Mobil 1 oil in Boxer engine.

[cat0020]

Well, who's got Mobil 1 in their boxer engine?

Howlong have you used Mobil 1?

How do you like it?

Any problems?

:confused: :dunno :confused:

[lorazepam]

I ran Castrol Syntec in my Roadster, and changed the oil at 6K mile intervals. It ran quieter, and started better in the cold, and never used enough to add between changes. After my new bike is broken in, I plan on using the castrol in it also. I am very happy with it, and in my new owners manual, BMW recommends Castrol oils. It says so on page 73 of the maintenance manual. I ran 5W50, which has the broadest range of recommended temps.

[Cliffy777]

In my R1100RL. Once I got over 8k or so on it, I switched to Mobil 1. It burned less oil. Never had any problem, but I traded the bike in with 12.5k on it. Have had very good luck with synthetics in my cars, so I plan on using Synthetic after I rack up a few more miles on the Rockster. Just had the 6k service so I will jump to synthetic at 9 or 10k.

[MCMXCIVRS]

I've been using Mobil 1 15w50 in my bike since I bought it at 7000 Km. I have changed the oil every 5000 Km and it now has 85,000 Km on it.

[cat0020]

Originally posted by MCMXCIV-RS
I've been using Mobil 1 15w50 in my bike since I bought it at 7000 Km. I have changed the oil every 5000 Km and it now has 85,000 Km on it.

There seems to be issues with oil seal failure when using Mobil 1 in Boxer engines.. anyone one else heard of this issue? or experienced this problem?
:dunno :confused: :dunno

[warredon]

I have an older airhead and tried Mobil 1 several years ago for one oil change. I also remember hearing that using synthetic oil in the airheads would cause more seal leakage. Since then I have read opinions by some that seem to be very knowledgeable, and they claim that it just isn't true. So I thought I would try it again. I now have about 2,000 miles on the Mobil 1. I do have a couple of areas where there is a very small amount of oil seepage, and if there has been any increase, I haven't noticed any. I have been using synthetic gear lube in the transmission and the rear drive for quite some time now, and I have had zero problems with it. It may be my imagination, but I believe it shifts smoother.

[rapz]

I plan on using Mobile 1 after 18K, but how about synthetic gear lube in the transmission and the rear drive? How soon can I switch over to synthetic? BTW, I had a 75/6 Airhead and tried synthetic once and got some leakage (minor) so I went back to non-synthetics.:brow

[kaseydoolin]

As a contruction contractor I had the opportunity to work on a new dynometer at Cosworth Racing. In the tool area were cases of Mobil 1 stacked to the ceiling. So, I had to ask. They put it into all their expensive racing engines, exclusively, at break in and before stress testing.
I'm sold. I use it in all my stuff, including the lawnmower. I'm using the 15-50 wt. in my motorcycles at present

[schaeftl]

I used Mobil 1 in my truck for a few years now. I think that its the best. When I bought my Triumph motorcycle I used Mobil 1 for motorcycles. But that bike had a wet clutch.

Now I am on a BMW with a dry clutch. Should I used the car or the motorcycle oil.
The second thing that I had heard about motorcycle oil that it has a lubricant for the crank bearings. The car oil did not.

[lkchris]

Originally posted by schaeftl The second thing that I had heard about motorcycle oil that it has a lubricant for the crank bearings. The car oil did not.

Your Oilhead has the same kind of crankshaft bearings as any BMW car.

[cat0020]

I have switched to Mobil 1 Redcap before my trip to Key West and back.
3800 plus miles in nine days, I burned about 3/4 qt. of Mobil 1 redcap.
I can't tell the difference between Mobil 1 and BMW oil.. but I did extend the range for one tank from 218 to 226 mile. I think it's because the traffic was traveling steadly at 45-55 mph.. but I was carrying extra 40 lb. of gear..

:bliss

[bmwterrien]

I used Mobil 1 in my R1100R for 95k miles. The only seal failures I had was the crankshaft and rear pinion. Used 5k mile change intervals- could have probably gone 7 or 8k. IT ALWAYS BURNED A QUART OF OIL EVERY 4K MILES, SINCE DAY ONE.
IMO, it is not necessary to use full synthetics- as long as your using and SAE spec oil, in the proper viscosity range. Oil only serves 3 purposes- cool, seal and lubricate.
In my 04 BEHEMASAURSIS (R1150GS) , I'm using fleet oil like Shell Rotella. $6.50 for a gallon at Walmart. The only difference is that I have more cash in my pocket because of the switch. 29k miles and no problems.
YMMV

Steve

[Ozonkiller]

I've run Mobile 1 15W-50 in my '96 R1100RS for the last 35k miles, starting when I first bought it, with absolutely no problems. The bike currently has 66k miles on it. Typically, I change it every 5k miles but I went a little over 10k miles on my ride from AZ to Nova Scotia and used less than a quart. I also run it in my Ducati, Kawasakis, Yamaha, Sears garder tractor, 3 Fords and pour it over my cereal every morning. I've used it almost exclusively for over 20 years with zero problems and you can find it any where and if you watch you can always find it on sale. I run the 5w-30 in my race bike which is water cooled and it's worth a couple of horses, but with the air cooled, go with the 15w-50.

