Boxer blues

It’s well known that BMW boxer engines drink oil, but that prompts some questions that no one has satisfactorily answered. Like, where’s all that oil going?

Unless there are leaks – highly unlikely – Ghaddafi’s black gold must be being burnt.  That’s either being drawn past the valve stems into the combustion chamber, or seeping past the piston rings. And being burnt.  If it’s the latter, then this might be happening when the bike’s parked on its prop stand.

But the biggest puzzle is, given that the oil’s being burnt, why doesn’t this show in the exhaust?  Why doesn’t the burnt oil b****r up the catalytic converter?  And, how come the bikes can pass the stringent emission tests, with all that filth in the exhaust??

So, all you technical types out there … can you solve this one for me?

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