R1200GS??s

[Gnome]

This may have been asked a thousand times already,but either I didn't read it or I was not paying attention.
That said,I am getting my new R1200GS soon and I would like your opinion :doh,(yes the O word) on oil.

1. Should I use dino oil in the bike when new,and if so when should I switch over to synthetic?

2. What viscosity do you use or recommend on your 1200 GS?

3. What synthetic brand is the 1200 engine running at it's peak with?
I'd appreciate the feedback.

-------------------------------
I've got my spine and I've got my Orange Crush...

[srb]

My .02 (if it's worth that much) use BMW branded (Castrol?) dino while the cycle is under warranty. The proper viscocity is based on riding temps and conditions. For most of us that would be 20W-50. As long as BMW is paying for any potential repairs follow their little book. After that is the time to venture into the lesser known.

[Cliffy777]

use your favorite all natural (vitamin enriched) oil for the first 10 or 12k, then make the switch to synthetic after everything is good and seated.
i ALWAYS buy the BMW oil because it is so much more expensive.....(NOT).
personally i put castrol in mine but i do use the bmw filter.

[bugley]

Castrol (dino) 20-50 is an excellent choice for the first 12k on your new baby and then you might, and I say might consider going to whatever synthetic brand that suits your fancy. I believe BMW does not recommend going to synthetic in oil heads/hex heads till at least 12k. It is my understanding that Castrol bottles their product for BMW so no need to spend the extra bucks for the plastic bottle with the roundel on it. Your choice though. Enjoy.

[BubbaZanetti]

does castrol make a 20-50 thats is MC specific or are we just talking the $1.88 wal mart stuff in the automotive section. i've been using bmw oil, but at over double the price i'll gladly switch to the castrol for the next 6000 miles (or couple of weeks :D ) till my bike hits 12K or stops burning so much oil

i've read good and bad concerning automotive oils in mc engines, but i always ran the bmw stuff in my airhead, so i haven't had any actual experience

[Gnome]

I'm quite sure Castrol does make 20w50,though I may be wrong.
The reason for my asking about the lubrication of the R1200 engine is I am curently riding a K bike. I've been using Royal Purple 20w50 motorcycle oil in the K brick and it does fine.

[The_Veg]

If the engine is made to modern standards of clearance and metallurgy, you can use automotive oil. Even on older designs you probably still can. Let the paranoids worry about zinc content.

[riderR1150GSAdv]

If the engine is made to modern standards of clearance and metallurgy, you can use automotive oil. Even on older designs you probably still can. Let the paranoids worry about zinc content.

:bow

[Gnome]

Thanks for the input!

You guys are great!

[kbasa]

I'm going to run dino in mine until 18K, then I'll switch it to synth.

[Gnome]

With engines being made to tighter tolerances,and far more exact today, why not use synthetic oil from the start? I know some car makers send thier cars to the dealership with synthetic oil in the engine already.

? ? ? ? ? ? ?

[kbasa]

I want the rings and cylinders to get to know each other really well before I switch over. Some cars come from the factory with synthetic, so perhaps I'm being kind of a Luddite.

[The_Veg]

One thing I wonder is that as much as BMW asks for their motorcycles, why don't they come with an engine that has been broken in on the bench at the factory like my VW did?

[Gnome]

One thing I wonder is that as much as BMW asks for their motorcycles, why don't they come with an engine that has been broken in on the bench at the factory like my VW did?


Get the f__ outa here. Are you telling me the VW comes that way? WOW,I didn't know that. I was just test driving a VW Pesat last week,and I was really inpressed with it. Broken in already? Now that is sweet!
Thanks Veg.

[The_Veg]

Yep. Bench-run for 100 hours before being sent to final assembly. I do not know at what speed(s) it was run, but I found out about this when I was car-shopping and asked about break-in and was told not do do anything special as the above had been done. Not only do you get an engine that's already broken-in, but I imagine the bench-run probably makes for more quality issues being identified and corrected BEFORE they get into customers' hands.

