New R1200Rt - Oil filter Question

[dieSilberMotorrad]

Hi all, just traded in my 2000 LT for a 2007 RT. I have some BMW oil filters left from my old bike I can't figure out if I can use or not. They are BMW OEM filters and have

11.42 1 460 845

11.42 1 460 697

Stamped on the silver canister. Will these work on my new RT?

 

Also - Can I go to Synthetic at my 600 mile change? Thanks for your help. I need to do my break in service. Hoping to save a couple bucks. One more thing- Break in service = Oil & filter change and Final drive oil. Anything else? Thanks much. Jim

[capj66]

Hi I too am a new owner of a BMW (1999 R1100RT). From what I have been able to discover through research and hunting in the forum is as follows:

 

Not sure on your filter question but I am sure one of the other guys will answer it for you.

 

Use a good synthetic in the final drive.

 

Don't use a synthetic in the engine until you have 15,000 to 20,000 miles on it, they say thats how long it takes to get these really broken in.

 

600 mile service is fluid change, filter, re-torque the head bolts, valve check/adjust, check the throttle sync.

 

 

 

Just remember to ride her hard like you stole it and it will last you a life time, just keep up on the maintenance.

 

Just my two cents.

 

Welcome to the board one newbie to another.

[chrisx]

no synth until it has gotten a good 10k+ workwout. mine burned oil until 11k and a 4000 mile toour. but use good synth in the trans and final drive., i use amsoil but lots of good ones out there. i put in mobil1 vmax at 11k and at 13+ i have not had to add any. amsoil will go in at next change. i tried it at 6k but it used it up and vmax was avaliable at corner parts store at halfway on trip at 11k. best oil is clean oil. synth or dino. the nikasil liners take a good run or two to break in. i used marvel in the gas and oil during the break in trip. ( crater lake death valley zion bryce denver tetons yellowstone etc) a top cylinder oil helps as well. forsooth... another oil thread. just ride it and keep the lubes in good shape. i.e don't use the recycled oil i used in my old 49 chev pickup back in the daay.

[Paul Mihalka]

You can use the filters you got left over, but they are longer and stick out more at the bottom of the engine. Just be careful when you jump sidewaks

[Wooster]

Also - Can I go to Synthetic at my 600 mile change? Thanks for your help. I need to do my break in service. Hoping to save a couple bucks. One more thing- Break in service = Oil & filter change and Final drive oil. Anything else? Thanks much. Jim

 

Jim,

 

While 6 and 12 K services are often DIY, I think the initial 600 mile service should be left to a factory trained tech as there's more to it than o/f change, e.g., with oilheads (after all this is the oilhead section), loosening and torquing of the cylinder heads is included.

 

Wooster with oilhead (too much brilcream ?)

[Ken H.]

While 6 and 12 K services are often DIY, I think the initial 600 mile service should be left to a factory trained tech as there's more to it than o/f change, e.g., with oilheads (after all this is the oilhead section), loosening and torquing of the cylinder heads is included.

+1

The 600 mile head re-torque is probably the one service interval in the life of the bike that you want BMW to have documentation that it was done by a BMW service tech.

[dieSilberMotorrad]

Okay - Dealer service it is. Thanks everyone.

[Don_Eilenberger]

As far as holding off on synthetic until ## miles.. most of that's left over from the R11 engines. My R1200R engine stopped using oil at about 3,000 miles.. and has been running on BMW Synthetic since the 6,000 mile change, and uses NO oil. None. Zilch. NADA.

 

Break it in by the book, then take a few days riding the switchbacks in West Virginia (lots of low speed, high RPM up/down, engine braking) and it will be a wonderful engine

[RFW]

Synthetic or no synthetic, it makes no difference at all to breakin. The claim that synthetic is so slippery that the motor will not break in properly is completely without merit and not supportable. Not only that, but most so-called "synthetic" oils on the market are not even synthetic. The vast majority are made mainly from highly refined Group III dino feedstock. Castrol Syntec was the first to do this years ago and now even Mobil 1 is mainly non-synthetic. The word "synthetic" has ceased to mean an oil's source, and now has come to mean a level of performance (regardless of how the stuff is made).

 

As for the claim that "synthetic" oils will not allow a motor to break in properly, one might well ask why many high performance cars (for example Porsche) come with their crankcases filled with Mobil 1 or similar, right from the factory.

