BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

wally world?

isn't that where Clark Griswold went ballistic on Nat'l Lampoons VAcation?

I'd be more than a little leery about using an oil designed for diesel trucks in a motorcycle. This month's Motorcyclist tech section has a letter from a guy who wrote in to say that he changed the oil in his motorcycle but only had 3 quarts of motorcycle oil. He added a 4th quart of car oil and was concerned that that would fry his engine. Motorcyclist, with no particular axe to grind, replied that if the mix had been the other way around, they would tell him to dump the oil at the first opportunity. One quart of "auto" oil shouldn't hurt however. Then, they make a pointed observation that regular oils intended for cars (or trucks) simply do not have the additives necessary to protect against the much higher demands of a motorcycle engine.

Seems like good advice and comports with everything else I have read on motorcycle oils.

Then, they make a pointed observation that regular oils intended for cars (or trucks) simply do not have the additives necessary to protect against the much higher demands of a motorcycle engine

Don't want to hijack this thread but . . .
I haven't read this article in Motorcyclist but if this quote is accurate, that publication should be challenged to list the additives that are missing from "automobile" oils and presumably are present in the much more costly "motorcycle" oils. Everything I've read indicates that there is absolutely no evidence that motorcycle oil is superior in any way to other "regular" crankcase lubricants. All the brand name oils provide adequate protection, though some, like the BMW oils and Golden Spectro, rate more highly in some areas. In fact, Rotella T tends to be one of the better performing oils in most independent lab tests. There is no reason not to use an HD oil (often incorrectly called "diesel" oil) with the proper API and viscosity rating in a gasoline engine.

Everone's entitled to their opinion, and if it makes folks sleep better to use oil that costs $6/qt rather than $3, then by all means spend the extra money. It is irresponsible however for a motorcycle publiction to make people nervous over the use of "regular" oil in their bikes as appears to be the case in the Motorcyclist article.

I'm no expert in this, but I read somewhere that motorcycle oil additives are designed to support a wet clutch. Since the 259 engine has a dry clutch, there's no need for these additives.

I am considering using Johnson's Baby Oil and changing after every ride. Do you guys think that is a wise approach?

Now, I'm not a wealthy guy but I just changed oil and I don't think the oil filter and crush gasket price set me back too much at the BMW dealer. Generally, I don't think it matters, though.

I've experimented with oils and done my homework. I think full on synth motorcycle racing oil is the best thing since sliced bread, and completely unneccesary. If I could get the Rotella 20w-50 I'd use it. Currently I use Castrol GTX 20w-50 (on sale at the local parts barn.

I've always used this approach and I have yet (in over 300,000) miles of riding experienced an oil related failure.

as far as I can tell, there is no Rotella synth 20/50. The closest is 5 or 15W/40. The manual shows 40W is acceptable only up to 90 degrees ambient temp.
Down here, we can sometimes come close to that at Christmas.

if I'm wrong, please correct me.

John

Roadster manual's reference to 40W is for dino based oils only. Synth do better across a wider range of internal temps.

The diesel engine synthetic oil versions of Rotella, Devo and Mobil 1 are excellent choices in 15W40 for most U.S. locations and seasons.

The additive in SG/SH oils that is reduced in SJ/SL/SM oils is zinc (and phosphorus (?????)). Our engines benefit from the older formulations as do diesel engines. CH4+ and CH4 are thus good oils for R259 engines.

The wet-clutch dry clutch dichotomy exists with respect to Energy Conserving oil additives and is distinct from grading standards. A separate label element indicates that friction modifiers are present in an Energy Conserving Oil. These should be avoided for wet clutch designs. Have no (or little) impact on dry clutches.

Don't take our word for any of this. Seek and review your own sources that seem credible. Boxermania and CycleRob and Dean's BMW remain my credible sources for engine related matters on this board.

Others are smart, informed or well intentioned, but nothing compares to the record of good info generated over the past 5 years by those three key guys.

anybody ever had an oil related failure, in the motor?

Thanks for the response, MikeCam. I've followed this thread and the links, whenever they appear. Lots of good info. My concern was that a dealer might balk at warranty work because of the 40W oil vs ambient temps > 90.

John

I had a slipping starter clutch in my K100. I called the dealer to make an appointment to bring it in to have it fixed. His first question was what kind of oil was I using. When I told him Castrol synthetic, he said to change to a motorcycle oil and see if that made any difference. I did ... and had no further problems with the starter clutch.

A Moderator posted on a oil change page, that he used AC DELCO PF-53. I tried the BMW filter wrench on one @ the store, and it did not fit(loose). So I bought a K&N. It has a lug tacked on the bottom. They seem to be a high quality filter, and not cheap. $10.99, at a discount auto store.

Why would the oil type effect the starter?

Here's a posting from the I-BMW K-bike tech section that exactly describes the problem I had ... and a similar solution:

Early K100 Sprag Clutch Cleanup
By Don Eilenberger
September 2000

The Finest Year ('85) and earlier K100 has the first design sprag clutch - and it's problematical if the technique I describe will help - but easy and cheap to try. It's also possible that your sprag clutch has accumulated moisture causing rust of the components (one of the problems with short winter rides) - and in this case disassembly is probably the only answer. (BMW changed the design in early '85 due to exactly this problem - the new design helped but did not entirely 'cure' the problem - it still occurs once in a while on K engines).

OK - the process I've used with success (and it has worked about 60% of the time for other people - no guarantees)

Go to a local auto parts store and look for an oil additive which describes itself as a 'detergent' - we do NOT want any oil thickeners (like STP) - we want something that says "Cleans rings, hydraulic lifters, etc.." "safe to use in your oil" - we are not looking for an engine 'flush' - we're looking for a very specific oil detergent additive.

I personally have had very good luck through the years with a product called CD-2 Oil Detergent. Paul Glaves and others have used a product called Rislone with success.

With CD-2, (make sure it is the 'detergent') - I added 1/2 a can to a fresh change of oil - and then ran it for 500 miles and then changed the oil. Any of the detergent additives tend to dilute the oil, so I don't like to make it part of the bikes regular diet. With CD-2, you could add it even if you were full up on oil - the can isn't very large. Rislone comes in a quart, so adding even 1/2 of it might require lowering your oil level somehow.

The brand of oil you use may also have some effect on this behavior.. I find I've had good results with Castrol RX-Super 15-40 fleet oil.. I'm sure that any quality oil will help avoid the problem, as will longer rides in the winter to allow the oil to come up to temperature and burn off moisture.



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OU812,

See my post on the first page of this thread, the BMW wrench perfectly fits the highly reviewed Purolator Pure One filter.

DSKYZD

Would you recommend a non-BMW oil filter?

No.

Think of the price difference equivalent to buying your bike a few beers every 6,000 miles for a motor that's worth several thousand dollars. It's more than worth it.

we have a drum of it @ work that we no longer need. Do I dare!