Mail Order oil and supplies

[Rollque]

Im just looking for online sites or mail order even to buy BMW Oil and filters, and possibly other sundries for decent prices.
Im tired of paying $4 a quart for BMW oil from the dealer.
Help??
Thanks in advance,
Aaron

Shoot me an email is best and most appreciated!

Rollque@aol.com

[kbasa]

I split this from the electronics thread.

[RIDERR1150GSADV]

I won't tell you what brand of oil you should use but the law is such that any manufacturer can not force you to use their oil, unless it is provided for free. They will end up in court!
As long as you use an oil that meets or exceeds the oil recomended by the manufacturer it is ok to use what you want.
The discussion about oil is endless but there are interesting articles in Sportrider magazine (Oct issue) and Roadbike magazine (Aug issue). If you can find them I would read them as they are quite helpfull!

[Rollque]

Well I still havent found a good place to buy BMW oil and filters for less than dealer type prices, but I have found one with SWEEET deals on tires.

www.dtmaonline.com seems to have THE BEST prices on many tires. I have been looking for a pair of Michelin Anakee's for my GS Adventure and this is BY FAR the best price Ive seen. Lots of places are sold out until mid Oct, and so are these guys. The tires are $200 cheaper than the local dealer though, and no tax! Well worth waiting.

www.ceebaileys.com has a great selection of customizable windshields...but Im sure most of you have seen this site before. What you probably didnt know though is they put most of their customer returns and scratch and dent items on EBAY. I bought a +4+7 windshield for my Adventure for $88. So keep your eyes open for those deals on EBAY from Ceebaileys.

http://www.casesbymasco.com/ If you are looking at the $1500+ price tag of genuine BMW side cases for adventures or other bikes, and are feeling handy, take a look here. These guys sell thousands of hard cases for all industries. Im looking ad adapting some aluminum cargo cases and machining up some brackets. Not counting my labor it will be about $200 for a custom case with brackets (as opossed to well over $600 for a BMW case and bracket)

http://www.ridebmwmc.com This is one of the few places Ive found used GS parts. If your thinking about custom painting a tank or something, this might be a good place to pick up one as your project so you can keep riding while you find your artistic side.

Ok well thats all for now,
Aaron

[HOLLOMON]

I've bought oil, filters, and gaskets from Bob's BMW mail order before, but I honestly don't remember what I paid for a case.

[oldcarkook]

I use Castrol GTX in all my vehicles with more than two tires and am happy with it, but when it comes to my Beemer, I pony up the $4/quart at the dealer because I have had a LOT of trouble finding other brands that meet the required ratings.

Mobil 1 and Mobil motorcycle oils meet the required BMW ratings, but they are $3.00 OR MORE a quart for the motorcycle oils and twice that for synthetic. Given that the real savings are less than $4/change by buying a non-BMW endorsed oil, I stick with the factory stuff and chalk that up to the experience.

If you figure that if you are changing your oil 10 times a year, and you can save $1/quart by using properly rated "other" brands, you are talking about saving $40/year which in this context to me is chump change. I'm more in the range of $8-$12/year potential savings running around 10k miles a year locally with limited touring.

The ratings are stiff and only a few other brands actually measure up. I have heard only good things about Mobil1 from other riders that are on synthetic. I am old fashioned and like the concept of frequent oil changes to keep the system clean so I try to change it about every 2500-3000 (max) miles. I commute so a lot of my miles are easy miles, not screaming high rev miles.

Last but not least, I try to support my local BMW bike dealer. I need him there and grabbing oil and parts from him also allows me to engage in conversation which inevitably brings up a point or fact that I didn't know and was glad to have learned.

There's a lot to be said about picking up some maintenance parts at a dealer in the middle of the week when things are quiet and you can shoot the breeze with the parts men. You'd be surprised how much you can learn in idle chit chat.

I will admit that I have bought quite a few things from Bob's (having visited once on a trip) over the internet and they are definitely a well run machine themselves.

[MarkF]

If you're buying BMW parts and accessories try Wolf BMW in Canada. They shipped my saddlebags to Connecticut for free and the exchange rate made for big savings. Also, BMW stuff seems to be cheaper in Canada after correcting for the exchange rate.

MarkF

[kbasa]

I bought an Ohlins shock from Wolf as well. They were super nice to deal with, called me to confirm my address and delivered as promised. You can't ask for more than that.

The prices were very, very good as well.

[lkchris]

It would be interesting to know if Wolf carries the same BMW oil as USA dealers, since it's strictly a BMW NA product.

BMW (NA) oil is available online here http://www.bmw-online.com

[BASKETCASE]

Mobil 1 15W50. I buy it locally, along with substitute filters.

As mentioned above, the arguments are endless over oil, filters, etc. I've never had a filter failure, and change my oil religiously at every 3K, or six months, whichever comes first.