Total N00B with some questions

[popsnicker]

Hello all!
I just bought a new to me 2004 R1150R ABS and have a bunch of questions but I'll start off slow.

The bike has a little over 4000 miles on it, and the previous owner said that he did oil changes over the years, but I'm not sure anything else was done. That said - it's time for some fluid changes and I want to make sure I'm not way off.

Oil, I'm planning on using Mobil1 V-Twin 20W-50
Transmission and rear drive, Mobil1 75W-90 Gear oil

I'm a big Mobil1 fan, so I'm mainly trying to verify my viscosity's are correct. I'm thinking the 20W engine oil because it get's hot in the summer in Tennessee.

I'm also still debating about doing the brakes and clutch myself or going to the dealer for these.

Anything else I need to know about? I'm really loving the bike so far!!

[MattPie]

Hello all!
I just bought a new to me 2004 R1150R ABS and have a bunch of questions but I'll start off slow.

The bike has a little over 4000 miles on it, and the previous owner said that he did oil changes over the years, but I'm not sure anything else was done. That said - it's time for some fluid changes and I want to make sure I'm not way off.

Oil, I'm planning on using Mobil1 V-Twin 20W-50
Transmission and rear drive, Mobil1 75W-90 Gear oil

I'm a big Mobil1 fan, so I'm mainly trying to verify my viscosity's are correct. I'm thinking the 20W engine oil because it get's hot in the summer in Tennessee.

I'm also still debating about doing the brakes and clutch myself or going to the dealer for these.

Some people will tell you not to use synthetic until the engine is completely broken in (upwards of 20k, depending on how you ride). All I know is mine 'ain't right', it still uses quite a bit of oil at 24k, switched over to synthetic around 10-12k. I ran the Mobil1 20W-50 V-twin and it was fine, but I've I since started using Mobil1 15W-50 since it's cheaper and available in more places (Walmart). If you look at the oil chart in the manual, 15W-50 is good from something like 35 to 120 F, which is way hotter than I'll be riding. For the transmission and FD, I don't think there's any issue with switching over to synthetic at 4k.

If I were doing it, I'd put fresh conventional in this change, and ride the crap out of it and see if it's using oil. The common wisdom is if you baby the bike early (like, oh, say, a new street rider like me did ), the rings don't set up right. Why they don't break in eventually, I don't know.

I'd also wait for CycleRob to refute my post before doing anything. He knows his stuff.

[popsnicker]

Thanks for the reply! The owners manual is something I'm missing so I don't have the chart for the oil range. Any idea where I can get a copy of a 2004 owner's manual?

[Airman]

Some people will tell you not to use synthetic until the engine is completely broken in (upwards of 20k, depending on how you ride). All I know is mine 'ain't right', it still uses quite a bit of oil at 24k, switched over to synthetic around 10-12k. I ran the Mobil1 20W-50 V-twin and it was fine, but I've I since started using Mobil1 15W-50 since it's cheaper and available in more places (Walmart). If you look at the oil chart in the manual, 15W-50 is good from something like 35 to 120 F, which is way hotter than I'll be riding. For the transmission and FD, I don't think there's any issue with switching over to synthetic at 4k.

If I were doing it, I'd put fresh conventional in this change, and ride the crap out of it and see if it's using oil. The common wisdom is if you baby the bike early (like, oh, say, a new street rider like me did ), the rings don't set up right. Why they don't break in eventually, I don't know.

I'd also wait for CycleRob to refute my post before doing anything. He knows his stuff.

Good advice. I put the 15-50 Mobil 1 in at 30,000 and haven't seen any consumption in a month of riding. Since Wal-Mart doesn't exactly give the Mobil 1 away, I'll bet the Harley dealer can be depended on to jack up the price of the V-twin oil. But, because you can extend the oil change intervals $5.50 a qt isn't too bad. (Wal-Mart) Someone can correct me on this, but isn't the transmission oil weight 75-140 ? I think I read a couple comments here by guys using Mobil drive oils.

[DMM]

Thanks for the reply! The owners manual is something I'm missing so I don't have the chart for the oil range. Any idea where I can get a copy of a 2004 owner's manual?

Do a search in the "buy, sell, trade" section here. I believe that someone had the rider and maintenance manuals for sale ($5 or so). Otherwise, you could call the local dealer to get a set, but they'll charge quite a bit for these rather slim booklets.

[combustor777]

75w-140 works great, thats what I'm using (at 20k now).
Go ahead and use synthetic, especially if its hot. Conventional oil does nothing to help it break in, just breaks down and doesn't protect your engine when it gets hot. Most synthetics (mobil 1 included) aren't even synthetic at all, they are just highly refined conventional oils that have a high viscosity index. The 20w50 "V-Twin" vs regular 15w50 Mobil 1 is just marketing. I think MCN or someone had an oil analysis done on both oils and found they were virtually identical, with one having a insignificant percentage more zinc or phosphorus but the only real difference was price. A few brands (Motul, Redline, Motorex come to mind) do offer "true" synthetics, but unless you're jumping sand dunes in death valley the boxer is pretty tolerant to anything in the recommended viscosity.

The brake and clutch bleed is pretty easy although it looks daunting on paper. Its more time consuming than anything, and having a helper helps unless you have speedbleeders installed.

