Oil recommendation

mikegalbicka · Sep 15, 2014

My recently acquired 07 R1200RT @ 33K was serviced recently and the dealer used this
http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=39062
I think the previous owner was using this as he gave me 2 Qts
http://store.bobsbmw.com/product/bmw-engine-oil-20w50-one-quart
1000 miles later my sight glass is half empty which I think means about 1/4 Qt low and I am going to top it off soon. Is it Ok to mix these two until I use up what I have? I think it is but just thought I would ask. I have always used Castrol products for all my oil needs in the past. I also have never used synthetics and the first one says semi synthetic which is why I ask. Should I be considering synthetic or just sticking with what the dealer is using?

wyman.winn · Sep 15, 2014

mikegalbicka said:
My recently acquired 07 R1200RT @ 33K was serviced recently and the dealer used this
http://www.ascycles.com/detail.aspx?ID=39062
I think the previous owner was using this as he gave me 2 Qts
http://store.bobsbmw.com/product/bmw-engine-oil-20w50-one-quart
1000 miles later my sight glass is half empty which I think means about 1/4 Qt low and I am going to top it off soon. Is it Ok to mix these two until I use up what I have? I think it is but just thought I would ask. I have always used Castrol products for all my oil needs in the past. I also have never used synthetics and the first one says semi synthetic which is why I ask. Should I be considering synthetic or just sticking with what the dealer is using?

yes, it is ok to mix them until you use them up....any oil is better than no oil....

i use the BMW semi-syn bought from a BMW dealership in Long Beach, CA.....

and Castrol does make great lubricants and i believe that Castrol makes the semi-syn oil for BMW....

wyman

akbeemer · Sep 15, 2014

If the oil is in the center of the glass then leave it alone. You'll go crazy chasing the oil level around that little porthole.

Dann · Sep 15, 2014

wyman.winn said:
yes, it is ok to mix them until you use them up....any oil is better than no oil....

i use the BMW semi-syn bought from a BMW dealership in Long Beach, CA.....

and Castrol does make great lubricants and i believe that Castrol makes the semi-syn oil for BMW....

wyman

20W50 is the old specs
15W50 is the new specs

tinytrains · Sep 16, 2014

1. Is there oil in the sight glass? Check.

2. Is it the correct weight per the manual for the temperature? Check

3. Does it have less than 6000 miles? Check.

GO RIDE! :clap

That is all that really matters.

Fancy oil is nice, and give us something to argue about on the internet.

mikegalbicka · Sep 16, 2014

Thanks everyone for confirming what I thought. First motor I ever owned where using oil at 33K was considered normal. Learning to live with it thanks to info found here.

lkchris · Sep 17, 2014

Dann said:
20W50 is the old specs
15W50 is the new specs

The specs didn't change.

Rather, BMW North America changed suppliers and the new oil dealers have is different. Both are in range of what is acceptable in owners manual, as is 10W-50. The first number is meaningless in any event.

na1g · Sep 17, 2014

"...meaningless in any event." Unless it's a winter event. :eek

Riding when it's 12 degrees F?

jeffkruger · Sep 17, 2014

I have been running 15W50 Full Syn Mobil 1 in my 07 GSA after switching from dino oil at about 20k miles. It would use 4-8oz between 5k oil changes most of the time. The bike has about 50k on it now. I recently returned from a 7k trip and the bike didn't use a drop of oil. The bike was run pretty hard during the trip, and ridden in some very high temperatures.

I've been happy with the Mobil 1, but tend to be a fan of full synthetic oils anyway. I also like they make lube suitable for my FD and trans. I have been changing the trans and FD every other oil change, or 10k, and the last couple of changes it's come out looking pretty much like new.

To say there is a LOT of oil threads out there with relation to BMW boxer motors would be a severe understatement. Pick a good quality oil and change it regularly and you are probably fine.

Hodadd · Sep 20, 2014

jeffkruger said:
I have been running 15W50 Full Syn Mobil 1 in my 07 GSA after switching from dino oil at about 20k miles. It would use 4-8oz between 5k oil changes most of the time. The bike has about 50k on it now. I recently returned from a 7k trip and the bike didn't use a drop of oil. The bike was run pretty hard during the trip, and ridden in some very high temperatures.

I've been happy with the Mobil 1, but tend to be a fan of full synthetic oils anyway. I also like they make lube suitable for my FD and trans. I have been changing the trans and FD every other oil change, or 10k, and the last couple of changes it's come out looking pretty much like new.

To say there is a LOT of oil threads out there with relation to BMW boxer motors would be a severe understatement. Pick a good quality oil and change it regularly and you are probably fine.

I just switched over to this oil on 2013 Camhead and so far I'm satisified. :usa

I was using the Castol, but at the recommended oil drain intervals it seemed to come out really thin, like it was loosing its viscosity (?). Bike runs great either way, so we'll see.

I do find it interesting that the new Castrol (bottle is stamped "BP" on the bottom) produced BMW oil is semi-synthetic and rated at MA2, which is for wet clutch applications. It would seem to me that BMW is just simplifying their supply change and this has little to do with what's best for the bike, presuming it's all good stuff and we're over thinking it. :whistle

kthflieger · Sep 23, 2014

Check last year's ON back issues (sorry I'm not near my stack right now) there was an excellent review done of all the oil brands, complete with lab analysis of the oils. Everything you ever wanted to know about which oil to use and how the brands tested out!

roamingbeemer · Sep 23, 2014

Hodadd said:
presuming it's all good stuff.

