K11 Owners Group

[frjack]

My 93 K11RS, with 66666 miles on it, seems to be chewing through oil. In under 1000 miles, it has gone from full to empty, in the sight-glass. Surely that's not right?
My mate said there was a puff of whitish smoke under hard acceleration. The bike was warm. No obvious noises.
I heard a whisper that these engines will chew through the wrong type of oil, even if it is the right grade.
Any clues, guys, before I decide to move on?

Cheers!
_________________
Fr Jack
1993 K1100RS in 690 bloo
(Build date 11/92, first registered 04/93)

[SugarHillCTD]

My previous K1100RS would go through a Qt in 700 to 900 miles, closer to 700 in hotter weather.

In the warmer weather I would use heavier weight oil to reduce consumption.

BTW, oil burning should be more of a bluish color out the tailpipe, not white- if I'm not mistaken.

Good luck.
John
_________________
John & Cathy

'92 K100RS4V Pearl White SOLD
'04 K1200GT
IBA Several-SS1k, BBG, 50CC NYC to S.F.

[dave n]

Keep adding oil - much cheaper than new engine or bike !!
_________________
Dave Norris KOG 248
1999 Cagiva Gran Canyon
1993 K1100LT w/Hannigan sidecar
2008 Suzuki DR650

[Jim]

Make sure you're using a good grade of oil.

If I recall correctly, BMW specs use of up to one quart in 600 miles - or maybe it was a 1,000. Mine has used that much oil when I put synthetic or cheaper oil in it. I've been using a Castrol synthetic blend with pretty good results.

Is this something new? Or has it always used this much?
_________________
Jim
1997 K1100LTSE 94,000 - still has gremlins!
1995 R100RT Classic 16,650 crashed - repaired!
1992 K75RTP 46,000

"We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed."

[frjack]

[frjack]

[frjack]

[DaveVoorhis]

At 66,666 miles, it's only done about 3700 miles per year. I bet most of those were gentle, lazy, motorway miles on an engine that's meant to be brutalised. In short, it's never been broken in properly. Ride it like you stole it, and keep an eye on the oil level. If it's anything like my 93 RS, the oil consumption will get better when the rings finally seat in a bit. It'll probably run better, too.

Another possibility is that the crankcase ventilation hoses or separator have deteriorated, to the point that a positive crankcase vacuum is no longer being maintained. That will make the engine burn more oil and possibly push some past the seals.
_________________
'93 K1100RS
Dave #3

[malcolmt]

My ol K11 has 100,000km on the clock.
I did 1300km last weekend, mostly cruising at 130kph on freeways or up to 180kph on main roads.
She needed exactly 500ml of oil after the trip.

BTW I was two up with both paniers FULL.

Malcolm(t)
_________________
******************************
A Bike on the road is worth two
in the shed
******************************

[SugarHillCTD]

BTW, in the Rider's Handbook- that pretty useless 88 or so page publication that comes with the bike (at least the first owner had one), it states that:

"Max. oil consumption" is 0.17 qt(Imp.)/100km

So 1.7 qt for 1000km or 2.72 qt for 1000 miles (remember that this is an Imp qt which is 20% larger than a U.S. qt)

But that is an amazing amount of oil consumption for a factory to allow.

My math is correct, yes?
_________________
John & Cathy

'92 K100RS4V Pearl White SOLD
'04 K1200GT
IBA Several-SS1k, BBG, 50CC NYC to S.F.

[Thedodge]

Did a few calculations to help me see this in metric format (couldn't visualise a quart). According to the "Rider's handbook" supplied with my beemer, max oil consumption is .15 quart(imp)/100 km, which equates to 2.74 litres in 100 miles!!!!! That seems an awful lot. If i bought a brand new bike and it was chomping it's way through that much oil, i would be a bit cheesed off. It is well known that if the bike is parked on the sidestand oil will get into the combustion chamber giving a bit of blue smoke on startup, whether it is past the rings or past the valve guide oil seals, i am not sure.
_________________
K1100 lt 97'

[Thedodge]

That should read 1000 miles, not 100. Dodge.
_________________
K1100 lt 97'

[Ernie-NH]

Hello all...

WOW... I dont know about your bikes, but my '95 K1100LT with 72kmiles on the clock, took me from New Hampshire to HMSP-III last May, on to Nashville TN, and back via the same route for a total of 2800 miles ( all highway ) and required less than half a pint ( ie: >0.25 quarts US) Amsoil 50W when I got back. In terms of 'oil useage' the "K" is the most efficient bike I have ever owned.

Regards.......// Ernie in NH
_________________
AMA,, American Deaf Bikers
Airhead Beemers Club
'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

[SugarHillCTD]

Ernie,

After owning 3 bricks and reading LOTS of posts on several different forums plus FD's very accurate assessment that every K11 engine is different- I guess that there is NO norm for these engines.

John
_________________
John & Cathy

'92 K100RS4V Pearl White SOLD
'04 K1200GT
IBA Several-SS1k, BBG, 50CC NYC to S.F.

[BobZ(IL)]

Since I began using Spectro Golden 4 which is formulated for use in motorcycles, oil consumption has diminished considerably on my K.

I strongly recommend the use of motorcycle blends regardless of brand.
_________________
'93 K1100LT
'78 R100S
'05 R1200GS
BMWMOA, CRBMWOA, ABC, K11OG #997

Live well, do good work, enjoy the ride.

[SugarHillCTD]

[Jim]

[Phil Marvin]

Hi,
I've had 6 K-bikes - 2 K1100LT's and 4 K75's. My first K1100LT (bought at 14299 miles, sold with 122k miles) used a US qt. every 3k to 4k miles, and it didn't matter what oil, what speed, what ambient temp., etc. My second used no oil. I never had to add any between changes. I bought that bike with under 5k miles and hit a deer on it at about 28k miles. I've never had to add any oil to any of my K75's between changes.
_________________
Ride Safe,
Phil Marvin in El Paso, TX
'94 K75A/3
'95 K75RTP