[Mr. Frank]

All the tests I've seen show Mobil 1 to be a very good oil. My only concern is the SAE SL rating. BMW wants an SH rating in the manual. Has BMW said anything official about Mobil 1 being OK? The manual says BMW recommends Castrol oils. Castrol Syntec is also SL rated. Anybody hear anything on this?

[Colt03]

I have run Mobil 1 in my Jeep Grand Cherokee since 10K miles. It now has 195K miles, I change the oil and filter every 10K. My 1996 K1100LT has 105K miles on it and I follow the same schedule, ever 10K miles new oil and filter,

I am a Believer in Mobil 1. I am thinking of increasing the change interval to 15K.

[scottie boy]

I recently went on the Mobil 1 website and they DO NOT recommend putting car oil in any motorcycle. I don't know all the reasons why but they make several motorcycle only oils that are formulated differently. They even have a formula for big twin bikes aka BMW & Harley.

[Ozonkiller]

Sure. Why not, when they've got a motorcycle specific oil on the market for about $8/Qt. I sat in on a synthetic oil seminar put on by ASRA (a sports car club) about 15 years ago. It was attended by some engineers including some from Mobile touting the benefits of synthetic oil. Several of these guys rode motorcycles and ran the car oil in them. One of these guys had a Gold Wing and changed it every 10k miles and said "I'm sure I'm throwing away good oil". Good enough for me.
By the way, I just got back from LA after taking a small block Chevy to Westech Dyno (the guys who do all of the testing for all of the car mags.). About mid way through the tests we changed from 10w-30 dino oil to 5w-30 Mobile 1 and picked up 6 HPand a couple lbs. of torque. 505lbs/466HP. Not a big change but free HP none the less. I like it so many:jose

[harpeaux]

Hank, at Rhinewest BMW in San Antonio, has run Mobil 1 in his 1995 R1100GS for the past 300,000 miles. I don't run the stuff myself, but I'm gonna start!

Go here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37535&highlight=300%2C000

[Fang]

TO: Mr. Frank

Just wondering aloud, but since "L" is further up the "scale" than "H", I'm wondering if SL rating isn't "better" than SH?

I do not pretend to know, but since Castrol is rated SL, and is recommended by BMW, logic would dictate (?) that SL is an even higher rating than SH.

Anyone know? I don't...... :dunno :confused: :snore

[Mr. Frank]

Yes, "L" is the most recent standard, but in this case that is bad for motorcycles because it indicates that certain ant-wear additives that used to be there have been dropped to save catalytic converters. Motorcycle specific oils retain those additives. A series of articles in Motorcycle Consumer News did a good job explaining all this.

[manicmechanic]

As has been mentioned, the different ratings have to do with newer standards, meaning how the various additive packages are incorporated and how much of which addidtive each manufacturer puts in. MCN had a very good series of articles about it. Where some concern occurs is where the oil is used. Engine oil for cars should not be used in motorcycles having integral transmissions. This applies to most Japanese bikes, and the F650. This is only my opinion, mind you, but I would have no problem putting Mobil 1 car oil in my R or K engine, but not in a F650. The concern is the the oil in the gearbox part of the engine would have the long polymer molecules torn apart by the gears. Or so I understand from reading.

[flash412]

Originally posted by manic mechanic
This applies to most Japanese bikes, and the F650. This is only my opinion, mind you, but I would have no problem putting Mobil 1 car oil in my R or K engine, but not in a F650. The concern is the the oil in the gearbox part of the engine would have the long polymer molecules torn apart by the gears. Or so I understand from reading. Nonsense. Because so many oil "facts" are based on faith and hearsay, some of us in the Chain Gang have actually run oil assay SERIES on our oils. We have PROOF that Mobil-1 is an EXCELLENT choice of motor oil in the F650 (as long as you get a wide-range, non-EC rated oil).

Using motorcycle-specific oil is every bit as silly as buying spark plugs from a motorcycle shop at four times the price for the same product from a discount car place.

[hal26]

Castrol syntec is not a true synthetic lubricant.It is merely a Group 2 petroleum basestock lube that is in fact no better than off the shelf Pennzoil or Havoline dino.Mobil took Castrol to court over this scam but unfortunately due to semantics interpretation lost the case primarily due to the fact that there are a few additives that are considered to be synthetic.It is decent $1.25 a quart oil-but $5 a quart.....what a ripoff !!