New Guy Needs Stuff And Info

[drbike]

I just bought a new to me 2001, 1150 GS, it came with 40K, km.

Rode it for a month or so and put on another 20,000 km. Seems like a bike I want to keep. I did have the final drive go but what the heck, overall its seems like a nice bike for me.

I am a little confused regarding oil. I switched to BMW Synthetic in Colorado at the suggestion of the mechanic, at the next oil change in South Dakota the wrench said stay with conventional. What gives, and on the road from now on I plan on changing my own, is there some good oil available at NAPA or Wally world type places that would be acceptable.

I did a little crash, on a wet bridge and broke the plastic guards on the right side, I think they are factory issue, is there some place to buy them on the net? How does one find the part number?

I want better protection for the engine, is there one stand out winner in crash bars?

It seems like the lights are a little feeble, is there some reasonably priced driving lights I could mount to my new crash bars that would light up the road a little better.


Thanks

[scootrp125x]

I am a little confused regarding oil. I switched to BMW Synthetic in Colorado at the suggestion of the mechanic, at the next oil change in South Dakota the wrench said stay with conventional. What gives, and on the road from now on I plan on changing my own, is there some good oil available at NAPA or Wally world type places that would be acceptable.


Welcome to Oilhead ownership. I bought my 04 RT this past January. You will find many opinions regarding oils, dino vs synthetic. Do a search for OIL and I'm sure you will find many hours of threads worth reading. For my 2 cents worth, I use Mobil 1 15w50. In fact I just picked up a 5 qt container at Wally World this morning for $23.74. I get my oil filters from www.beemerboneyard.com. Go to www.jimvonbaden.com and look at his do-it-yourself DVD's. They are informative and inexpensive. I recently bought a set of straps to hold my duffel bags on while touring. I used them last weekend and think they are the best I have ever seen. Look at www.piggybackstraps.com and see for yourself. You can also check out www.ibmwr.org and look at the Marketplace for used parts and accessories. Those are my suggestions based on personal experience. There are lots of good ads in the MOA magazine so dont forget to look there too. Good luck with your bike.
Mark

[MotorradMike]

Hey drdrbike:

You might want to slow down and get some rest too. 20,000kM is an awful lot for one month!

Mike

[bmwmick]

The best site I've found for part number info is : http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do
enter the last 7 digits of your VIN to get your build date and parts for YOUR bike.
There are lots of online parts dealers, webparts.com, chicagobmwmotorcycles.com, any bmw dealer.

[jduke]

+! on the Mobile 1 15W50 at Wal-Mart. Here's where I get my filters. I believe they're OEM, just without the BMW logo: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=11421460845

[bmwmick]

+! on the Mobile 1 15W50 at Wal-Mart. Here's where I get my filters. I believe they're OEM, just without the BMW logo: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=11421460845

Yes,
Mahle is the OEM supplier to bmw. OC91 for Oilheads and OC91D1 for the K-bike kit. Both filters come with crush washers. If you call the guys at Turner, they will give you a better deal on case quantities.

[drbike]

Thanks for the information folks....

Hey Mike don't worry, the 20K was over 5 weeks and we (my kid and I were on a tour of the US) never pushed hard or long. Had a great ride, saw some real wonders. Note the 20K was KM not miles....

Thanks again:clap

[knary]

Welcome to the club and welcome to the GS world. I have the same bike. It's currently getting a bath from mother nature. :D

Oil
Conventional wisdom is that you can use any name brand oil of the correct viscosity. You do not need to use a motorcycle specific oil (which are designed for bikes with a wet clutch) and there is *no* need for boutique oils (think "expensive"). As to synthetic vs. 'regular', these engines take a LONG time to break in fully. During break in, regular is recommended. Yours, however, should be fully broken in or close enough.

Lights
Hella FF50's are cheap, durable, and very good. I posted a thread a long while back here...
http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1100
More and more are using them. Are they as good as the über expensive PIAA's? they're darn close if they're not and so very much cheaper.

Crash protection
I don't use crash bars as a busted engine case is incredibly rare. I do wish I'd bought some Stanton head guards when they were available. These mount like those flimsy plastic things, but are stout cast aluminum. If I find an alternative, I'll post about them here.

[MotorradMike]

Thanks for the information folks....

Hey Mike don't worry, the 20K was over 5 weeks and we (my kid and I were on a tour of the US) never pushed hard or long. Had a great ride, saw some real wonders. Note the 20K was KM not miles....

Thanks again:clap

OK, now I'm impressed! I thought the 20,000 was a typo and I was just being a smartass.

I saw the KM. I'm from here :ca too.

Mike