Re: oil change question

["Steve Makohin" <wateredg@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Mark,

From: "Mark Rivera" <marr@xxxxxxxx>

> Was reading up on oil changes since I'm about to do mine...
>
> On ibmwr.org there's an oilhead maintenance .pdf dated 2-25-02
> http://ibmwr.org/r-tech/oilheads/R11Manual/Oilhead_Maintenance_2-25-02.pdf
>
> I have a question about steps 11 and 14 on page 23. Is #14's "3.75  3.9
> qts" including the oil that was put in the filter at #11, or IN ADDITION
> TO?
>
> "
> 11. Fill the new oil filter with fresh oil.
> 12. Apply a thin coat of oil to the new oil filter rubber gasket.
> 13. Install the new oil filter and give it > - 1 turn after first contact.
> 14. Add 3.75  3.9 qts. of oil total (NOT 4 qts.!!!) using a funnel or oil
> spout.
> "

You've already received a number of good answers on this one. My reply fills
in the missing spaces:

The *reason* BMW and BMW riders warn you about overfilling, is as follows:

o The reading you see in the site glass is not an accurate, up-to-the-second
  oil level reading. It takes time for the oil to dribble down to the oil
  pan, and to settle there. It is all too easy to overfill your bike with
  oil.

o Over-filling with oil is a Bad Thing(TM) because the excess oil has to
  go somewhere, usually in your air filter box (assuming the hose is clear
  and connected properly).  Something I've noticed on my R1100S is that
  the engine *seems* to have less vibration when I run it with oil that is
  short of being "full" as per the site glass, like say 2/3 full.  This is a
  subjective observation, so don't carve it in stone.

o The jury is still out on how to measure oil levels. One school says to
  keep your bike level after a run, let it set for 10 minutes, and then
  read, the site glass, while the other school says you should leave
  your bike on the side-stand for several minutes after a good run to
  allow the oil from the oil cooler to drain, then follow BMW's
  procedure. BMW doesn't state if the objective of reading the site
  glass is to account for all oil in the system while it is in the pan
  (side-stand method), or while it is in the system upright method).
      Personal observations on my bike show a marginal difference in oil
  level readings between the two methods. Guru Steve says to err on the
  side of caution, and not to let your oil level run lower than the bottom
  of the worst-case, or higher than the top of the-worst case, and you
  have both schools covered.

o The principle behind filling the oil filter with oil is to allow the bike
  to get a supply of oil on metal ASAP during that first, post-oil-
  change startup. Without a filled oil filter, your first post-oil-change
  startup will take some short, unknown amount of time to fill the
  filter before the oil goes on to its destination to lubricate metal. As
  far as I know, nobody has actually measured the difference in
  wear over time using the two methods, nor have they determined
  the effect of that additional wear (i.e., does it actually make any
  difference that can be felt, or which results in premature part
  failure?)  Your call on how cautious you want to be. I figure it's
  easy to do, so why not?

Have fun changing oil ;-)

- -Steve Makohin
 '01 R1100S/ABS
 Oakville, Ontario, Canada

________________
BMW Motorcycles: Where an oil change is an event that merits debate, and can
inspire cult-like devotion to a specific methodology.

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