 

There are benefits to using a quality oil that is derived from high quality feedstock (be it truly synthetic or Group III), but the claim that these oils will interfere with the breakin process is absurd.

[Dave_in_TX]

As far as holding off on synthetic until ## miles.. most of that's left over from the R11 engines. My R1200R engine stopped using oil at about 3,000 miles.. and has been running on BMW Synthetic since the 6,000 mile change, and uses NO oil. None. Zilch. NADA.

 

Break it in by the book, then take a few days riding the switchbacks in West Virginia (lots of low speed, high RPM up/down, engine braking) and it will be a wonderful engine

 

I switched to synth at 6000 miles and now have 18000 on the bike. Oil usage has been insignificant.

[GordonB]

Here in SoCal, the CHP is switching over to synhetic at the 600 mile svc.

I personally switched at the 6,000 mile svc, per my LD suggestion.

I have burned no oil after 1000 miles since the 6M svc.

And yes, of all scvs have the LD do the 600 miler.

[bimmers]

hmm, interesting as I am still on Dino at 8000mls and I do burn some oil. Have not touched drivetrain oils so far and will wait til 12000 and ask BMW to do it for warranty purposes on FD.

Also reference to cars is a good one as cars do not really recommend any break in periods anymore. My BMWs also all come with synthetic (I think) from start and first oilchange was at (lights on) 15k in my case.

 

h

[TomfromMD]

Even though BMW autos have come with synthetic oil for nearly a decade, they still call for limited rpm (ca. 4,500) and top speed (100 mph) for the first 1200 miles. There are also guidelines for brake, tire and clutch break-in.

 

With scheduled hexhead oil changes at (only) 6,000 miles, is synthetic oil really necessary for normal use?

 

Tom

[Don_Eilenberger]

Synthetic or no synthetic, it makes no difference at all to breakin. The claim that synthetic is so slippery that the motor will not break in properly is completely without merit and not supportable. Not only that, but most so-called "synthetic" oils on the market are not even synthetic. The vast majority are made mainly from highly refined Group III dino feedstock. Castrol Syntec was the first to do this years ago and now even Mobil 1 is mainly non-synthetic. The word "synthetic" has ceased to mean an oil's source, and now has come to mean a level of performance (regardless of how the stuff is made).

Not necessarily - from the place with all knowledge on motor oil:

 

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1031616#Post1031616

As for the claim that "synthetic" oils will not allow a motor to break in properly, one might well ask why many high performance cars (for example Porsche) come with their crankcases filled with Mobil 1 or similar, right from the factory.

As do BMW cars.. (and Corvettes and a number of other cars..)

There are benefits to using a quality oil that is derived from high quality feedstock (be it truly synthetic or Group III), but the claim that these oils will interfere with the breakin process is absurd.

[Don_Eilenberger]

Even though BMW autos have come with synthetic oil for nearly a decade, they still call for limited rpm (ca. 4,500) and top speed (100 mph) for the first 1200 miles. There are also guidelines for brake, tire and clutch break-in.

 

With scheduled hexhead oil changes at (only) 6,000 miles, is synthetic oil really necessary for normal use?

 

Tom

Depends on the use of your bike. If you never get stuck in traffic with the engine idling for extended periods of time - probably not. If you do get stuck once in a while - the higher ash-point of the synthetic (when the oil starts turning into tar..) is to your advantage. It's not a case of using the oil for extended use reasons, but for the higher level of performance it provides (low temp pour = which is cold startup oil flow, viscosity retention = stuck in traffic, ash-point = stuck in traffic big time..)

[BigAdv]

Ash point? Never heard that term used before. Not even in the oil analasis course I took at SAIT polytech.

 

Sulfated ash is how much solid material is left when the oil burns. A high ash content will tend to form more sludge and deposits in the engine. Low ash content also seems to promote long valve life. Look for oils with a low ash content.

 

Ash not only comes from the base stock, it also comes from the additive package, so just cause its synth. does not mean it'll have low ash. I have seen engines that have run on synth. all there life slugged up more than engines run on walmart no name oil. (the big Q is the wurst in my opinion) The key in my experiance is to change the oil often. Use what makes you feel good but change it by the rec. interv.

 

Just my $0.02(CND)

 

Earl