[boxermania]

The brake and clutch bleed is pretty easy although it looks daunting on paper. Its more time consuming than anything, and having a helper helps unless you have speedbleeders installed.

It gets a bit more complicated with the ABS, but it is certainly doable.

Keep researching the posts and welcome aboard.

[snowprick]

Can I just chirp in with CHANGE ALL YOUR HYDRAULIC FLUIDS

[CycleRob]

Do not put the 75W-90 gear oil in the transmission. It's too thin and shifting is harsh in that you'll feel the shock of the dogs engaging in the shift lever. It's OK in the FD.

You should not go with synthetic engine oil until the engine stops using oil. If you do it too early, the synthetic oil will postpone the day it finally is broken in and finally stops using oil. That happens anywhere from 1,200 to 18,000 to never, depending on how hard the bike is ridden. You actually need the equivalent of a track day and a Bonneville Salt Flats run to wrap up the break-in. On the streets or with an easy rider it could take years because of the high hardness of the Nickel-Silicon coating on the cylinder walls.

[MattPie]

Do not put the 75W-90 gear oil in the transmission. It's too thin and shifting is harsh in that you'll feel the shock of the dogs engaging in the shift lever. It's OK in the FD.

You should not go with synthetic engine oil until the engine stops using oil. If you do it too early, the synthetic oil will postpone the day it finally is broken in and finally stops using oil. That happens anywhere from 1,200 to 18,000 to never, depending on how hard the bike is ridden. You actually need the equivalent of a track day and a Bonneville Salt Flats run to wrap up the break-in. On the streets or with an easy rider it could take years because of the high hardness of the Nickel-Silicon coating on the cylinder walls.

See my other post, I've done the track day, and done some modest length runs at 80-90 MPH (and shorter runs faster than that), but no dice at 24k miles. It's extraordinarily frustrating.

If I were to replace the rings, would the break-in process re-start from that point?

[combustor777]

You should not go with synthetic engine oil until the engine stops using oil. If you do it too early, the synthetic oil will postpone the day it finally is broken in and finally stops using oil.

As much as you guys are right on the money about just about everything, I have to disagree here. Unless there is an experiment to prove otherwise, I don't see how it is possible. Are you suggesting dino oil allows metal to metal contact, once the film strength breaks down from overheating, and that facilitates break-in? why not run 0w20 and break it in 100 miles? I don't buy it. There is nothing magical about the makeup of consumer synthetic oils (mobil 1, valvoline synth, castrol syntec etc). It is just regular oil out of the ground with all the low quality crap removed. I'm all ears to learn something different though, what am I missing? How does it prolong break-in?

[snowprick]

combustor777

Ride it like you stole it. The bike likes to work and you will run it in no problem. If that means you have to leave the highway then run on the track for a few days, whatever, just keep those revs up. Keep it somewhere between 4 to 6 thou. They were made to ride. Just do it

[sweatmark]

There is nothing magical about the makeup of consumer synthetic oils (mobil 1, valvoline synth, castrol syntec etc). It is just regular oil out of the ground with all the low quality crap removed. I'm all ears to learn something different though, what am I missing? How does it prolong break-in?

This conversation has suddenly turned a dangerous corner: oil thread!

Sorry, but you're wrong about the chemical and performance nature of synthetic lubricants when compared to conventional oils derived from parrafinic refined petroleum crude. In all seriousness*, it's simplest to just take it for granted that use of synthetic crankcase oil will prolong the BMW engine break-in period.


*so serious that I used a font color for the first time in my 9-year Roadster board career.

[popsnicker]

Sorry all, I didn't mean to create an oil thread.

In all seriousness thank you all or your replys. I an going to be using the 75W140 for the trans and 75W90 for the final drive. I'll also be changing the oil and I'll leave it at that

Still debating on the clutch and brakes. I'm sure I could do it - but messing up the brakes would be bad...

[combustor777]

There is nothing magical about the makeup of consumer synthetic oils (mobil 1, valvoline synth, castrol syntec etc). It is just regular oil out of the ground with all the low quality crap removed. I'm all ears to learn something different though, what am I missing? How does it prolong break-in?

This conversation has suddenly turned a dangerous corner: oil thread!

Sorry, but you're wrong about the chemical and performance nature of synthetic lubricants when compared to conventional oils derived from parrafinic refined petroleum crude. In all seriousness*, it's simplest to just take it for granted that use of synthetic crankcase oil will prolong the BMW engine break-in period.


*so serious that I used a font color for the first time in my 9-year Roadster board career.

Aww come on, I love oil threads! Seriously, unless your synthetic oil is $15-20 per quart, it is made of hydroprocessed mineral oil, just purified dino oil is all. Very little of it is PAOs or polyesters (chemicals that aren't dead dinos). Gas chromatograph tests confirm and the price reaffirms. Mobil 1, Castrol, Valvoline, and all the major brands fall into this category. Like I mentioned, more exotic "true" synthetics are available, but are $$$.

Clutch is very easy once you replace the dinky grub screw arrangement with a regular bleeder and just leave it on there. ABS brakes aren't bad except for the time involved. Instead of the fancy funnel contraptions for the abs reservoir I just went to the plumbing section and got a rubber fitting the right size and glued it to the end of the funnel. It makes a perfect seal in the reservoir opening and costs maybe $2. Just by following the instructions available online I've bled mine several times with no problems.