Oil Filter

[celticus]

O.K. guys , I should know by now but it's been a long time since I haven't had a local BMW dealer.
Who is a good on line dealer to buy an oil filter from?

[mogu83]

Max BMW --- only because you get a bag of M+Ms (Plus the parts guys always have the time to help you out - unlike some other big dealers) IMHO

http://www.maxbmwmotorcycles.com/fiche/fiche.aspx

[Karamazov]

Max BMW --- only because you get a bag of M+Ms (Plus the parts guys always have the time to help you out - unlike some other big dealers) IMHO

+1. It's not always convenient to get to the shop I purchased my bike from (2 hours away). When I can't, I always buy from Max BMW. I won't lie, A&S has virtually identical prices, but Max's earned my loyalty with chocolate. My friends and I comment on it every time we order from them. The online fiche is also extremely useful, has blow up diagrams, and is easy to navigate and order off of.

[deilenberger]

+2 on Max's. I usually try to stop in to see them if I'm passing by the area (usually the Troy NY store..) The parts/apparel guy talked me out of buying some BMW gloves they had on sale because he'd gotten complaints about the Goretex liner not keeping people's hands dry, after I mentioned that's why I was considering them. Not too often you get that sort of truthful advice from someone trying to sell you something. It reflects positively on the dealership.

Another good one is Phillip at Morton's BMW - about the only other dealer I'd put in the same category as Max's for being honest and customer focused.

[celticus]

Thanks Guys. I like M&Ms. The closest dealer to me is the one in Asheville N.C. maybe two hours away. No one I've talked to who has shopped there has anything good to say about the place.

[ammolab]

I have shopped at Bobs and European Moto Electrics but now buying the Mann MW-75 and other filters from:

http://www.diesel-filters.com/search.ph ... uery=MW-75

[jkhomes]

Make sure they don't forget the crush ring for the drain plug. The old dealer here never included one, the new dealer always has it scotch taped to the top of the oil filter box.

[CosmeT]

Harry, N8, Don Eilenberger..., Guys
Good evening

I am prompt to buy an oil filter to my R12R, would some of you let me know about the price you are paying for one OEM oil filter?
Does M&Ms, Max BMW, A&S or any of those vendors sale OEM oil filters p/n 11 42 7 673 541?
Is there another vendor with same BMW OEM's filter quality?

I do not want sacrifice quality for dollars!

Cheers
Have a good ride!

[mogu83]

I do not want sacrifice quality for dollars!

That about says it. A stock filter from a BMW dealer costs $15.68 and the gasket .68 total cost $16.36. That breaks down to a little less than 3 cents per 100 miles, a very small price to pay for knowing you have the best filter you can buy (for your engine) in your engine. Other cheaper filters maybe just as good but without a lab and a bunch of people to do the testing for you, you'll never know. When your talking about fractions of a penny a mile why take a chance.

Most of us run premium gas in our machines when they will run very well on regular under most conditions but we spend the extra $1.00 (approx) per hundred miles for the 'good' stuff. Why go cheap on a filter?

[Karamazov]

I am prompt to buy an oil filter to my R12R, would some of you let me know about the price you are paying for one OEM oil filter?
Does M&Ms, Max BMW, A&S or any of those vendors sale OEM oil filters p/n 11 42 7 673 541?
Is there another vendor with same BMW OEM's filter quality?

I won't lie, I never really look at the prices for things I absolutely have to buy - like oil, oil filters, and scotch. The OEM prices will be pretty consistent online, in my experience - and as I said, I choose to buy from Max's because of the M&M's. Considering shipping, the cheapest alternative for me is to buy from my dealer, but if you're ordering online, you'd be looking at around $18 for a filter and crush washer, plus shipping. If I were to go with a non-OEM solution, I'd probably get the Mann's filter from beemerboneyard.com, but I'm happy to forgo any savings to use the OEM filter. YMMV

[ammolab]

Harry, N8, Don Eilenberger..., Guys
Good evening

I am prompt to buy an oil filter to my R12R, would some of you let me know about the price you are paying for one OEM oil filter?
Does M&Ms, Max BMW, A&S or any of those vendors sale OEM oil filters p/n 11 42 7 673 541?
Is there another vendor with same BMW OEM's filter quality?

I do not want sacrifice quality for dollars!

Cheers
Have a good ride!

The Mann filter in my post above is less than 9 bucks and "BMW Quality" they are a OEM supplier to BMW.

[tinytrains]

Another option is K&N. Their oil filters are very well rated, and Amazon has the KN-164 for around $13. I have not tried one on the bike yet, but use K&N on my truck all the time. (I don't like their air filters though).

[Steve H.]

I run only OM filters on my bike.
Cheep insurance as Don E. sad Agree 100%.
I tride K&N filters on my care never realised any difference (better flow???)compared to OM filters-staying with OM filters.

Steve H.

[Steve H.]

I heard that K&N better flow resulting in less filtration???
Any thoughts?

Steve H
from Ontario

[MTBeemer]

Less filtration does not sound like a good thing to me.

[tinytrains]

I heard that K&N better flow resulting in less filtration???
Any thoughts?

Steve H
from Ontario

That is the general feeling I have read. Fine for racing, but not good for your long term ride. Of course I just discovered when the factory put the air filter in my R12, they pushed the bottom in 1/2 inch too far allowing a lot of crap in the air box I had to clean out.

As I stated above, K&N oil filter are always rated top notch. Same filter as a Mobil 1 from Champion Labs.

[deilenberger]

I heard that K&N better flow resulting in less filtration???
Any thoughts?

Steve H
from Ontario

"Better" flow is a questionable thing. The flow capacity of any filter changes as it filters crud out of the air. The capacity of a filter to do this without restricting the flow of the air is related to two things: (1) surface area of the filter medium (2) the size of the crud the filter will remove from the air.

A K&N allows for greater flow by capturing less of the crud, meaning the crud goes through your engine (which is sort of the reason for a filter - keeping the crud out.) The K&N has a much smaller surface area (probably 1/2 that of the stock paper filter), so it will tend to plug up faster if it captured the same amount of crud.

It's also messy to clean, and messy to re-oil.

Does it have any upside on our bikes? None I can think of unless you're really really cheap and want a filter you never have to replace. That's a case of pound-wise, penny-foolish IMHO - since the poorer filtration will cost you more in engine repairs than you save on filters. As far as "better" flow - the filter on our bikes is adequately sized. Meaning, it's not a restrictive element in the airflow through the engine. The airflow can only be equal to the flow through the greatest restriction, on our bikes I'd make a WAG - it's the valves. And the filter does nothing for the valves flow.

Would I have one on my bike? Nope. And I'd avoid buying a bike that has been ridden with one..

But hey - it's your choice. Just consider if it's a wise choice.

[MTBeemer]

This is a K&N air filter I took out of a friends R1200RT when I serviced it for him. It had been in service less than 6000 miles in normal conditions. I live in the same area and change my OEM filter every 12,000 miles although it still looks fairly clean. If you still want a K&N, then I think i can get the one pictured at a reduced price.... some cleaning required.

[Newportcycle]

Very interesting thread, here is a link to an air filter test with K&N as one of the participatants.http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html

[CosmeT]

Guys

Definitively, I had learned the filter's lesson...and I am 100% agreeing with Don, no cheap filters, only OEM parts, that the reason BMW is one of the best bikes in the world.

Have a nice ride!