Best synthetic Oil for my r11rt

[sbouchet]

What is the best synthetic oil for my 2000 r1100rt. Also what is the best transmission and final drive oils:)

[KBasa]

Originally posted by sbouchet
What is the best synthetic oil for my 2000 r1100rt. Also what is the best transmission and final drive oils:)

I just run the BMW stuff in my bikes. I run full Synth in my VFR, but didn't start running it until the bike had 25K miles on it and was fully broken in.

[MCMXCIVRS]

I've been using Mobil 1 15w50 in my 94 R1100RS since I bought it (97 with only 6000Km, now at 65000Km). I change it every 5000Km and have no significant consumption in that period.

I just started using RedLine Shockproof gear oil for my new transmission and the final drive. I had a series of bearing failures in the original tranny, so I opted for a complete replacement last year, and on the reccomendation of several other RS owners I switched to the RedLine oil. The stuff is really thick and it seems to quiet some of the noise when shifting.

[fish]

YART (Yet Another Religious Topic)

I don't see the value in running expensive synth when you change it out every 6K :dunno

[MCMXCIVRS]

The extra cost of the synthetic oil only amounts to about $40 per year for me. I figure that to be pretty reasonable compared to all the other expenses of riding. I don't know if the synthetic oil will help the engine last longer or not, but for that small amount of money I'll go with it.

[sbouchet]

I have been using full synth oil in all my cars and bikes. In New York NY I sit in some of the worst traffic in the summer. Both the r11rt and my cars allways run cooler. I feel less heat, less wear. I use redline heavy shock proof in the transmission and the final drive MUCH LESS NOISE and after a jaunt on the highway i can touch the diff in the rear it is running sooo coool..

:clap :clap :clap :bliss

[basketcase]

I'm not so sure it matters any more. The production technology is such that the fine differences between various oils, at least where most of us live, are negible.

As long as the oil and filter are changed regularly, nearly any of the major oils will do.

IMHO.

[Paper]

I use dino oil in the engine and change every 3K..
In the gearbox, I used to use Mobil 1 synth gear lube, but I'm switching next time to Amsoil 85-130 next time.. I've heard tons of good things about this lube and nothing bad....:eek

[roybarnes]

I use Mobil 1 15-50 engine oil and Mobil 75-90 gear oil in the trasmition and rear end. The work good for me and you can find then almost any where. Roy:snore

[basketcase]

I am going to modify my post above.

Where I live, we rarely sit long periods in traffic, unless someone passing through from New York in a fender bender and snarls up our one lane that 36 cars are trying to get through! :brow

(Actually, we have more traffic than that, but we do not have the long waits in commuter routes that are experienced in the mega-cities.)

So, if faced with a situation such as Stephen notes, I think the choice in oils becomes more critical. In that case, I would (1) definitely use synthetic, and (2) default to my bias towards Mobil products.

Way back, I read the product reports on Mobil 1 when it hit the markets years ago (like, 25 years or so), and have pretty much stuck with the brand. But realistically, the production technology is such that the differences between Mobile, Castrol, and others, is probably not that great.

If you are going to use Dino, there is not that much difference in the qood quality products. And if you opt for syn, there are not a lot of differences, either.

IMH (but modified) Opinion :)

[Magic_Rat]

I am an Amsoil 20w-50 and Mobil 1 15w-50 guy. Like someone said, this is a religion :)

[JimBud]

I use Mobile One in everything. In the bottom, 15W50, change it every 3-4,000 miles, and 75W90 in th trans and final drive. Change it every year, whatever the mileage. It never hurts to flush out the little pieces of ground up gears and bearings. No problems....yet.

[lorazepam]

I have been using castrol syntec 5W50, and it seems to work great, I have gotten over 260k out of general motors 4.3 liter engines with this oil with very little problems. I seemed to quiet my motor a bit over the dino that was installed by the dealer. The bottom line is changing your oil on a regular basis is the key, and dont let the levels get low, that is the death of an air/oil cooled engine. I change the cage oil at 15k with a filter change at 7k and change the oil and filter in the bike at 6k.

[Hacksaw]

I use Mobil 1 15-50 engine oil and Royal Purple 85-140 in the final drive and tranny.

[MarkF]

Originally posted by fish
YART (Yet Another Religious Topic)

I don't see the value in running expensive synth when you change it out every 6K :dunno

Because I thought dino should be changed after 3,500 - 5,000.

MarkF

[71737]

I use BMW Synthetic in my RT and BMW 10-40 in my LT. When I switched to synthetic in my RT, my LT had about 60K on it. I switched to BMW synthetic while I was living in Washington, D.C. due to the high motor heat. However, Bobs BMW mechanic told me it was not necessary since they have never seen an engine failure due to excessive heat on bikes they've serviced.

