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Looking for advice on oil and filter choices

442bmw

New member
Looking for best oil choice, thinking Mobil 1 v twin 20- 50 and good filter choice. I read the 97 rt 1100 is a dry clutch. Would the Mobil be ok,read it's good oil for wet clutch but not sure about dry clutch. Thanks for help, planning my first service on bike this winter.
 
Unless you are riding at extremely cold temperatures, you should be using 20W-50 weight motor oil. The Oilhead motors call for API rated SG/SH oil. Newer API formulations (SL) have different levels of additives and are not "better" because they will have less of some additives that are important for the older motors. The Viscosity (20W-50) is probably more important to get right than the API rating, but try to get the right oil for your motor.

There are plenty of good substitutes for the BMW oil filter. The Mahle OC91D is the OEM filter and if you can get the D package it will have new crush washers in the box.
 
If you can bring up the March 2013 issue of the Owners' News (http://reader.mediawiremobile.com/BMW/issues/107951/viewer?page=1), Kurt S and Paul G published an excellent comparison of several oils; the Mobil 1 V-Twin came out as "Pretty Good". If you choose a different oil, try really hard to get one with that SG rating.

re your clutch - Yes yours is a true "DRY" clutch; there is (should be...) NO oil in its vicinity, so the choice of engine (or transmission) oil is Not a factor for the clutch.
Side Note: if there is any oil on the clutch, you would have either a leaking rear main seal or a leaking tranny input seal, and the clutch would be slipping.

As long as you're asking about oils - the transmission is not picky about what's in there, and almost any Quality tranny oil should be fine (my personal preference is for the Bel-Ray red synthetic; off the top of my head I think it's 85W-140 hypoid); note that the rear bevel drive MUST have 75W90 GL-5 hypoid oil.
 
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It appears you are not being overwhelmed with responses to your question. This may be because folks are a bit burned out by threads about oil. But don’t despair, there are probably other threads that have more information and a search may find them. The simple answer to the oil question is found in your owner’s manual. Buy an oil that meets the specifications in the manual and is the appropriate viscosity, again as provided in the manual. Personal recommendations of a specific brand are fine, but are anecdotal. Truth is it is near impossible to go wrong so long as the oil meets the BMW specifications. As to filters, you can’t go wrong using the BMW filter. Mahle filters are made by the same people who make the BMW filter, so those are good as well.
 
It appears you are not being overwhelmed with responses to your question. This may be because folks are a bit burned out by threads about oil.....
Or just constantly bemused by people who buy 20 thousand dollar toys and then look for cheap alternatives to BMW oil and filters. :lurk
 
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If your looking to save a few bucks on filters checkout Beemer Boneyard. You’ll save more by buying in bulk like a six pack. As for engine oil as has been stated use a 20W50 weight Dino oil. Synthetics tend to weep past seals. I personally use Castrol 20W50 motorcycle oil in my 1100RT and so does the nearby dealership
 
Or just constantly bemused by people who buy 20 thousand dollar tows and then look for cheap alternatives to BMW oil and filters. :lurk

Who said anything about cheap alternatives,Mobil one not cheap, just getting an idea of brands Peaple prefer,and when I put oil choices in search box I find no results,sorry if the question been beaten to death,just try find some info.
 
In my BMW R1150RTP I use Mobil 1 V-twin 20-50 and a Mobil 1 MI-102 filter.

Watch for the number of flutes on the various filters; some have 14 flutes, some have 15 and therefore require different removal tools.

All the Hondas get whatever brand of CI-4 15-40 I happen to have open at the time, but you asked about the Beemer. If I had a 442, it would probably get the 15-40 as well! :)
 
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All the Hondas get whatever brand of CI-4 15-40 I happen to have open at the time, but you asked about the Beemer. If I had a 442, it would probably get the 15-40 as well! :)

Which is NOT IN SPEC for his particular motorcycle, but who looks at specifications anyway these days with all the Internet gurus about spouting bad information. Put in your bike whatever you wish, but in giving advice please at least keep it within the published specifications.

Edit: Never mind. The quoted post did not exactly say what he wanted to say so it has been changed - meaning this post is no longer applicable. :)
 
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...just getting an idea of brands Peaple prefer,and when I put oil choices in search box I find no results,sorry if the question been beaten to death,just try find some info.
Here's a link to A&S Cycles (BMW dealer) that offers oil change kits. They recommend Bel-Ray 20 50 if not using the BMW oil. I prefer to visit the dealer to purchase oil and filters but in the same sentence I'll say I won't pay their prices for tires. I prefer to do my own service when I can mainly because I'll clean as I go and I'll have first hand knowledge of the shape the bike is in. :thumb
 
Which is NOT IN SPEC for his particular motorcycle, but who looks at specifications anyway these days with all the Internet gurus about spouting bad information. Put in your bike whatever you wish, but in giving advice please at least keep it within the published specifications.

Totally agree. If BMW says use an SG/SH oil, why second guess them?
 
Paul, you misread my post. Nowhere did I suggest or imply using 15-40 in the BMW.

I reiterate:

"Mobil 1 V-TWIN 20-50 and a Mobil 1 MI-102 filter works for me."

Right off the bottle: Mobil 1 V-TWIN SAE 20W50: API SG,SH/CF JASO MA. What's wrong with this spec??

I regret mentioning the Hondas... and the 442.

Oil; the deadliest of topics! :banghead
 
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Paul, I suspect you misread my post. Nowhere in my post did I suggest using 15-40 in the BMW.

I reiterate:

"Mobil 1 V-TWIN 20-50 and a Mobil 1 MI-102 filter works for me."

Right off the bottle: Mobil 1 V-TWIN SAE 20W50: API SG,SH/CF JASO MA. What's wrong with this spec??

I regret mentioning the Hondas... and the 442.

Oil; the deadliest of topics! :banghead

I see. I read the 15-40 as your advice. I stand corrected in the specifics but stand by my advice - always go by both the rating and viscosity specification.
 
In reference to the oil I use in my 2004 BMW R1150RTP motorcycle:

I just noticed that, unlike the two older remaining bottles of Mobil 1 V-TWIN 20W-50 Motor Oil with red labels, the new stock (purchased from Wally World during the eclipse viewing trip in August of this year) has blue labeling and is rated API SJ, and, according to the label on the back, is also recommended for applications requiring API SH, SG, CF. Interesting.

Hafta wait 'til next season to see how it works!
 
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