Re: Foamy oil

[BeemerGary2@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 9/10/2004 4:51:33 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
dchowenhill@xxxxxxxxx writes:
Routinely, I drained it and put in fresh oil - GTX 20-50.  After filling it 
to the dot in the middle of the site gage, I started the bike (still on center 
stand) and ran it for one minute.  Re checking the site gage I was surprised 
to see it filling up (all the way to the top) with foamy oil.  Puzzled, I 
drained about two quarts to look at the oil - light brown and foamy.  
What is this all about?
I used to have a '951100GS, but moved to a '04 1150GS in June '03. I never 
had the situation you described, so what follows is purely speculation.
You didn't say whether or not you changed oil filters. If you didn't, there 
may have been something in the filter that contaminated the fresh oil.
A light brown color of oil would seem to indicate the presence of some 
contaminant. Water? Coolant? 
Also, because of the many oil channels in the Oilhead, as compared to the 
Airhead, I'm not sure that simply adding oil until it reaches the mid point of 
the sight glass is such a good idea. After oil and filter changes, I always 
added the quantity specified in the 'capacities' section of the Owner's Manual 
(slightly less than 4 quarts, as I recall) and that resulted in completely 
filling the sight glass. I rode that bike hard for 85K miles, and never had any 
lubrication related problems, and it was still running strong when I sold it.
I hope you are able to diagnose and solve the problem. Please keep us 
informed.
Gary Prickett
Mission Viejo, CA

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