[kbasa]

I've got a friend that works as a mechanic at a VW dealership. I'd never buy a VW after talking with him. He says VW makes things overly complex. When parts fail, they warranty them, but the repairs are made with the same parts that failed in the first place.

As an example, he had a car come in with a failed gear position sensor in the auto trans. The solution? Replace the entire trans. Well, that's fine while it's under warranty, but what about when the car has a bunch of miles on it?

[BubbaZanetti]

I'd never buy a VW after talking with him.

a bit O/T, but i heard that VW foxes were just about the most complex cars (in terms of labor) ever made, glad i lost one by 5 dollars on ebay a few years back now. experts say the engineering makes absolutely no sense, 8 hrs labor to remove the alternator or the starter or something

[TZOLK]

Valvoline makes a Full syn 20w-50, Ive seen it at auto zone and Napa for about $4 and change. Thats what I run currently. Still burns it a little. I think it burned the dino less, but starts up a whole lot smoother now. Its cheaper than Amsoil by about $3 a quart. The previous owners used Castrol dino at every change(documented) and upon my inspection after pulling the oil pan, everything was nice and clean, no sludge or improper cam wear.

[Gnome]

Back again to the VWs.
I found out that the VW is made in Mexico.

[Kneedragon]

My .02 (if it's worth that much) use BMW branded (Castrol?) dino while the cycle is under warranty. The proper viscocity is based on riding temps and conditions. For most of us that would be 20W-50. As long as BMW is paying for any potential repairs follow their little book. After that is the time to venture into the lesser known.

I agree. Since BMW will bear the cost of any potential problems, use the oil they recommend. It can't hurt. That way, any problems that might come up will be thiers and not yours.
FWIW.....I put 205,000 km on my R1100RS using nothing but the recommended lubes/filters, changed at the recommended intervals. No problems whatsoever. :thumb

[jdcoffman]

:dunno OK My R1100rs has about 61k on it I have been using the wal-mart castrol 20w50 since I bought it used with 24k. So would it be bad, good, or indifferent if I was to start using synthetic oil???

[Gnome]

I heard the same exact question asked in a tech session at the 2003 BMW MOA rally. The mechanic holding the session answered the question this way;

"If you aren't using synthetic motor oil you should be" -and-
"if you have several thousand miles on the bike and you are using dino oil and you want to swith over to synthetic,it's ok to switch."

Someone also asked him what if my egine starts to leak as I have heard this could happen when switching from dino to synthetic?

Answer;
"if the engine leaks,fix it,because there is something wrong with the engine."

:thumb

[clawman]

My wifes new BMW X-5 came with Castrol synth.. BMW does all service while under warranty at no charge. They refuse to change the original oil until 15,000 miles. Thats good enough for me. It was Castrol synth oil since new in my 1200gs.

[MarkF]

Nobody said Mobil 1. It used to be everyone switched to Mobil 1 after 10-12k miles.

[PUDGYPAINTGUY]

I can repeat what the dealer told me that makes sense too. Since the motors are not broken in on a dyno pre-delivery, he said to keep running regular 20/50 oil (he said the obligatory BMW brand of course and went on to say that a good quality 20/50 such as the Mobil Drive Clean works great too since the bike is dry clutch. Synthetic he rescommends should not be used until after 10K to allow the motor to fully bed in.

I can understand this now, I have almost 6.5K on the bike and it just keeps getting better each thousand.

That was what I was told anyway and I am believing it now although I was hesitant at first since all that I thought about was using synth from the start...this just stops the engine from wearing in correctly.

[PUDGYPAINTGUY]

This may just be a "witches brew" type of suggestion but what if you switch to a synthetic blend first for a couple of K and then to a full synthetic to allow the gradual aclimitization of the seals and gaskets to the synthetic and hopefully avoid leake etc?