Oil Brands

[msonksen]

I would like to switch away from using BMW 20/50 motor oil in my '03 R1150RS. Mainly because I live more than 100 miles away from the dealer, and it's very inconvenient. I've got 15k miles on the bike and change the oil every 3000 miles. I've used BMW oil since the bike was new. I am considering Castrol GTX 20/50. I'm still burning oil in between oil changes, so I don't think I should go to a synthetic brand. Anybody use a petroleum based oil that you can pick up at the local auto parts store?
PS - I put 44k on a '97 r1100r and always used BMW 20/50 oil. Changed it about every 2k. That bike never did stop burning oil. Could the BMW oil be too slick ? :)

What are your thoughts?

[cat0020]

My 2002 RS with 24000 miles on the clock, I've been using Mobil 1 redcap 15w50 since 12000 miles. Oil consumption has gone down since 18000 miles.
I change oil every 5-6000 miles since Mobil 1, a five qt. (sorry, not 5 gallon.) jug at Walmart cost $21.80
I use Mobil 1 in all my vehicles, including my KTM LC4 Adv. since it turned 6000 miles, engine runs significantly smoother, running temperature lower than before. Now at 10100 miles, the KTM runs great, no oil consumption and have become my city commuter that stays cool in slow moving traffic.

[MikeH]

I change oil every 5-6000 miles since Mobil 1, a five gallon jug at Walmart cost $21.80
Don't you mean a 5 Litre (quart) jug? $4.36 per gallon for Mobil 1?? - That would be a fantastic price!

I also use Mobil 1 4T Racing 15W50 as specified for 4 stroke motorcycles - Cost $45 for 5 litres here in the UK! :(
But it's a small price to pay in order to keep my 'Pride and Joy' running smooth. :)

[Paul]

Don't feel too bad about the price Mike, the Mobil 1 4T (motorcycle specific) runs about $8-9/qt here in the states, the automotive stuff can be found on special for around $4/qt at most big box stores.

[MikeT]

According to a joint BMW/Castrol Bike leaflet I picked up in my Local dealers "Castrol is the strategic lubricants partnerof BMW", I don't for one minute think this means Castrol is any better for your bike than for example Mobil 1 or some other brand, I'm sure its a Marketing deal but also will mean that BMW have tested the spec of the recommended brands and ok'd them.

The leaflet recommends a couple of Castrol oils for your BMW Bike:

(1) Castrol GP 4T ( 10W-40 / 20W-50) mineral oil (which I imagine is the one you want to use until your happy its run in) , "Extended protection from a toughened coating " shows picture of a F650

(2) Castrol GPS ( 10W-40) semi-synthetic "Extreme Protection at High Temperature" shows picture of a K1200RS

(3) Castrol R4 Superbike 4T (5W-40) fully synthetic "Increased Acceleration and Power" shows picture of a R1150RS ! :D

As well as the above its also full of other patronising marketing blurb like for (3) they say Positioning and Target market :"Motorcycle owners in the Enthusiast consumer segment who are looking for satisfaction in choosing the best in performance and protection :laugh:

I have seen extensive debates on other bike forums in the past about not using automotive (car) oils in bikes due to the friction modifiers playing hell with wet clutches, but seeing as the RS has a dry clutch, shouldn't these car oils be fine if you use correct grade and spec :confused:

[breyfogle]

At the risk of being flamed, there is nothing special about BMW oil. They merely rebrand someone elses product. Any name brand motorcycle oil of the proper viscosity will work just fine. Actually, even the current enviro-friendly automotive oils will probably work almost as well because R259s have a separate gearbox and dry clutch.

[Wayne Dowers]

While in warranty period use any motorcycle specific oil that you feel comfortable with in the right viscocity. It is possible that if you have a problem dealer will run oil analysis, so better safe than sorry to have to argue over an engine failure. After warranty I would not feel bad about using a high quality non energy conserving "automotive" oil like 15W50 mobile 1. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Stefan]

At the risk of being flamed, there is nothing special about BMW oil. Flamed, are you kidding you're right on the nose with that comment. How many auto/bike manufacturers do you know that runs a refinery.

I have used Kendall products in all my vehicles over the past 25 years at the recommendation of my Porsche mechanic. When the engine was torn down at 90K it was clean as whistle and key surface wear (cams etc.) was negligible. Most oils are fine if you change them early and often. I use Kendall 20w-50 in the bike and change it and the filter every 3K. The bike (21K miles) uses less than .5 a quart between oil changes.

ps... My dealer sells Kendall right next to the BMW stuff. I buy it by the case as the Porsche takes 9.5 quarts, dry sump ya know.

[MikeH]

The leaflet recommends a couple of Castrol oils for your BMW Bike:

(1) Castrol GP 4T ( 10W-40 / 20W-50) mineral oil (which I imagine is the one you want to use until your happy its run in) , "Extended protection from a toughened coating " shows picture of a F650

(2) Castrol GPS ( 10W-40) semi-synthetic "Extreme Protection at High Temperature" shows picture of a K1200RS

(3) Castrol R4 Superbike 4T (5W-40) fully synthetic "Increased Acceleration and Power" shows picture of a R1150RS ! :D

Unless your talking winter months, I would suggest that most of the oils quoted above are too low a viscosity for the 259 engine IMHO. I would go with a 15W50 as Wane suggests. Viscosities as low as 0W40 are more suited to many of the modern car engines.

That's not to suggest that there's going to be any immediate damage, but there could be increased engine wear over a long period, especially in high temperatures.

[ignatz]

I fell victim to Castrol Syntec 5-50 oil years ago when I noticed "sparkles" in the oil after changes. I always drain my oil in a spotless pan so I can inspect whats going on. Also this is my Ducati that gets changes every 1,000-2,000 miles. After 2 changes with "older" castrol syntec 5-50 I switched to Mobil-1 15-50 and been sparkle free since. I later found out on a Castrol web site somewhere they did'nt recomend this oil for motorcycles. I use GTX in my Mercedes but will never use Castrol synthetic again. Now my 2 bmw's and Ducati get Mobil-1 15-50. One nice thing about Mobil-1 is its availability at Dept. stores and auto parts shops in case you need a quick purchase. Also years back at my local Walmart they had 5 quart jugs for $15. I bought a shopping cart full. When I saw Castrol marketing R4 claiming more HP and faster acceleration, the only thing that comes to mind is "sparkles in the oil". Now that I'm on a roll, a week after I purchased my R1100 rs, I took it back to the dealer for small waranty work. I was talking to a guy with a 96 r1100rt about how often he changes oil. He looked at me and said the book say's 6000 miles so thats what I do. His bike had 144,000 miles on it over 4 years ago and no problems. He also said his bike used oil until about 25,000 miles and then settled in to moderate oil use. He read me the riot act about checking the oil level and said never add oil until you can't see it in the window. And then don't fill it to the top. He told me he got this info from a BMW engineer that was at a rally over here. Just passing along some info I've found out along the way.