I use BMW Synthetic since its made by a very good source (spectro) and is competitively priced and BMW approved.

[MarkHerman]

check out current (8/03) Road Bike magazine. there' s a feature story on oils in general including synthetics. very interesting. i ran synthetic in my f350 diesel (250,000 miles), just started running it in my '02 bmw r1150rt. used royal purple in 5 gallon jugs in truck and bmw synthetic in bike. before buying bmw, i made many a 10,000 mile trip on my 1990 h-d running synthetic royal purple from beginning to end without oil change. just topping off each day to make sure i had enough in the bag. don't think i'll be trying that on beemer tho.

[jduke]

I know this isn't going to sound right, but I'm just reporting results. I have a 94 R1100RS with almost 100,000 miles on it. I've run about every brand and type of quality oil available. Two oil changes ago I switched to BMW full synthetic oil. My gas mileage went from a consistent 42 mpg to a consistent 45 mpg. And I mean consistently. I change my oil AND filter every 2500 miles, and adjust my valves and throttlebody's every 5000 miles. Until I see a change for the worse, I'm sticking with BMW fully synthetic oil.

[MarkF]

Originally posted by jduke
I change my oil AND filter every 2500 miles, and adjust my valves and throttlebody's every 5000 miles.

What? You throw away synthetic oil after only 2,500 miles? That stuff is supposed to be good for 10,000 miles. Why not just take your bike in for the recommended 6,000 mile L/O/F and have the throttlebodies done then?

Am I being foolish to follow the BMW maintenance schedule?

Mark:confused:

[jduke]

Originally posted by oilhed
What? You throw away synthetic oil after only 2,500 miles? That stuff is supposed to be good for 10,000 miles. Why not just take your bike in for the recommended 6,000 mile L/O/F and have the throttlebodies done then?

Am I being foolish to follow the BMW maintenance schedule?

Mark:confused:


Oil's cheap, BMW's aren't......

[lancew]

I subscribe to a GMC Diesel truck page because we have a dually to pull our horse trailer. Some of those guys a serious tech-heads. They have had some VERY detailed :snore discussions about oil, and have done a lot of chemical analysis to back it up. The basic consensus is that you CAN go a lot longer on the synthetics than the dead-dino juice, especially if you are using a good filter. There are oil sample analysis kits available for 15-25 bucks, and when you are changing 7, 11, or 14 qts at a time early changes can get expensive quickly.



You are probably wasting money if you change at 2,500, but if it makes you feel good, go for it.

Just be glad those truck guys aren't into beemers- we would have 12-page threads arguing about it, resulting in 5 guys changing at 2,500 and another 5 guys changing at 6,000, then sending the oil samples off for blind taste tests.

[MarkF]

Originally posted by jduke
Oil's cheap, BMW's aren't......

Well for the cost of synth oil and a filter it's no big deal to me but rather a pain in the a... to do it every 2,500 mi. Especially when that falls in the middle of a trip. So, I do it at the spec. 6,000 mi. and if it's going to be due during or just after a trip I'll do it just before the trip.

Hope that's good enough.

MarkF

[Magic_Rat]

Originally posted by jduke
Oil's cheap, BMW's aren't......

Hey Jerry...the only thing cheap on a BMW is the rider :)

Depending on where you measure the oil temp, I believe the oilhead runs at more or less 320 degrees, the sump will be a little cooler. Dino will tend to 'boil away' with the motor hot over time, and your oil consumption will diminish with the use of full synth. My oil consumption drastically was reduced to almost nothing at a switch to synth (Amsoil) at 7500 miles. I used to subscribe to the 12K mile rule for synth, but not anymore. I'm a believer in the factory guideline of 6K for synth. I don't believe dino is the best option for this air/oil cooled motor, and like the extra 'margin of error' that synth provides. I change my oil at 5 or 6K intervals with synthetic.

Just my take on it. It's a religion :)

[jduke]

JO'sky
Tell everyone the ballarina joke....

[lkchris]

Learn a lot about synthetic oil here:

http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pb/synthetic.htm

[Hacksaw]

Originally posted by fish
YART (Yet Another Religious Topic)

I don't see the value in running expensive synth when you change it out every 6K :dunno
Gives me extra peace of mind. Mobil 1 is very available. Might just be a placebo effect but it works for me.


:)

[mff]

I have tried the products from:
http://www.guarddogmoly.com/prod-moto.shtml

very pleased!:clap :clap