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As long as this subject has drifted from it's original topic let me add this story:

A friend has been riding beemers since the /2 days. The oil change interval for that bike was 1200 miles but most stretched it out to 1500. To this day he still changes oil every 1500 miles even though he now (mostly) rides an RT. When asked why he mentions that he's never had an oil related failure. He is deaf to comments that those who change at 6K miles also don't have oil related failures.

People do what they want to do. I'm sure I have some idiosyncrasies, too :)
 
BMW-MOA oil offer

Guys,

If I may be allowed to digress, have any of you tried the "Buy 3 get 1 free liter" program offered to MOA mebers via the BMW dealerships?

The reason I ask is that not all dealers are participating.

Thanks,

Mark
 
The MOA "Buy 3 get 1 free liter" special is only a good deal for those that use the BMW Advantec oil, I think that most owners who do their own maintenance use other brands.
I use (I don't endorse its use though) Shell Rotella T6 that I buy for less than $20 per gallon shipped to my door, the BMW Advantec oil is $15-20 a liter at the dealer which is a bit pricey even after getting one for free.
 
As long as this subject has drifted from it's original topic let me add this story:

A friend has been riding beemers since the /2 days. The oil change interval for that bike was 1200 miles but most stretched it out to 1500. To this day he still changes oil every 1500 miles even though he now (mostly) rides an RT. When asked why he mentions that he's never had an oil related failure. He is deaf to comments that those who change at 6K miles also don't have oil related failures.

People do what they want to do. I'm sure I have some idiosyncrasies, too :)
It is an interesting discussion and many people may not realize that old BMW /2 (slash 2) back in the 50's and 60's from the R50 to the R69 held about 2 quarts of engine oil, had no oil filter and required service every 1,000-1,500 miles, they did have kind of a quasi filter called a slinger that required cleaning every so often but it was a difficult job that typically required removing the engine and special tools.
Engine oil performance and quality back in those days was also abysmal.
I can certainly see why your friend is the way he is.
 
Every 5000 km for me

I am on my 4th GS, and i have always changed my oil at half of the recommended intervals. I do an oil filter and fresh oil every 5000 km.

I run a 15W50 semi synthetic, from Gulf Western in Sydney, and never have to top up between changes.

I do this simply because it cost me about AUS$35 all up. I buy my oil direct from the wholesaler at 20 litres for AUS$77 delivered.
Gotta be the cheapest preventative maintenance you can do for your engine.

That applies to all my engines. Half the manufactures recommendation.
 
I am on my 4th GS, and i have always changed my oil at half of the recommended intervals. I do an oil filter and fresh oil every 5000 km.

I run a 15W50 semi synthetic, from Gulf Western in Sydney, and never have to top up between changes.

I do this simply because it cost me about AUS$35 all up. I buy my oil direct from the wholesaler at 20 litres for AUS$77 delivered.
Gotta be the cheapest preventative maintenance you can do for your engine.

That applies to all my engines. Half the manufactures recommendation.
Exactly, it's easy and cheap enough so I change at half the recommended interval too.
 
I had not realized that there were many who preferred to change the oil at half intervals, me and most of the guys I ride with would much rather oil change interval were extended as it never fails that you need to stop for an oil change midway during the course of a long trip.

I can complete an oil change for about $30 ($20 for a gallon of Rotella T6 and $10 for a Hiflo HF160 filter) but the oil usually still looks very clean at around 3,000 miles, in fact I think I have about 2,900 on the oil in my bike now I'll post a photo when I'm able.
I'm not preaching against changing the oil sooner than recommended but I do wonder if it does any good or even more harm than good as new oil filters take a second or two to refill on initial start-up after being changed, I always cringe when hitting the start button after an oil change knowing that I have zero oil pressure until the filter fills.
 
Luv the T6 oil,I use it in my Zuk..just running Dino oil in my 07 dry clutch..been advised by many to stick with it it saying it works better and lasts the full cycle...I've changed it twice this summer at 5000 kms
With no top ups necesary..I was tempted to drop the T6 into the GS last change,but not clear if the wet clutch compatible oils would make any difference in my dry clutch 07.. It's only a couple bux more

Thoughts ?
 
Luv the T6 oil,I use it in my Zuk..just running Dino oil in my 07 dry clutch..been advised by many to stick with it it saying it works better and lasts the full cycle...I've changed it twice this summer at 5000 kms
With no top ups necesary..I was tempted to drop the T6 into the GS last change,but not clear if the wet clutch compatible oils would make any difference in my dry clutch 07.. It's only a couple bux more

Thoughts ?
Oils that are suitable for wet-clutch motorcycles can be used in dry-clutch bikes without any problem.
BMW Motorrad recommends not using synthetic oils for the first 6,000 miles (10,000 km) to allow for proper engine break-in.
I ran Mobil-1 15W-50 in my hexhead with great results, I know people that run T6 in their hexheads as well with no complaints.
 
I am an irregular changer of my oil. Often I will start on a trip with fresh oil and will wait till I get home before changing it which can be 8 or even 10K miles. I hate paying $250 for a change as much as laying in a parking lot doing a change. Have always done it this way with my BMW bikes, (I'm on #5) and never had an engine issue, I also keep my bikes till they hit 100K miles. I can't say the same when I put synthetic into my then new "74 Volvo.
 
