Opinions on Oil Brand for R1200RS

[MagnumMike52]

Just went to my local BMW dealer to purchase Advantec 5w40 oil. Parts manager said Advantec would take roughly 9 months to get, due to some Snafu with Shell. He recommended Castrol Power 1 5w40 as an alternative. This will be my 2nd oil change since purchasing the bike with 3400 miles on it. Last year I used Advantec. Interested to see what others are encountering with their dealers and what brands you are using in your boxer engines. Thanks in advance!

 

[r0ckrat]

Shell Rotella T6 (branded for diesel engines, but has all the necessary components/additives in "moto specific" oils.)

 

[omega man]

Just went to my local BMW dealer to purchase Advantec 5w40 oil. Parts manager said Advantec would take roughly 9 months to get, due to some Snafu with Shell. He recommended Castrol Power 1 5w40 as an alternative. This will be my 2nd oil change since purchasing the bike with 3400 miles on it. Last year I used Advantec. Interested to see what others are encountering with their dealers and what brands you are using in your boxer engines. Thanks in advance!

I wonder what the dealer is now using?
OM

 

[sadlsor]

You're kidding, right?
It's MUCH too late in the season to start another oil thread!
That's for the middle of winter, and here we are almost to spring!
(Maybe you're NOT kidding... but I am. )

 

[brownie0486]

Amazon has it in stock,

https://www.amazon.com/BMW-Motorrad-Advantec-5W-40-Motor/dp/B01EO2H5IY/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.k69QdsaiKuT8CWdriYKEWLzaDc5L6VtmrL_xGGk22Q_dDO77ld_vcnLUq_TvXvNCaq1Id856GJlfSIfr8yAcyQ.oJWQybNkxEp45WgZUp25UZQBoa0stpHJqvNAmJCMx-4&dib_tag=se&keywords=Advantec+5w40&qid=1709324511&sr=8-1

 

[GTRider]

Just went to my local BMW dealer to purchase Advantec 5w40 oil. Parts manager said Advantec would take roughly 9 months to get, due to some Snafu with Shell. He recommended Castrol Power 1 5w40 as an alternative. This will be my 2nd oil change since purchasing the bike with 3400 miles on it. Last year I used Advantec. Interested to see what others are encountering with their dealers and what brands you are using in your boxer engines. Thanks in advance!

The Castrol will be just fine, many of us use it as our normal oil. There’s a thread here in the forum where folks post when the Castrol goes on sale at Amazon. And, while traveling you can often find it on the road at various motorcycle shops and auto parts stores.

Edit: https://forums.bmwmoa.org/threads/sale-on-castrol-power-1-4t-5w40.96586/

Best,
DeVern

 

[PGlaves]

Amazon has it in stock,

https://www.amazon.com/BMW-Motorrad-Advantec-5W-40-Motor/dp/B01EO2H5IY/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.k69QdsaiKuT8CWdriYKEWLzaDc5L6VtmrL_xGGk22Q_dDO77ld_vcnLUq_TvXvNCaq1Id856GJlfSIfr8yAcyQ.oJWQybNkxEp45WgZUp25UZQBoa0stpHJqvNAmJCMx-4&dib_tag=se&keywords=Advantec+5w40&qid=1709324511&sr=8-1

Call Max BMW. They are the vendor at that Amazon link.

 

[r0ckrat]

Call Max BMW. They are the vendor at that Amazon link.

And if you order direct from Max BMW, you can get the MOA rebate...

 

[ColoradoGreek]

Not to get caught up in the “brand wars” but I use whichever manufacturer meets the following requirements: SAE 5W-40, API SL/JASO MA2.

 

[akbeemer]

The big clue is that Advantec is not available because of an issue with Shell. So $19 for a quart of Shell oil. Hmmmmm……

 

[stephenc]

I've been using Motul 7100 synthetic on both bikes, R1200GSA and FJR1300 for a couple of years now. Works great.

 

[bc1100s]

Owner's manual. Read it. Follow it.

 

[yz80]

Back in the good ‘ol days, I’d run Castrol GTX in my Oil Heads. 10/40 summer, 10/30 in the cooler months. $1.49 per quart! When I wanted to splurge it was Valvoline VR-1 20w/50. That set me back $1.99!

 

[20774]

Shell Rotella T6 (branded for diesel engines, but has all the necessary components/additives in "moto specific" oils.)

The diesel combustion environment is way different than a gas engine. I had a friend that was using Rotella on his R60/2. Somewhere along the line, Shell changed the formulation and he was unaware of it. It ended up shredding the tops of his lifters...he had to a complete engine teardown to get all the metal out of the engine case and parts. YMMV.

 

[lee]

Back in the good ‘ol days, I’d run Castrol GTX in my Oil Heads. 10/40 summer, 10/30 in the cooler months. $1.49 per quart! When I wanted to splurge it was Valvoline VR-1 20w/50. That set me back $1.99!

That does not meet the specs of the newer bikes, especially the ones with a wet clutch.

 

[kbasa]

Owner's manual. Read it. Follow it.

Note that some oils we used to rely on don't work well in BMWs with a wet clutch. It didn't matter much when we had dry clutches, but with a wet clutch, we want to follow the manufacturer specs for oil type very strictly.

 

[patm]

The diesel combustion environment is way different than a gas engine. I had a friend that was using Rotella on his R60/2. Somewhere along the line, Shell changed the formulation and he was unaware of it. It ended up shredding the tops of his lifters...he had to a complete engine teardown to get all the metal out of the engine case and parts. YMMV.

The Shell Rotella T6 meets all the requirements for a wethead. I have friends who swear by it. I used in the past without any issues but prefer using oils from Liqui-Moly.
However I don't think the T6 meets the older airheads requirements.

 

[zer0netgain]

I’ve been using Rotella. I tried Amsoil in 10w40 which worked with no noticeable difference. Amsoil does make a 5w40 blend for wet clutch motorcycles. Took some searching as it wasn’t under the same section of their website.

https://www.amsoil.com/p/amsoil-5w-40-100-synthetic-metric-motorcycle-oil-mmf/

 

[PGlaves]

I’ve been using Rotella. I tried Amsoil in 10w40 which worked with no noticeable difference. Amsoil does make a 5w40 blend for wet clutch motorcycles. Took some searching as it wasn’t under the same section of their website.

https://www.amsoil.com/p/amsoil-5w-40-100-synthetic-metric-motorcycle-oil-mmf/

$17.59 a quart??? Not any time soon!

 

[20774]

The Shell Rotella T6 meets all the requirements for a wethead. I have friends who swear by it. I used in the past without any issues but prefer using oils from Liqui-Moly.
However I don't think the T6 meets the older airheads requirements.

Good point! Just pointing out that one has to be aware of the specs and what they're buying to ensure the health of the engine.