What brand engine oil used in 2016 R1200RT ?

[Monte Sloan Jr]

What is the preferred engine oil for a 2016 R1200RT WH ? 

[Rinkydink]

Just follow the specs stated in your owners manual. 

[TEWKS]

This is what BMW wants you to use. 

[Dave_in_TX]

9 hours ago, Rinkydink said:

Just follow the specs stated in your owners manual. 

+1

[Paul4450]

You can do a search in this forum. These threads can be long!  

[Paul De]

Here we go again

[Antimatter]

And its not even winter yet.

[EddyC]

Don't concentrate on the brand, look at the specs and find a matching oil.

Viscosity, API, usage of the bike, environment temperatures etc... all matter.

You could go for mineral oil, but I 'd get full synthetic as it degrades a lot less in time...

Stay Safe.. Ed.

[Skywagon]

Monte...in your owners manual there will be a spec the folks are describing.  Here is the one from my 2014 wethead 

 

SAE 5W-40, API SL / JASO MA2

 

The 2014 goes on even further to recommend a brand.  I believe they stopped doing that in 2015 and just stuck with specs.  This was the brand they recommended in 2014 and what I use.  

Product recommended by BMW Motorrad: Castrol Power 1 Racing 2014 page 153

 

The reason folks aren't saying much is oil threads turn into quite a debate about brands, contents you should have, should not have, why you are wrong and I am right....  So the folks so far are giving you the best advice.  Buy the spec in your manual.

 

Hope that helps and welcome to the forum where there is more expertise and willing people than you can imagine.

[dirtrider]

On 7/6/2020 at 8:05 PM, Monte Sloan Jr said:

What is the preferred engine oil for a 2016 R1200RT WH ? 

Morning  Monte Sloan Jr

 

It boils down to trust in your judgment & interpretation of the BMW required motor-oil specs. Even BMW recommended motor oil doesn't seem to exactly meet their own recommendations.  

 

Here is a rather long winded thread on BMW wethead motor oil, if you read it completely it pretty well explains the BMW recommended vs what is currently available.  

 

https://www.bmwsporttouring.com/topic/93431-experience-experimenting-with-oil/

 

[Knobby10]

Beemer Bone yard has all the stuff and 10% off if you are an MOA member. 

[EddyC]

 

You could take a peek at the following.
Tinderbox Arts explains it in his usual way: crystal clear.
Ed.
 

 

[Paul De]

20 hours ago, Skywagon said:

The 2014 goes on even further to recommend a brand.  I believe they stopped doing that in 2015 and just stuck with specs

Not so.  My 2015 OM recommends their branded oil BMW 5W-40 Advantec Ultimate, made by Shell. 

 

BMW writes their specification in a way to sow doubt about other brands due to the added statement that no molybdenum additives be in the formula.  Both BMW and Shell are very cagey on providing detailed published TDS specifications & MSDS which would expose an inconsistency about their no molybdenum statement and their branded oil (I searched the net high and low for these documents and was not able to find this information).  In the long thread that DR provided the link to, the no molybdenum statement was hashed out at length which included info from a number of BMWST members who paid for oil analysis on various brands and there is even a response to a member from BMW that was emphatic on no molybdenum.  What was found is virtually all of these latest generation of synthetic oils contains molybdenum including BMW 5W-40 Advantec Ultimate oil!   You will find that the API SL specified by BMW  has already been superseded by the SN rating.  As far as API is concerned SN is backward compatible to SL, but that is precluded in BMWs no molybdenum statement as the API SN rating was to reduce ZDDP additives which tends to poison the catalyst in the catalytic converter and SN oils replace the ZDDP additive with...you guessed it molybdenum!  However, if you check the label on BMW 5W-40 Advantec Ultimate you will note that this oil is rated as API SN!  Confusing, right? Well IMO that is by design to keep you buying their branded oil.

