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

I know this is a topic that has probably been bantered around a dozen times, but I have missed all the talk up to now. I have an 04 R1150R that I will turn 50K on very soon. I am interested in changing to synthetic oil. Could you please let me know what type you use and filter, and how often you change it. I have been using semi-synthetic for the last 18 months or so with good results. Amsoil 20w50 is readily available to me. I apprecicate your input on what may be a dead horse.
drew

ride2red wrote:I know this is a topic that has probably been bantered around a dozen times, but I have missed all the talk up to now. I have an 04 R1150R that I will turn 50K on very soon. I am interested in changing to synthetic oil. Could you please let me know what type you use and filter, and how often you change it. I have been using semi-synthetic for the last 18 months or so with good results. Amsoil 20w50 is readily available to me. I apprecicate your input on what may be a dead horse.
drew

I would put it in straight away. I plan to start my `03 on Mobil 1 15w50 next change, running it through the Purolator PureOne PL10241 filters I bought on Amazon. (We have some good natured fun discussing filters here). I'm in the camp that likes to buy "nearly just as good as" filters for much, much less money. It won't make much difference though when I'm changing at 6000 miles though. I have one Purolator filter left, then I'll probably buy a few of those "same thing with a different label" Maule filters from Turner. (See the thread here on oil filters) I recall they were running about $11 each if you buy enough to spread the shipping cost a bit.

drew

Nice hearing from you......

You are on the right track, Amsoil is an excellent oil, specially if you have the inside track. Fiter wise the Purolator or Mahle are good choices as well. All the BMW riders in my group used to run 6K miles on synthetic (Royal Purple, inside track....what can I say), while the dino users ran 3k miles (Castrol GTX 20W50). We bought a case of filters from Chicago BMW and lasted us 2 seasons, with the encompasing savings.

I appreciate the suggestions. I have been thinking of converting to synthetic for awhile, and just have never gotten around to it. I suppose it is because I don't mind changing the oil and filter and can accomplish those tasks in about 20 minutes. I have ridden about 4500 miles in the last three weeks and it is time to do it again. I figure if I change to synthetic, I can reduce my oil changes to two or three times/year depending upon mileage. I do not like going over 5000 miles before I change the oil.
Thanks again,
drew

!

Purchases AmSoil 20w50 this afternoon. I don't have a AmSoil filter but will probably change both at 5000 miles (or six months) anyway. Thanks for the input.
drew

I use Amsoil Series 2000 20W-50. That is not the motorcycle oil but the regular car oil. Since we have a dry clutch there is no need to 'motorcycle' oil. I have been using it for over five years now.
Also I use the Amsoil filter.

Sorry if this is hijacking the thread, I just have one simple question. Can you mix different brands of synthetic oil? I was running Mobil 1 in the states, but it is very expensive and hard to find during my travels in Europe. Can I use a comparable oil of a different brand?

wile e

There is no problem changing to a comparable or different brand of synthetic. Insure that you change over when the bike is nice and hot so as to minimize the mixing and change the filter too.....by the second change you will have essentially flushed the old brand.