Oil viscosity question

[weschmann]

Not wanting to start a oil discussion on brands, however concerned about oil weight. I have a F700 GS that I tour on, and usually carry a oil filter along for changing the oil. In the past, Ive carried the BMW 15/50 recommended oil with me, but have decided that I only wish to carry the filter and will buy the oil where ever I find myself at the oil change interval. I've not been able to find any 15/50 semi synthetic oil anywhere at auto stores, so my choices are 10/40 or 20/50 semi synthetic, such as Lucas motorcycle oil. So my question is, to go up to 20/50 or down to 10/40? Any suggestions?

 

[FELAW]

Buy one of each and mix them.

 

[20774]

Darn....I wish I stayed at Holiday Inn Express last night!!

My 0.02...oils are blended at the plants to meet specific specs and are tested to confirm. It would seem that mixing two different oils, even from the same company, are not going to give the properties that you want. I would not want to rely on and/or hope they do perform well together.

Where does your touring take you? How long are you out on the road? Could you not work it out so you get to dealer while enroute when you get near that oil change point so you could buy the oil? What about other non-BMW motorcycle shops that might have an oil that works for you? Drop ship the oil to a location that you can then pick it up from?

What about the idea of changing only the filter and topping up the oil as a result of the oil change...shouldn't be that much lost. That would mean you carry less oil with you.

 

[chewbacca]

Buy one of each and mix them.

Mixing oils does not produce the results you may think. That being said it won't do much if any harm.
Keep in mind the the first number is the viscosity cold, like in starting. The second number is the operational number. So if the BMW would recommend a 5w100 (for example only) you might need the 5w in cold weather but really want 100 most of the time. If it were between a 10w40 and 20w50, I would run a 10w50 if I could not find 20w50. Also, you can mix almost all "good" semi synthetics, synthetics, and straight dino AS LONG AS they all meet API ratings specified by BMW.

chewbacca
Veteran of way too many oil threads

 

[akbeemer]

Either oil will fall with the temperature range that you are likely to ride in. If you are worried about summer heat then go with the 20W 50.

 

[BC1100S]

Either oil will fall with the temperature range that you are likely to ride in. If you are worried about summer heat then go with the 20W 50.

Ditto.

 

[weschmann]

Thanks to all replies. I'll go with the 20/50. My touring starts in early april with hopefully a trip down to hill country in Texas, then a jump over to the Georga Mountain Rally, then Oz, and so forth. Longest will be a month in July out in Utah. Hope to break the 25000 mile mark this year.

 

[t6pilot]

Walmart Rotella T6 used by many riders comes in various weights

 

[lee]

Thanks to all replies. I'll go with the 20/50. My touring starts in early april with hopefully a trip down to hill country in Texas, then a jump over to the Georga Mountain Rally, then Oz, and so forth. Longest will be a month in July out in Utah. Hope to break the 25000 mile mark this year.

For the Hill Country you have two BMW shops where you can buy your oil. One in Austin and one north of San Antonio near Boerne.

 

[dieselyoda]

Walmart Rotella T6 used by many riders comes in various weights

It is a very good oil for diesel engines but does not have a rating for Spark Ignited engines as in an SN rating. It has a CK-4 which is for compression ignited engines.

Not wanting to create a debate but fundamentally we change engine oils because they collect the crap from the combustion process and the crap from a diesel engine combustion is quite a bit different than from a gasoline engine.

Just to make something clear, the "W" as in 10w30 stands for winter and it is the properties to with it will flow at a given temperature. Viscosity is the resistance to flow and not an indicator of protecting rotating surfaces at speed. Their are other bench mark test for that.

You have to wonder why 5w20 is used in the summer and the short answer is to keep all the PWM's in the engine operating properly and the worry is not about engine component life but drive-ability.

Practically though, if your morning ambient is anywhere above freezing, an SAE 50 will be fine.

 

[lkraus]

It is a very good oil for diesel engines but does not have a rating for Spark Ignited engines as in an SN rating. It has a CK-4 which is for compression ignited engines.

There are several "flavors" of Rotella oil, and some are rated for gas engines.

From Shell's T6 brochure:

Specifications and Approvals
API CJ-4, CI-4 PLUS, CI-4, CH-4, SM, SL, SH; ACEA E9; Caterpillar
ECF-3, ECF-2; Cummins CES 20081; DDC 93K218; Ford WSS
M2C171-E; JASO DH-2, MA; Mack EO-O Premium Plus; MB Approval
228.31; Volvo VDS-4

Recently produced bottles have updated labels narrowing the JASO friction spec further to MA2, so it is also compatible with the wet clutch LC R1200 engines.

 

[alancoles]

T-6 meets or exceeds the BMW recommended oil ratings for the F700GS (API SJ / JASO MA2) at least for 2012 and older bikes.

Don't be concerned about it being SM rated and not SN rated, as BMW in 2012 were still spec'ing SJ which is a much older spec (2001) than SN (2010-10) or SM (2010).

T-6 also satisfies the JASO MA/MA2 specifications which are gasoline motorcycle 4-stroke specs. so no worries. Virtually all (not 100% but almost) of the SN/SM changes from SL have had to do with reducing emissions and had so little to do with lubrication that I suspect a teardown of two vehicles after 100,000 miles, one using SN and one using SM might not show any difference in wear outside normal statistical variances.

If you choose to use T-6 you will be using a lubricant that a) meets all the specs BMW require and b) provides far greater protection than those required specs.