 

So where does that leave your question on which brand oil to use.  Good question, without an easy answer.  My take away was that if your bike is still under warranty stick with the BMW branded oil to avoid having to deal with a claim rejection should you be unfortunate and have a serious failure.  After warranty there are any number of high quality brands, but be sure they are at least JASO MA/MA2.  These days there are very few oils out there, in the 5W-40 viscosity range, that are still listed as API SL, so that might limit your choices.  Or, simply pay the premium BMW wants for their oil and forget about the fact that no 5W-40 synthetic meets the letter of their specification, not even BMWs oil, and get out for a ride!

[Monte Sloan Jr]

Well thank you all who helped me with this. I had more help and replies than I expected. 

 

Thanks

[AndyS]

On 7/10/2020 at 4:12 PM, Monte Sloan Jr said:

 I had more ... replies than I expected. 

 

Hmm, I didn't. I was expecting this to explode into another pointless thread. 

Well done all the members here for biting their lips!

[Paul De]

22 hours ago, AndyS said:

 

Hmm, I didn't. I was expecting this to explode into another pointless thread. 

Well done all the members here for biting their lips!

Haha,  I think you might be trying to stir up some trouble.   Hmm, maybe I should start a thread on who roasts the best coffee beans...

[Bernie]

31 minutes ago, Paul De said:

Haha,  I think you might be trying to stir up some trouble.   Hmm, maybe I should start a thread on who roasts the best coffee beans...

Go for it! Something new and exciting. I know this roaster in Boone, NC. 

[Rinkydink]

37 minutes ago, Paul De said:

Haha,  I think you might be trying to stir up some trouble.   Hmm, maybe I should start a thread on who roasts the best coffee beans...

Cream or no cream?
I prefer half&half. 

[Bernie]

Almond milk or expresso straight up. 
I don’t like the 50w50 coffee. I prefer 5w50.

[dduelin]

8 hours ago, Bernie said:

Go for it! Something new and exciting. I know this roaster in Boone, NC. 

What, Bald Guy? No way, stuff there will rot your pipes. Stick with Hachet's Thedy Alberca for long life.

[Monte Sloan Jr]

Ok I give, I'm the newbie BMW owner here, this is my first BMW. I have usually done all of my own maintenance on all of my bikes. This machine is new to me and I want to understand how to maintain it properly.  At 68 years old hopefully this may be the last bike I buy. I don't know maybe in a couple of years trade up to a R1250RT ? 

Thank you all for biting you collective lips and all of the feedback. 

[Rinkydink]

12 minutes ago, Monte Sloan Jr said:

Ok I give, I'm the newbie BMW owner here, this is my first BMW. I have usually done all of my own maintenance on all of my bikes. This machine is new to me and I want to understand how to maintain it properly.  At 68 years old hopefully this may be the last bike I buy. I don't know maybe in a couple of years trade up to a R1250RT ? 

Thank you all for biting you collective lips and all of the feedback. 

A hearty welcome to you Monte. We’re just funning ya. FYI, oil and tire threads have been done to death and beyond BMW lubrication requirements it comes down to how much you want to spend and your personal preferences. 
There are a lot of smart people here (me excluded) and IMO this is the one of best BMW forums out there. Again, welcome to the madness. 

[AndyS]

13 hours ago, Monte Sloan Jr said:

Ok I give, I'm the newbie BMW owner here, this is my first BMW. I have usually done all of my own maintenance on all of my bikes. This machine is new to me and I want to understand how to maintain it properly.  At 68 years old hopefully this may be the last bike I buy. I don't know maybe in a couple of years trade up to a R1250RT ? 

Thank you all for biting you collective lips and all of the feedback. 

We are here to help, but the answers to some threads just are unhelpful. The replies are not aimed at you, they are to restrain everyone else from issuing pointless comments when the answer is covered by post #2.

 

As for trading 'up' to a 1250. What makes you think that is a trade upward. If you are happy with your 1200, then there is no need to make any change. The 1250 offers VERY little over the late 1200's.

[Hfjeff]

This..

 

https://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Moly-20076-Motorbike-Synthetic/dp/B00D91Q1DM/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2WC8TZN05H7LK&dchild=1&keywords=liqui+moly+5w40&qid=1595903030&sprefix=liquimoly%2Caps%2C256&sr=8-5

 

[Alfred02]

On 7/28/2020 at 12:23 PM, Hfjeff said:

This..

