones in the very distance past), and I went with the hard breaking in. When it was parked, I had almost 1,000 miles on it. Have not had the first service yet, and as far as I can tell, it had not burned any oil at all. I will know for sure once it's on the road again, but in the meantime I have been riding my '07 hard. Typically the '07 will use up less than a quart of oil in between the 6,000 mile oil change. The '07 has about 31,000 miles on it now, and I have no ideas as to how the PO had broken it in!
 
#14 ·
When you push your rt hard it will use oil, the guys that say there's don't do not ride hard, they might think they did. I have used a qt when doing an all day twisty. Then my bike will go 2 years and not use a drop. If you ride hard and are not using oil then you might need some riding lessons.
 
#15 ·
Baloney!!
I strongly disagree with that. I definitely do not baby my bikes, and the '07 had been ridden very hard, and it loves it. Oil consumption had always been about 1/2 qt in 6,000 miles.
 
#20 ·
beech, I've been doing just what you suggested since I hit 36k and found it still has an appetite for oil. I'm not adverse to seeing a half quart at say 3k, but every 1 is a bit much in my opinion. Now BMW says it isn't a problem, but they don't have to buy the oil either, lol... I'm going to keep riding it hard and when I replace oil this time, try some 20/50 syn... I put some 10/40 in it this last change to see if I could run the glaze off.
 
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