Oils that are suitable for wet-clutch motorcycles can be used in dry-clutch bikes without any problem.
BMW Motorrad recommends not using synthetic oils for the first 6,000 miles (10,000 km) to allow for proper engine break-in.
I ran Mobil-1 15W-50 in my hexhead with great results, I know people that run T6 in their hexheads as well with no complaints.

The Mobil-1 is double the cost of the T6 up here...picked the bike up at 18K kms in dec,at 31K now..not using any Dino oil up at all thru 2 5K changes at $25 each..could do it for $35 with the T6..I think I've seen a
15W-50 around,20W-50 for sure..
 
The Mobil-1 is double the cost of the T6 up here...picked the bike up at 18K kms in dec,at 31K now..not using any Dino oil up at all thru 2 5K changes at $25 each..could do it for $35 with the T6..I think I've seen a
15W-50 around,20W-50 for sure..
Shell Rotella T6 is only available in 5W-40 viscosity but that should work well if you're located up in the Toronto area on those cold mornings.
 
I am an irregular changer of my oil. Often I will start on a trip with fresh oil and will wait till I get home before changing it which can be 8 or even 10K miles. I hate paying $250 for a change as much as laying in a parking lot doing a change. Have always done it this way with my BMW bikes, (I'm on #5) and never had an engine issue, I also keep my bikes till they hit 100K miles. I can't say the same when I put synthetic into my then new "74 Volvo.
I do the same. I'm currently halfway through a coast to coast run on my '04. I started with fresh oil a couple of weeks ago, and expect the oil level will still be in the window when I get home. I reason that 12-1300 km days are much easier on oil than normal short hop riding with many thermal cycles.
 
i dontt fire it up

I had not realized that there were many who preferred to change the oil at half intervals, me and most of the guys I ride with would much rather oil change interval were extended as it never fails that you need to stop for an oil change midway during the course of a long trip.

I can complete an oil change for about $30 ($20 for a gallon of Rotella T6 and $10 for a Hiflo HF160 filter) but the oil usually still looks very clean at around 3,000 miles, in fact I think I have about 2,900 on the oil in my bike now I'll post a photo when I'm able.
I'm not preaching against changing the oil sooner than recommended but I do wonder if it does any good or even more harm than good as new oil filters take a second or two to refill on initial start-up after being changed, I always cringe when hitting the start button after an oil change knowing that I have zero oil pressure until the filter fills.


Its not so bad if i am checking plugs as well, because i crank it over with no plugs in it when i have changed the oil.
When the plugs are still in, i hit the starter button a few times just enough to turn the motor over, but not fire up. That will pressurize the oil feed and fill the filter, then i crank it up.
It takes maybe 2 - 3 seconds to come up to pressure, and i doubt it is doing too much harm in that time.
 
Its not so bad if i am checking plugs as well, because i crank it over with no plugs in it when i have changed the oil.
When the plugs are still in, i hit the starter button a few times just enough to turn the motor over, but not fire up. That will pressurize the oil feed and fill the filter, then i crank it up.
It takes maybe 2 - 3 seconds to come up to pressure, and i doubt it is doing too much harm in that time.
It's called a dry start and you are correct it doesn't do much damage but it is one of the single hardest things on an engine in terms of wear, my concern is that by the time the engine has 60,000 miles I would have rather dry started the engine 10 times than 20 which would total 40-60 seconds of running with no oil pressure by your estimate.
This is of course just my opinion and I may be way off base.
With the previous hex and oil head engines it was not a concern since the oil filters were mounted up from the bottom and I would pre-fill it with oil but on the wethead that is not possible.
I also don't believe that cranking the engine without spark-plugs installed changes anything since it is still spinning without oil for a time.

It would also be interesting to see UAO's on these synthetic oils after 3,000 miles of service, the ones I've seen at 6k have looked very good with nearly every one showing that the oil could be run for even longer intervals.

IMHO changing the oil twice as often as required is brought about by a mindset that if one is good two is better.
 
As stated by others with oil/air cooled boxers I put oil in the filter and install...question...is it possible with the water boxer motor to partially fill the filter and install without oil going everywhere....has anyone tried this??....I will try at next change with tin foil around header and pan under to catch spillage.
 
You would have to lay the LC bike on its right side completely horizontally to be able to keep the oil in the filter while spinning it on, probably not worth the hassle in the overall scheme of things.

I use a piece of box like from a 12 pack of Coke and cut it so it acts like a canal to keep the oil off the header and get it into the drain pan with no muss no fuss.
 
Under the seat is a small collection of tools, one of the items fits into the slot of the filler plug and you use the blade of the screw driver to turn the tool and remove the plug, same as installing.
 
Jetspeed...I have used cardboard and sheets of plastic(cookie sheets) to protect the headers during oil changes...Aluminum foil works the best because it is moldable...wrap around the header sensor / build a trough etc...and then throw away....I will still experiment to see how close to horizontal the filter will be before dropping oil...worth a try.
 
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