 

https://www.amazon.com/Liqui-Moly-20076-Motorbike-Synthetic/dp/B00D91Q1DM/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2WC8TZN05H7LK&dchild=1&keywords=liqui+moly+5w40&qid=1595903030&sprefix=liquimoly%2Caps%2C256&sr=8-5

 

I use the same.

Mainly because it's the only stuff I can get that comes anywhere near the required specs.

As I am just saying this, Liqui Moly has finally submitted and received approval that their 5W40 is fully JASO MA2 compliant.

You can find the Jaso list here: Liqui Moly Motorbike 4T Synth 5W40 Street Race

As ofhe latest updated list, it is now one of the very few that are officially compliant and the only fully compliant one that I can get here in Australia.

[Paul De]

+1 on the Liqui Moly. 

 

I still have one more oil change worth of BMW Advantec Ultimate on my shelf to work through.  I was sticking with the BMW Advatec Ultimate oil more because I wanted to support the local BMW dealer and not because I thought this oil superior to other high quality products.  Sadly my local BMW dealer closed its doors last year, and the next closest dealer is 60 miles way, so I will convert to Liqui Moly as my preferred choice. Now that Liqui Moly is JASO MA2 rated it may actually come closer to meeting the letter of BMW's oil specification than the BMW Advantec Ultimate does based on all that we learned in the previous beat it to death oil thread "Experience-Experimenting with Oil"

[Bernie]

I have used both Castrol and BMW Advantec Ultimate oils and just received a bottle of Liqui Moly oil for my next change.

 

[BrianM]

11 hours ago, Paul De said:

 I was sticking with the BMW Advatec Ultimate oil more because I wanted to support the local BMW dealer and not because I thought this oil superior to other high quality products.  Sadly my local BMW dealer closed its doors last year, and the next closest dealer is 60 miles way, so I will convert to Liqui Moly as my preferred choice.

 

Mischler's is a much better dealer than Schlossmann's ever was. Wish Southeast Sales had never sold the BMW dealership. I have no problem driving the 75 miles to Mischler's once a year to buy everything I need to maintain my bike. Do what I can to support them. The difference in cost is really not that much.

 

Of course I may be jaded after racing for 29 years. BMW prices are not bad compared to Yamaha TZ prices.

[KMC1]

If it's not Motorex, it's crrrrrap! 

 

I just bought a 2016 RTW so this thread is perfect timing for me! 

[Rougarou]

I typically use Rotella T6.

[Paul De]

11 hours ago, BrianM said:

Mischler's is a much better dealer than Schlossmann's ever was. Wish Southeast Sales had never sold the BMW dealership. I have no problem driving the 75 miles to Mischler's once a year to buy everything I need to maintain my bike. Do what I can to support them. The difference in cost is really not that much.

 

Of course I may be jaded after racing for 29 years. BMW prices are not bad compared to Yamaha TZ prices.

For sure cost isn't an issue for consumables, like oil, for a hobby machine that isn't driven all 12 months in a year. I will for sure go to their place in Beaver Dam when I can organize the time to do so, but I miss the ability to just swing by the shop. I Agree and prefer a shop like Mischler's which is a more traditional motorcycle shop, and they rode/raced what they sold.  Schlossman's ran their place like their auto dealerships.   

 

 Actually, I am and my next older brother are old enough to have raced dirt bikes with Larry.  Best memory is when he entered a bone stock GS1000 Suzuki at a scrambles in the open class (a different time where rules got bent a lot). No he didn't win, not even close, but the first time he launched that bike off the jump and landed it hard enough to smash the exhaust, I was laughing so hard I thought I would pee my pants.  Racing is fun,  just add cubic dollars and reliability is often measured in laps not miles!

[RTinNC]

Castrol 5w-40 on Amazon and shipped to your door.  If you watch for sales (there are frequently 20% off sales) you can get a 6 pack for $43 shipped.   Meets all the BMW specs.