Why not just do as manual states?

 

On the air cooled/dry clutch bikes like your 2006 a non-JASO automotive oil is good to use.

Viscosity is all air temperature related. 5w40 is not on the chart but probably ok if the air temp is under 75-80°F.

 

I'm not an oil snob and rarely name drop but just go to Walmart and buy a 5 quart jug of Mobil-1 15W-50 and be done with it.

 

Thanks !

That was exactly the kind of reply I was hoping for ! Well timed, also. I'll be at Walmart soon.

I didn't think to look for 15/50 in M1.

It sure beats $11/qt for the M1 20/50 V-Twin stuff I use in my Harley.

 

Mobil 15-50 will meet all the requirements (plenty of ZDDP which our flat tappets like), can be found at just about any Wally World in North America, and because it’s not in high demand, it’s cost is cheap.
Many moons ago several folks on another site, sent in oil samples to Blackstone Labs. Their reports showed the additive package still in high concentrations at 6-8000 miles of use. So if you take an extended trip don’t worry about changing oil if your mileage goes beyond 5-6000 miles.
I ran it for over 100K in my ‘07 Adventure year round. Winter or summer and no related oil issues to report.
Valve covers (inside) clean as a whistle when removed for valve inspections and adjustments.(no engine sludge buildup)
Great choice…Good Luck.

 

Almost forgot….No Reported issues of damaged catalytic converters from the high ZDDP concentrations.

 

When I researched oils, I noticed that while Mobil 1 15w50 is higher in zinc than most automotive oils it isn't nearly as high as 20w50 racing oils. The racing oils are, obviously, for race cars and they don't have catalytic converters. I don't remember seeing non-racing synthetic 20w50 oil on the local store shelves.

I decided against motorcycle oils since they are intended to work with gearboxes and wet clutches.

So, in order to avoid potential cat problems with racing 20w50, I looked for alternatives. Mobil 1 15w50 was my choice. The price and availability are great also.

 

I use any old 20w50 mineral. good for all temps, the ones we have in Australia all have 1100ppm zinc or more, which is plenty.

 

I've been looking thru the archives and have some questions. PerazziMx14 recommends:

Transmission oil – 800cc’s 75W-140 GL5 gear oil
• Rear drive oil – 180cc’s 75W-140 GL5 gear oil
• Engine oil – 4 liters (w/ filter change) 15W-50 or 20W-50

Is there a outstanding value/price brand in synthetic oils for the above for an oil cooled model? Is the HiFlo HF 164 oil filter still the best value/performance for oil cooled machines? A sticky thread for oil cooled oil and filters would be wonderful. (many thanks to PerazziMx14)

Another question: Different vendors are selling magnetic drain plugs for engine, tranny and final drive for prices ranging from $10 to $35 each. Is there any consensus as to the best value in a magnetic drain plug?

 

If you came across a thread worth pinning let me know. I’ve looked in the past and as you’d expect there is a lot of them lol. Maybe this is it.

Gear oil is pretty cheap so not sure one will be better value than another.

Engine oil depends on what deal you find—Mobil 1 used to do a rebate that made the 5 qt Walmart jugs of 15w50 pretty cheap. Pretty rare to find 20w50 in a full synthetic, I’ve run Castrol HiMi SemiSyn 20w50 in the past when I found a couple 5qt jugs for less than $15 a piece.

HiFlo is a fine filter. I’m a little partial to the Mahle OC306 as it is OEM and not too cost prohibitive.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-oil-filter-mahle-behr-11427673541

I can’t speak to drain plugs, yet to buy one for the BMW.

 

Gearbox and final drive:
GL5 75w90 synthetic. Your quantities are correct.

Engine oil:
20w50 non-synthetic.

I personally use cooper/wesfil wz418 oil filters

Oil filter cross reference

16 replacement oil filters for WESFIL WZ418. See cross reference chart for WESFIL WZ418 and more than 200.000 other oil filters.

www.oilfilter-crossreference.com

There are lots of longer filters like this that will fit:

https://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/FilterXRef.html

I always use the 90mm ones, and have never had an issue.

 

Recommend / allowed oil viscosities from my 2007 manual, primarily depends on ambient temps.

 

15W50 full synthetic Mobil 1 is inexpensive at Walmart and that’s what I have used for the past 30k miles, changing it every 6k miles.

 

I've been looking thru the archives and have some questions. PerazziMx14 recommends:

Transmission oil – 800cc’s 75W-140 GL5 gear oil
• Rear drive oil – 180cc’s 75W-140 GL5 gear oil
• Engine oil – 4 liters (w/ filter change) 15W-50 or 20W-50

Is there a outstanding value/price brand in synthetic oils for the above for an oil cooled model? Is the HiFlo HF 164 oil filter still the best value/performance for oil cooled machines? A sticky thread for oil cooled oil and filters would be wonderful. (many thanks to PerazziMx14)

Another question: Different vendors are selling magnetic drain plugs for engine, tranny and final drive for prices ranging from $10 to $35 each. Is there any consensus as to the best value in a magnetic drain plug?

FWIW I am not an oil snob I use what is the most cost effective tha tmeetes or exceeds the manufacurters recommendations/requireents. These are not determined by the overall cost, fancy pictures or buzz works like "motorcycle oil" they are on the back of the bottle under the ratings, specifications etc.

For me that works out for Hex/Camheads to be

Mobil-1 15W-50 for the engine oil in a 5L jug as its $27.97 at WalMart
SuperTech 75W-90 full synthetic gear oil (trans and rear drive) $10.42 per liter (enough to do the trans and FD)
SuperTech DOT4 for under $4.50 a pint

I will say that sometimes the SuperTech gear oil and dOT4 are not avalaible then I move to Vavoline 75W-90 and Prestone DOT4 that are marginally more expensive. Honestly If I could find oils or brake fluids that met or exceed the manufactureres that were just as readily avalaible as what I current am using and cost less, I'd use them.

It really boils down to if you can mentally accept price is not always a linear measurement to quality. A lot of people feel if they pay more they get more, and that's fine but realize an overwhealming amount of the time your are paying more because of fancy marketing not actual product quality.

FWIW part Deux I also have no issue using thinks like SuperTech DOT4 in my 2024 R1250GSA or engine oils that don't cost the GDP of a small nation. Not because I am cheap but rather these products meet or exceed the manufacturers requirements. For the rear drives I use Mopar GL5 70W-80 (oddball weight not commonly avalaible at automotive stores) because the local Dodge dealers sell its for $19 a quart verses BMW charging $50+. 70W-80 GL5 is a weight and spec not a quality thing.

 

 

For what it's worth, the 2010 manual (USA) no longer lists 20w50. There's a 10w50 but the rest are 5w40, 5w50 or 10w40, 10w50.
There's also a 15w40 but that's only for use at or above 32F.

I seems like their concern was cold temp viscosity.

The PO had bought a case of Amzoil 20w50 "v twin". I'm currently in the NorCal central valley, so it rarely gets to freezing (a few times a year). I'll sell the oil and get a case of 10w40.

 

Surprised they didn’t put a high ambient temp limit on the thinner oils for camheads like they did on hexheads. 5w40 is plenty thin at 100°F for an oil cooled engine. If I had one, it’d be 50 weight for me.

 

I would suspect a noisier engine with the 10W40 than 20W50, I know my '12 & '06 were as both came with 10W40 in them but I switched to 15w50 Mobil 1 or 20W50 Castrol & noticed how much quieter they run. I live in the far south so cold is not a consideration. If I were you I'd use the 20W50 & not worry about it a bit. Anzoil is an excellent oil.