+1

jeffkruger · Sep 24, 2014

Every few oil changes I send a sample of the used oil to Blackstone Labs. It's a habit I got in to with my aircraft and now do it with pretty much everything. They will give you a detailed report that tells you a lot about the oil and your oil change interval. With a bit of history on a motor they can often point out early warning signs. On our fleet of company vehicles they have caught minute traces of antifreeze in the oil of diesel motors long before there was any other sign of a leaking head gasket. On new motors they usually indicate some assembly lube in the oil, and on diesels some times some fuel in the oil until the rings get set in. The reports are very detailed.

On my hexhead, with Mobil 1 15W50 changed every 5k miles the viscosity has remained spot on and they have said I could increase my change intervals. I have kept it at 5k, it's cheap insurance, and it's an easy number to remember. I change engine oil only at the 5's (25, 35, etc), and engine oil and FD and trans at the even 0's. Easy to manage.

lkchris · Sep 24, 2014

na1g said:
"...meaningless in any event." Unless it's a winter event. Riding when it's 12 degrees F?

I once found a Mobil 1 document that listed cold pour points of its various oils.

0W, 5W, and 10W were all the same. 15W was a little higher. Like the difference between -45 and -40.

Once you're warmed up and riding, ambient temperature is meaningless with regards to your motor oil.

lkchris · Sep 24, 2014

Hodadd said:
I was using the Castol, but at the recommended oil drain intervals it seemed to come out really thin, like it was loosing its viscosity (?).

Most hilarious vehicle I ever owned was an '89 Range Rover, with the BOP (Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac) aluminum V8.

It had an oil drain plug that required a 27mm (1-1/16 in.) wrench and the plug was on the side of the pan.

Methinks all synthetic oil looks like water when it's hot, and for sure the Mobil 1 15W-50 I used would shoot out and soak the front tire unless I held a bucket sideways to catch it.

akbeemer · Sep 24, 2014

lkchris said:
I once found a Mobil 1 document that listed cold pour points of its various oils.

0W, 5W, and 10W were all the same. 15W was a little higher. Like the difference between -45 and -40.

Once you're warmed up and riding, ambient temperature is meaningless with regards to your motor oil.

Coldest temperature at which I ever started an engine was in the -60s in the White Mountains north of Fairbanks. Started some 2 stroke SnoGos a few times at those temperatures; a 2 stroke is not that difficult to get going in the cold. Also started a Nissan 4 cyl truck once at a trailhead. It started, but barely and when I got home I discovered that the high pressure generated had pushed the oil filter gasket out so I was losing oil. Made a mess but I got home. The old timers up there would tell stories of draining the oil out of their vehicles and taking the oil and batteries into their cabins for the night. That was back when -60s stretches were common. In my time up there I only saw it a few times.

roamingbeemer · Sep 24, 2014

akbeemer said:
Coldest temperature at which I ever started an engine was in the -60s in the White Mountains north of Fairbanks. Started some 2 stroke SnoGos a few times at those temperatures; a 2 stroke is not that difficult to get going in the cold. Also started a Nissan 4 cyl truck once at a trailhead. It started, but barely and when I got home I discovered that the high pressure generated had pushed the oil filter gasket out so I was losing oil. Made a meass but I got home. The old timers up there would tell stories of draining the oil out of their vehicles and taking the oil and batteries into their cabins for the night. That was back when -60s stretches were common. In my time up there I only saw it a few times.

That was good reading. That must have been pretty high pressure. I guess no bypass valve.

jeffkruger · Sep 24, 2014

I spent 33 years in the Fairbanks area. It's something to roll a rig in from -50 and remove a differential cover and have the conventional lube just stay in place like wax. You could see where the gears had turned and created a bit of a void, but until it warmed up the conventional lube would just stay in place. I tried pouring some various oils from a bottle at -50 and it was extremely telling. We ran oil heat pads on most of our rigs that would set outside for any length of time. Otherwise you would fire up the motor and not have much oil pressure for a while. I have to say I don't miss those extreme low temperatures. Gives a person some good lessons in lubrication though.

lkchris · Sep 24, 2014

roamingbeemer said:
That was good reading. That must have been pretty high pressure. I guess no bypass valve.

Before I learned to throw the cover gasket in the Airhead filter kit away, I managed a leak at the filter cover with a cold weather (but in my garage) start with 20W-50 dino oil in my R80G/S. Never really change to "winter weight" oil here in New Mexico.

akbeemer · Sep 24, 2014

jeffkruger said:
I spent 33 years in the Fairbanks area. It's something to roll a rig in from -50 and remove a differential cover and have the conventional lube just stay in place like wax. You could see where the gears had turned and created a bit of a void, but until it warmed up the conventional lube would just stay in place. I tried pouring some various oils from a bottle at -50 and it was extremely telling. We ran oil heat pads on most of our rigs that would set outside for any length of time. Otherwise you would fire up the motor and not have much oil pressure for a while. I have to say I don't miss those extreme low temperatures. Gives a person some good lessons in lubrication though.

You were there much longer than I was. No one lives in Fairbanks by accident.

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