(Sporadic) Check oil light?

[PBGS]

I've got a brand new 2011 GS (now with about 760 miles on it), went on about a 160 trip today and about halfway back [while having to do tons of slow speed starts and stops - it was a ride with about 9/10,000 riders so it got bunched up and stopped a lot as we left town] my check oil light came on [but NO warning light] while I was riding. At points when I stopped again, it would go off - the info display that you can go to to check oil temp/etc would initially say check oil - then switch to oil ok. So with it flip-flopping like this is it just borderline with needing oil? I've already got it scheduled for its 600 mile initial service this coming Tuesday, but I've got a bunch of start/stop riding to do tomorrow [an experienced rider course] and I'm a little concerned.
Unfortunately I was never really in a position (and didn't know any better to be honest) to stop somewhere, wait a while, and check the oil window.
I'd be tempted to just put in a little extra oil to play it safe but from another thread on here apparently I shouldn't mess with the pre 600 mile oil ?

Thoughts? Ride it out until the service on Tuesday? Buy some oil and have it handy tomorrow in case it acts up [and I've ridden it long enough to know the true oil level?]

[pdxrmccgs]

Probably (hopefully) just a post-it-note from your computer
system to you saying "change my oil...its past 600 miles".
Kind of like the old cager "check engine light" whose only
purpose was to drive people nuts and into the shop/dealer
for maintenance checks.

What kind of ride was/is the 9-10k riders deal?

[PBGS]

It was an escort ride for a 9/11 memorial in downtown Indianapolis.
We escorted two steel beams from Richmond, IN to Indianapolis, IN.
Here's one page about it (briefly): http://www.indystar.com/article/2011...t|IndyStar.com
Here's a FB page from a local riding show (https://www.facebook.com/album.php?f...0678&aid=59276)
My bike is in pic 1 and 5. These pics don't remotely capture the real size though - they only showed one street and one parking lot or two. There were many more [and some huge school lots that emptied out into our ride after we were already unde way].

People are saying there were about 12,000+ riders. The escort stretched over 52 miles on I-70 [which was closed off]. It was a pretty great ride.

Hopefully the oil is ok - it seems like the owners manual would be clear about there being a dealer-service sort of thing, particularly if it was just a check oil. It's certainly appropriate for this upcoming service though.

Any other thoughts from the crowd?

[pdxrmccgs]

Fantastic. Thank you.

[marc]

Put the bike on the center stand on a flat surface. Look at the sight glass. Do you see oil? If so, you've enough. If not add some until you see oil keeping in mind that it takes 10-20 seconds from the time you add the oil until you see a change in the sight glass level. From top to bottom of the sight glass is about a pint.

There will be plenty of folks telling you that you first have to put the bike on the side stand before putting it on the center stand. They may also say the bike must be hot... except for those who insist warm is best... and those who like cold measurements. Ignore them. Yes, all of those things will make a slight difference in the reported level but not enough of a difference to effect the operation of the bike. I check mine in the morning with the bike cold because it is convenient for me to do it that way. Do what is convenient for you.

As for the oil level warning. Some have reported that the on board computer level warning is sensitive... so sensitive that it comes on while there is still plenty of oil in the bike. I suspect you'll find that your level is in the bottom quarter of the sight glass. If so add enough oil to bring it to the top quarter of the sight glass and your warnings will go away.

[PBGS]

I went ahead and bought a thing of oil on the way to class then checked it on the center stand once there... it wasn't visible *at all*, so I added about half.

Is it normal to have to add oil between maintenance's (or even the first!?) with the 1200?
I've never had to add oil between normal scheduled maintenance oil changes so this is a new thing for me.

[pdxrmccgs]

No, it is not normal. It is easy to misread the sight gauge. On my
2009 the break-in oil was so clear you could not "see" it. Also,
some folks say the oil cooler hides oil and you need to wait after
riding to get a correct reading. The probability of a oil
depletion issue during break-in is almost zero.

Oil use down the road 5,10,15, 20 thou miles is often discussed
on the forum with different points of view as to when the
engine is "broken in" and stops any oil use. Guys talk about
piston rings "seating". To me with modern machining it is almost a
non-issue and I think lubricating rotating parts is more important.

[PBGS]

Yeah, it wasn't a matter of not being easily visible - it just plain wasn't there. I had even taken a flashlight to it last night to try to double check and when I put it on its side stand was the only time I saw *any* and it was definitely visible then - but *very* low in the window. So I at least knew what I was looking for at that point.
Today it was blatantly obvious when I checked in the morning and after adding about half a quart. I'll obviously be bringing it up on Tuesday when I bring it in for its 600 mile service. I certainly haven't seen any obvious oil spotting though so it's certainly an interesting question what's up with the low oil.

[marc]

Your sidestand check was exactly the correct thing to do. I think the fact that you saw oil when on the side stand says the bike wasn't dangerously low. Now lets talk about oil consumption.

Some bikes consume oil, some dont. Some bikes break in soon, others take a while. I don't know if there is any rhyme or reason as to why. My previous BMW (R1150RT) took about 1/qt every 2500-3000 miles until it had about 22,000 miles on the odometer, then stopped, requiring less than 1/2 quart additional between 6K service intervals.

My GS used a quart between the 600 mile service and 3000 miles but less than a quart between then and the 6K service. Then it started using less. Most of the time I add 3 1/2 quarts as part of the service (that brings the oil level up to about the center dot) and then add the remaining 1/2 quart over the next 6K miles. But sometimes I need to add a little bit more.

Until your oil use stabilizes -- which may take a while -- pay attention to the current level and keep it visible in the window. Good luck.

[PBGS]

Slighty off/on topic, but at the experienced rider course today my GS was phenomenal. I took it as a refresher but also to get some forced 'practice' with my brand new bike. I hadn't really had a chance to really try emergency braking for eg. It was quite surprising how much I could really get on the brakes without the ABS engaging. With the parking lot course there was only so much speed I could put on without making people nervous but I finally did manage to get some ABS action in there briefly. Basically, I was really impressed with its braking prowess and it was a nice eye opener for me.
Coming from bikes without ABS I was always more reticent to go really hard on the brakes for fear of a front lock but now seeing how far I could really go (at least with the GS - perhaps partially due to the telelever) and still not engage the ABS it's made me reconsider. The fact that the ABS is always there for me if I go to far is a lifesaver though.
In the slow speed stuff, with the short rake on the GS it was a non-issue - I needed like half the room as everyone else.

There's certainly some minor things that I'm like 'c'mon BMW... really!?' and I know I'm preaching to the choir here but man I really do love this bike.
[if I end up having some kind of constant oil problem well, then I'll reconsider ;>]