What TYPE of oil do you use in your S ?

[Henners]

Still trying to get my head around which is best ~ not the Brand, the type. So please share what you use below.

If you want to disclose the mileage of your engine that would also be useful. Also if you have experienced any engine issues e.g. excessive wear, smoking exhaust, component failure, etc.

Many thanks

[Gromit]

Oh no!! He's said the 'O' word!!

Seriously though - hopefully this thread will be a good source of useful info.

I'm sure there will be a fair few different opinions, but my 2 penneth is that in latter years of Boxer ownership, I found mineral 20w50 worked very well. That was on a low-ish mileage bike though (c5-6k miles).

Never used fully synth in an 11S but trying it in my old R1100R it tended to use more than if filled with semi-synth.

[David_S_Walker]

Hello,

Always used Castrol Power 1 Racing 10W-50 Fully Synthetic oil with a K&N Oil Filter in my R1200S.

Just my pennyworth....

Best regards,

David

[f90x]

In my 11S I always used mineral 20/50. Either Valvoline VR1 or the standard Harley Davidson stuff. In the 12S I use Castrol Power 1 semi synth 10/40. I get it from m and p with a k and n filter and change it every year. Usually 3-5k miles.

[Henners]

Thanks chaps ~ very interesting so far. It looks like it could be a toss a coin type scenario but hopefully a consensus will emerge.

[Blackal]

I have a vague recollection that Richard (Gromit) recommended Harley Davidson oil - back in the day when he had an 1100s......

Made sense at the time (a big V-Twin engine).

I wouldn't go any fancier than semi-synth oil in an R1100s -

Al

[Gromit]

Thanks chaps ~ very interesting so far. It looks like it could be a toss a coin type scenario but hopefully a consensus will emerge.

Hopefully indeed.

Good idea for a thread about this though, and it'll be interesting to see the balance of oil choice between both the 11 & 1200 engines too.

[Boxered]

R1100S = 20/50 mineral everytime and change at 3k miles

R1200S = 20/50 semi synth and changed yearly or at 5k miles

Steve

[ianbcr]

I was told by BMW its a tractor engine just put mineral in, it doesn't need fancy synthetic.

[DPG]

ok, I'll join in. Normally don't though as oil is very, very, very much a personal choice between brands that used to have notable differences in character but in the modern world do not.

My 11S get 15-50 Castrol Power1 fully synth. It gets changed after every trackday regardless of the actual use the bike gets.

My usage is exclusively on the track. The motor is modified. In comparison to the design parameters which no doubt prioritized a sport-touring model, I am kicking the daylights out of it on every revolution, even on the out-lap. Massive revs under near to max revs all the time. Basically I'm doing my level best to kill it.

So new oil every time it is.

After 6 years of such mechanical un-sympathy, it's still going.

Must be doing something right.

Seriously, I raced 4 wheel endurance for many years and one lesson was learnt. The minor differences in oil are irrelevant, just make sure it somewhere near the right temperature grade (10w40 for the UK is fine for road use) and change it (and the filter) as often as you can afford. There is no such thing as a wasted oil change - you cannot change oil too often.

No biggie..

[Tapio]

I don't think it's very important what oil you use. The important thing is you change it!
The combustion develops some nasty stuff. Some of it is taken care of by the oil. But at some point it gets saturated. It needs to be changed! Change your oil!
Since the R11S has a dry chutch you can use any oil available on the market, and don't have to buy a ”motorcycle oil”

[Herb]

I have a 12s. I have always used the BMW recommended Castrol 20w50 mineral oil. I noticed at the last change that Castrol have changed their product to 20w50 semi-synth so that's what went in.

I have always followed manufacturer advice with oils simply because I know where I am. They spend a great deal of money testing and if they say it's good enough I tend to follow that recommendation. There may be better products out there, but why dick about to save a few quid or for non-measurable performance gains.

[Gromit]

ok, I'll join in. Normally don't though as oil is very, very, very much a personal choice between brands that used to have notable differences in character but in the modern world do not.

My 11S get 15-50 Castrol Power1 fully synth. It gets changed after every trackday regardless of the actual use the bike gets.

My usage is exclusively on the track. The motor is modified. In comparison to the design parameters which no doubt prioritized a sport-touring model, I am kicking the daylights out of it on every revolution, even on the out-lap. Massive revs under near to max revs all the time. Basically I'm doing my level best to kill it.

So new oil every time it is.

After 6 years of such mechanical un-sympathy, it's still going.

Must be doing something right.

Seriously, I raced 4 wheel endurance for many years and one lesson was learnt. The minor differences in oil are irrelevant, just make sure it somewhere near the right temperature grade (10w40 for the UK is fine for road use) and change it (and the filter) as often as you can afford. There is no such thing as a wasted oil change - you cannot change oil too often.

No biggie..

Good post.

This echoes almost exactly what was said by a friend of mine who was (in the late 90's) a fellow member of the Lotus 7 Club. He was, probably still is, a petro-chemicals engineer for Mobil and always said 'it's not so much what you put it in, but how often you change it - the bottom line is keep it clean'.

[SP250]

My 11S had mineral in it I think for the first change and then a semi synth for a couple of changes and about 6000 I went onto fully synth 15 /50 and had the same in it ever since.
I have had the bike since new and "used" it hard on trackdays and the 'Ring for many years. Well over 30,000 on the clock now and a "considerably" smoother engine was commented on by DT on here when we swopped bikes on this years Flash tour in France.
I have changed the oil and filter myself half way between each BMW service and read the riot act to them each service to put fully synth into it or provided the oil for them myself.
I have always used the Morris Oils from Shrewsbury brand and never ever had an issue with the motor. Morris's in the gearbox and final drive too.

[Mitch1100]

Motorex 15/50 semi syn in BCR, Motorex 15/50 Synthetic in R12s changed regularly with filter each time