I had service today, and I was forced by the service man to fill my engine with their oil. Or else I lose warranty (oh god). I don't know what kind of crap they forced me to put in my engine, as no description on the bottle is written. first of all, I do not want to use mineral oil, as i am storing now my bike for 6 moths, and mineral oil deteriorates in 3 months even if you do not use it. i hate when the bike companies force people to use 'their oil' because they make money by being affiliated with one of the oil brands. but when nothing is written on the bottle, not even who made it, this pisses me off.
bmw engine oil
Kris
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you are so lucky!I'm in the US and living in California, so I have more consumer rights.
As long as I follow the recommended oil from the manual (I recall JASO 2), the warranty is covered. I don't even have to take it to the dealer for service. I called the BMW dealer, and that was what they told me.
I went out and purchased Rotella T6 and a $10 oil filter and changed the oil myself.
$25 total.
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How would it damage it?
Damage seems fantastically unlikely to me. While I wouldn't recommend using an oil outside the manufacturers spec, i do believe this is unlikely to cause a problem.
Only way I can see using a lighter weight capacity multi weight but otherwise compatible oil causing a problem would be if you cooked off so much of the lighter weight component that the oil level dropped significantly and you ignored it.
On the ST1300/Pan European forum there are hundreds of thousands of miles reported on Shell Rotella T6 5w40 full synthetic oil for heavy diesel trucks. I ran it in my own ST1300 for more than 60k miles before switching to royal purple, now amsoil. Zero issues.
my G310R is at 126mi, picked up on Sunday. I'll probably do an oil and filter in a couple weeks and it will get amsoil 10w-40 metric motorcycle oil like my other bikes.
My advice is to use a high quality synthetic oil that meets or exeeds the spec and makes rational sense weight wise. With multi weight oils having more viscosity capacity at either end is really not a risk. Change your oil regularly.
All that said, at least in the U.S., Mobil 1 is not a true ester synthetic product at this time. They are using group IV, non ester, petroleum derived base stocks. I will not use a non synthetic or non ester based oil in my own vehicles anymore.
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the reason why 5w... is not good for bikes is that it is not protecting the engine enough when it is not yet warm... no bikes are using 5w.... the additional thing to check if it is actually for 4 stroke bikes and have enough friction additives for the clutch. using such oil will not 'damage' your bike like immediately, but very gradually. and one more thing, using such oil in a hot climate is a suicide... in snow, it can make some sense...
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1) That's not how multi weight oils work.
2) Film strength determines protection. Weight determines pumping by viscosity.
3) Clutches do not like friction modifiers and this is one vulnerability to the wet clutches common to motorcycles. Should the friction discs get impregnated with a friction reducer enough they'll loose their ability to engage. The clutch will slip. Should this happen repair is a simple and easy matter of replacing the friction discs. No engine damage.
Why is using a 5w-40 or 50 oil "suicide" in the heat? if it doesn't cook off, why? A good synthetic will easily maintain its integrity during normal operating temperatures even in hot weather.
Where does this "gradual" damage come from? Are you thinking a 300cc single pushed hard is going to run forever? Didn't make 50K km in the magazine test using bmw oil and filters.
Are all these cars running 0w synthetic now committing mass suicide? They often operate with and maintain higher internal engine temperatures than our bikes.
ST1300/PanEuropean's have hundreds of thousands of miles behind them on 5w40 T6. Saying 5w multi weight isn't used in bikes is not true.
we need more facts in this exchange and less supposition, drama, and sensationalism.
I guess this being a new forum it'll go through this phase..
I stand by my past comment; An otherwise compatible oil with a greater viscosity range will do no harm.
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It is not the 5W weight, it is the fact that car/truck oils are not designed for motorcycles and do not have the correct additives required hence the JASO spec.
Cars do not rev as high as motorcycles, but I think if you have something like a HD it may not matter, but it will in a sportbike. Mostly has to do with WET CLUTCH.
For Reference:
https://mobiloil.com/en/faq/ask-our...o-experts/questions-for-auto-experts/difference-between-car-and-motorcycle-oils
Cars do not rev as high as motorcycles, but I think if you have something like a HD it may not matter, but it will in a sportbike. Mostly has to do with WET CLUTCH.
For Reference:
https://mobiloil.com/en/faq/ask-our...o-experts/questions-for-auto-experts/difference-between-car-and-motorcycle-oils
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of course people selling the oil want to drive margin.
https://rotella.shell.com/en_us/products/full-synthetic-and-blend-oil/t6-full-synthetic.html
just read the comments.
Your arguments seem intended to justify a position but lack a technical explanation and are contradicted by documented testing. Additionally I have previously addressed the wet clutch issue and you seem to ignore the real concern there, friction modifiers. Not whether there's a car, truck, or motorcycle on the bottle.
Car engines do typically operate at lower rpm. This is irrelevant to our discussion however as there's been no suggestion of a lack of film strength.
