Originally Posted By: Brahma
Folks-
I would appreciate your insight here. The best way I could think of to easily post my reports is from this link;
http://www.lakeerieislands.com/k1200gt.html
* I am the second owner of this bike, obtaining it at around 3,200 miles- I have no idea how it was broken in.
* I change the oil religiously at 3,000 miles using BMW, then recommended Castrol oils.
* This bike has a wet clutch, with a seperate reservoir and sump.
* I usually change the oil be warming it up in the garage until the electric fan comes on, ~ 15 minutes.
* I then using a marine oil sump vacuum for the reservoir, and then draining the sump.
Questions-
1. Why do aluminum and iron remoan so high now at 18,000 miles?
2. I understand my method of warming the bike up for the oil change may be attributing to high fuel content in the sample- true?
3. Even if my method of warming up my bike is skewing the fuel reading, that wouldn't effect the aluminum and iron readings- true?
4. With readings consistantly high with aluminum and iron at 18,000 miles, should I be worried or could it still tame down?
5. What, overall, can I do to settle this bike in?
Thanks!
B.
I am sorry that you have found your UOA a disappointment but, on the brighter side of things, BMW's are great motorcycles built to last a long time. It doesn't look like your unit was quite finished with its initial break-in (at 18,000miles
) and the numbers are not real bad considering its young age. I do see a couple of changes that may help with the numbers going forward.
The Castrol RS R4 4T being used was tied for LAST PLACE out of 14 different M/C oils in the category
RUST PROTECTION on Amsoil's "A Study of Motorcycle Oil Second Edition". This particular Castrol oil was also in last place for the HIGH TEMPERATURE/HIGH SHEAR test and tied for last place in the FOUR BALL WEAR test. Those are three of the most important areas for a motorcycle oil and Castrol RS R4 4T is doing a bad job on all three. (If you were to look at both the first and second edition of the study, you will see that Castrol's Motorcycle lubricants are not what their reputation would lead you to believe.) I am sorry to type it. Please decide for yourself.
Fuel dilution of the oil may be contributing to the overall problem...it may not be just the Castrol. If blow-by is diluting the fuel when you are heating up the oil to change it, it is also diluting the fuel every time you come to a stop. The resulting lowering of viscosity would contribute to extra wear in the iron (Fe) and trace metals coming from bearings in the engine and transmission.
On the more positive side, if there is blow-by and fuel dilution occurring, it indicates you may still have a ways to go to get the rings fully seated. The most effective way of seating the rings can be found on the internet by breaking in the motorcycle the "Moto-Tune Way". I have used it and can attest to the positive outcome from the procedure. Here is a link to their website. Yes it is controversial but my motorcycle can give you a whiplash and a nosebleed so I say it works quite well.
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm
The Castrol may also have contributed to higher aluminum and iron ppm's because it could not provide its inherent wear protection when it was fuel diluted. The Castrol's additive package is also unable to prevent corrosion in the motorcycle's engine during the off season. I highly recommend that you not use that particular oil for your Beamer and that you get better protection until you are sure that fuel is not diluting the oil day by day and you are comfortable with a new UOA.
Contributing to the high aluminum and iron may be the time of year that the oil is being changed. If the motorcycle is being put away at the end of the season, I would suggest routinely changing the oil later in the fall (late Oct or Nov so there is little use before it becomes idle for the winter) and be absolutely sure the oil used is
excellent in rust protection. Amsoil did us all a great favor with their "Study of Motorcycle Oil" edition one and two and I suggest you read all of it.
A high "TBN" number does not guarantee rust protection. Rust prevention is something that is added to the additive package outside of what creates high TBN.
I suggest you might mix a quart of 20W-50 with each quart of 10W-40 to obtain a viscosity of 15W-45. This should help with compression and give you a little wiggle room since you can expect that the viscosity will plunge again.
The advice to use a deisel oil is good advice but because of the potential of oil dilution and a drop of two oil grades, I personally would be more comfortable with something a little heavier than 10W-40. Shell's Rotella Synthetic 5W-40 is quite unique, however, in its tendency to not lose viscosity according to the Motorcycle UOA's I've read here, however the possibility of oil dilution still remains and Rotella is not a "thick" 40 weight.
If there is fuel leakage occurring, it is important to discover and correct the cause. Perhaps you need to turn a petcock to "off" when you are done riding. Some motorcycles' fuel petcocks, carburetors or fuel injection systems have been known to leak fuel into the motor when the motorcycle is sitting and has cooled down. I'm not familiar enough with your motorcycle to suggest where to look but start with the fuel tank and work downhill.
If you can smell gasoline, you have leakage somewhere.
I seriously doubt that the motorcycle could have been hurt in its first 3200 miles unless it ran completely out of oil. You could blast a BMW hard as your nerve and the traffic would allow and it would probably result in a better break-in than the average. They are tough, long-lasting motorcycles with 20,000-25,000 mile break-ins with some owners claiming that their UOA's did not settle down until they reached 40,000 miles.
Here is line to help you with the decision on what oil:
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Consumables.htm
Good luck.