Hello! I have been lurking on this board for about a year and there's such a wealth of knowledge on boxers here that I could not lurk any longer. I have a new-to-me '95 R1100R with 42,000 miles and I changed the oil a couple of weeks ago. Ever since the oil change, I am smelling burning oil every time I pull up to a stop light. The engine is almost spotless and I have inspected every possible place that oil could come into contact with exhaust or hot engine parts and I can find no evidence of any leakage...anywhere! Last night, I pulled the plug for the air box and got a thimble-worth of oil out, but that's it. I filled the oil about 3/4 up the sight glass during the oil change. Does anyone have a suggestion as to where the burning oil smell might be coming from? I'm at my wit's end. -Blake P.S. There are no oil spots under the bike in the garage in the morning.
Welcome to the asylum. Maybe you just got some oil smudges on the exhaust during the oil change and it'll burn itself clean after a few more miles.
By any chance did you change the gear oil in the transmission? If you did, very small amounts of oil could be coming out the trans. drain plug and dripping right on to the hot exhaust, burning away leaving almost no trace. Given the info in your post, that would be my best guess at this point.
I've got the same smell, I've never found anything to worry about. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=400281
:huh Ummm, no, this is not normal. Likely some got on the exhaust during the service, but if it persists for more than a hundred or so miles after, it's not normal.
It's been about 400 miles, so I may need look into the transmission input shaft seal. Will any wetting appear between the transmission and the engine if there's a leak in the transmission seal?
Every now and then I smell what is either burning oil or rubber. Its not present everytime i park the bike in the garage. When it's running there's no cloud of smoke, nothing dripping, weeping or otherwise leaking anywhere. I check for any sign of oil/grease/fluid etc in every nook and cranny every few weeks and have never seen anything. I had my dealer do the 36k service and they saw nothing (i didn't think to mentio it to them though - maybe they would have looked harder if i had). WHatever it is - it is not something obvious to me.
Just curious, how much oil did you put in during the change? You shouldn't use the sight glass as a gauge when filling. I've found that it's only accurate when the oil is hot.
Is it a burning engine oil smell, or a burning gear oil smell? I have a weeping transmission input shaft seal on mine, the bottom of the engine towards the center of the bike (behind the rubber boot) is usually damp, and may have a drop or two forming at times. The drips drop right on the back edge of the cat and burn away so there are no drops of oil on the garage floor. Mine's been seeping for the last 7K miles or so. I've checked the transmission level every 2K or so and it's never required more than the slightest top-off, YMMV. I figure as long as it doesn't start squirting out, I'll just wait until the bike needs a new clutch before replacing the seal.
subject drift... there is no reason why he shouldn't use the sight glass. As for the "only accurate when the oil is hot" comment, how accurate do you have to be when the range between min and max is 8 oz? The bike won't care if you have 3.6 vs 3.8 quarts of oil. I fill my filter, install it, then fill the crankcase to the center dot. That is always very close to 3 1/2 quarts. The remaining 1/2 quart will be added over the next 6,000 miles, about 3 oz at a time. That routine has been quite consistent for the last 36,000 miles.
Not sure my comments were a "subject drift". Putting to much oil in and having it overflow into the airbox, then somewhere it could burn is relevant. IMHO. Glad the sight glass method works for you.
I've noticed the smell too. I thought it might be the oil filter gasket- nope. Thought it might be a film of oil on the pan that gets warm enough to create the smell but not enough to burn it off. If I take it to the shop with this symptom under warranty, how would they know it's a front trans shaft seal without ripping the bike apart? Mere lack of oil anywhere else?
Wow! A lot of good feedback here. I went on a 110 mile ride last night and I noticed that the bike had consumed a bit of oil, as the sight glass was a little under half-full. Oddly enough, the oil smell has either gone away or subsided to the point that I can no longer smell it. Overall, it sounds like the consensus is to just check all the oil levels and stop worrying about it. Thanks for the help!