Comments of "damage will occur" and using a particular oil is "suicide" need to be justified or they're sensationalist and should be called as such. There are real things to worry about, using an otherwise compatible 5w40 oil isn't one of them. That's where all this silliness started.
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LOL.
I just watched the twisted throttle video (I know those guys from living in New England and I finally had time) in the video he even explains how automotive oils are fine in bikes. Just avoid the wrong friction modifiers..
I think the kids call that a "self-own" when you undercut yourself, completely.
I just watched the twisted throttle video (I know those guys from living in New England and I finally had time) in the video he even explains how automotive oils are fine in bikes. Just avoid the wrong friction modifiers..
I think the kids call that a "self-own" when you undercut yourself, completely.
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I realise that none of us are probably automotive chemists, BUT, I’ve read other forums where posters are advocating mixing certain high performance oils and additives with their normal oil; some claiming noticeable reduction in engine noise on the G310.
So, I’ve got my 2L ofMobil1 5-50 fully synthetic sitting on the shelf which I don’t want to waste because it was **** expensive.
What if I bought a HIGH PERFORMANCE oil such as Royal Purple 10-40 and mixed the 2 50:50?
In basic theory, would I end up with 8:45 fully synthetic, or would it just curdle like trying to mix cream and water!
Or should I just stop being stupid and buy 1.6L of the good stuff and stomach the cost?
Please be kind.......
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So, I’ve got my 2L ofMobil1 5-50 fully synthetic sitting on the shelf which I don’t want to waste because it was **** expensive.
What if I bought a HIGH PERFORMANCE oil such as Royal Purple 10-40 and mixed the 2 50:50?
In basic theory, would I end up with 8:45 fully synthetic, or would it just curdle like trying to mix cream and water!
Or should I just stop being stupid and buy 1.6L of the good stuff and stomach the cost?
Please be kind.......
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Some additive packages don't play well together so you might end up worse off. Unless you have access to a lab it doesn't make sense to mix oils.
I would rather just buy the correct spec oil and be done with it. That just seems easier.
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Yep I was kind of expecting that response. 2 qrt. packs of Royal Purple now ordered. Thanks.
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Can somebody confirm....
I don’t have a torque wrench, but I recall reading an instruction somewhere ( but as usual can’t remember where) about a simple manual way of tightening your oil filter.
It was something along the lines.... Screw on the filter until the rubber gasket JUST touches the engine, and then turn ‘2 full turns’ ??.... but I can’t recall how many turns it was!!
![Image]()
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I don’t have a torque wrench, but I recall reading an instruction somewhere ( but as usual can’t remember where) about a simple manual way of tightening your oil filter.
It was something along the lines.... Screw on the filter until the rubber gasket JUST touches the engine, and then turn ‘2 full turns’ ??.... but I can’t recall how many turns it was!!
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3/4 of a turn
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Well I changed the oil for MOTUL and a K&N filter (by quite a considerable margin THE most expensive 2L of oil and filter I’ve EVER bought) and have now rode around 200km in anticipation of wonderful things!
Well.... I’ve got to say I’m wondering what else I could have spent the the extra cash on as disappointment doesn’t come close to describing my thoughts.
Has the oil made the engine any quieter?...... NO!
Has it made the shifting any easier?.... Definitely NOT, in fact it’s WORSE and more difficult to engage neutral!
The old oil (about 3000km old) when drained was BLACK, but there were no bits stuck onto the magnetic plug.
So I’m beginning to wonder what was in the engine before and what’s wrong with what I’ve put in now!
![Image]()
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Well.... I’ve got to say I’m wondering what else I could have spent the the extra cash on as disappointment doesn’t come close to describing my thoughts.
Has the oil made the engine any quieter?...... NO!
Has it made the shifting any easier?.... Definitely NOT, in fact it’s WORSE and more difficult to engage neutral!
The old oil (about 3000km old) when drained was BLACK, but there were no bits stuck onto the magnetic plug.
So I’m beginning to wonder what was in the engine before and what’s wrong with what I’ve put in now!
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Yes, no need for a torque tool. However, 2 turns is too much. After the filter is screwed in and you feel resistance, then it is about 1/2 of a turn to complete...Can somebody confirm....
I don’t have a torque wrench, but I recall reading an instruction somewhere ( but as usual can’t remember where) about a simple manual way of tightening your oil filter.
It was something along the lines.... Screw on the filter until the rubber gasket JUST touches the engine, and then turn ‘2 full turns’ ??.... but I can’t recall how many turns it was!!![Image]()
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291 Posts
Yeh did that thanks.
I've ridden about 350 to 400km since the oil change now and I think things are settling down a little. Certainly the gear change feels better. Can't say I've noticed any difference in engine noise though.
I do have some Liqui Moli mos2 which I may drop in just to help things.
It's difficult to gauge any difference in fuel consumption either since the last 200km were 2 up and some town driving, so that 'claim' remains unproven. However despite manufacturers' claims of greater periods between oil changes I'm still going to change mine every 6000km or so with maybe just the filter change every 12k.
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