New rider, a small oil question

[Brewmaster]

Hello, just wanted to introduce myself and make my first post after several months of lurking. I just picked up my CY endorsement last July and bought my first ever motorcycle in August, a Barritz Blue 2010 R1200R with the touring package. One ride is all it took for me to fall in love with that bike. I put on 1K miles in about 45 days and then added 700 more before I had to put it away for the winter. I went ahead and every 2 weeks ran the bike for about 20 minutes. There were a couple very cold days in January and February that I got out and rode, but for the most part it was just sitting.

Now that you all have some background, I'll get down to the meat of why I am posting. Since it has been quite some time since I used regular oil, and I am wondering how closely I have to follow the three-month rule.

I have been using full synthetic in my cars for the last 10 years, and my father is a quality assurance / warranty engineer for one of the Big 3. His advice has always been that I only need to change the oil when the car indicates that an oil change is needed. Now, I know this is not a car, and I am not using full synthetic oil, so I was curious what the opinions were. I tried to use the search feature, but "oil" is a common term and is ignored, so that was not very fruitful.

[mogu83]

Listen to your Father.

Most of the guys run the dino oil to the first or second recommended oil change then go to synthetic at the recommended interval. Mine hardly ever used any oil (and still doesn't) and I switched at the first oil change.

[Brewmaster]

I fully plan on going full synthetic, but the MOM indicates that I have to wait until the 7K mile service to switch. I'm just wondering how I should work things until I get to that interval. As far as burning oil goes, I have had to add about a half quart twice, or after about 900 miles each time.

[Bob Ain't Stoppin']

Welcome Mr. Brew. Really the best answer to your question is that you might want to run dino until the engine stops burning oil. It is typical with the boxers that they burn a bit of oil for some thousands of miles. Might vary from 5 or 6 up to 20k or more. You'll notice it when the burning stops. Then you know the break in is really finished, and can switch to synth.

The other opinion is that it makes no difference, and go ahead and switch to synth any time you're ready. So you have to make your own mind up on this issue. As you know, there are lots of vehicles delivered new with synthetic oil.

I have a 1200GS that burned over a quart per 1000 miles. Very upsetting to me! But at 12,000 miles, it just stopped doing this in one day. Quite amazing really. I never had to add oil to it again after that day. And, like most 1200 bikes, the thing ran super

Have fun with your new bike.

Ain't

[Sander Abernathy]

Now that you all have some background, I'll get down to the meat of why I am posting. Since it has been quite some time since I used regular oil, and I am wondering how closely I have to follow the three-month rule.

You appeared to ask about the "three-month rule" and I assume you are referring to the advertising slogan that called for oil changes "every three months or three thousand miles". That was just a slogan fabricated by the quick-lube industry. I don't think anyone is changing their oil more frequently than the manufacturers recommended intervals because they are sticking to the 3,000 mile part of the slogan. Since the average motorcycle is only ridden about 3,000 to 5,000 miles a year if you changed it every three months, you would be changing the oil every 750 miles to 1,250 miles. If you go that route, please send me the used oil as I'll put it in my crankcase. Changes every three months are completely unnecessary. Remember dino oil spends millions of years in the ground before we ever see it so it probably doesn't go bad in three months sitting in a clean crankcase.

At least one person here, sends his oil out to be tested to see if anything unacceptable is going on in the engine or the transmission and the lab he sends his oil to has indicated that he can go beyond the 6,000 mile interval because the oil is still in great shape at the recommended service intervals. As I recall, he's using non-synthetic.

Congratulations on taking up motorcycling and the purchase of the best starter bike made - the R1200R. I did the same last year and I only regret about 100 yards of the journey so far. Unfortunately, I learned that the R1200R is also a great second bike. The rest of the ride has been fabulous.

Sander

[creamora]

Welcome Brewmaster! Congrats on your purchase and please upload pics when you get a chance.

The 'Oil Threads' are a third rail here, but it looks like they are taking it easy on you so far...

I'm still breaking in and using/burning the prescribed OEM BMW Dino 20W50 (I'm told this premium lubricant is the product of decaying dinosaurs drilled from secret locations deep in the mountains of Bavaria)

Wishing you good roads and safe travel.

[ka5ysy]

Hi Brewmaster !

Welcome to the group and the R1200R. Based on your introduction, "One ride is all it took for me to fall in love with that bike." you are eligible for this exclusive club and its patch. 99.9% of us are members too :




Without a lot of excitement, your oil question resolves itself to this: The engine has no idea what kind of oil, dino or synthetic, that you running. You do need to match the required SAE/API grade and weight. The main reason we all use/used petroleum base oils during break-in is the cost. You actually can run synthetic, but the cost for dumping is a consideration. I ran the initial 600 mile interval, and the first 6000 mile change on dino oil, the went to full Amsoil motorcycle synthetic. After about 12000 miles, the engine stopped using any oil whatsoever between changes, unless run hard in high temperature conditions, then it will use a bit, but never more than a 1/4 of a cup at most. As an Fyi, a lot of newer cars start out with full synthetic from day one (Corvette, BMW, etc). The main benefit of synthetic is that it will not coke up when severely overheated (hard on bearing surfaces!) , and has less tendency to foam than petroleum oil. This is why turbine engines use synthetic exclusively.

[deilenberger]

At least one person here, sends his oil out to be tested to see if anything unacceptable is going on in the engine or the transmission and the lab he sends his oil to has indicated that he can go beyond the 6,000 mile interval because the oil is still in great shape at the recommended service intervals. As I recall, he's using non-synthetic.

No - I'm using BMW synthetic. And yes - Blackstone has suggested that I could extend my oil change intervals (which are currently 6,000 mile intervals,) which worked out the first 4 years to twice a year. I'm hoping I have to change it more often this year since I'm retiring on Friday..

[gibbo111]

Congrats on your pending retirement Don, I'm old enough but not wealthy enough to retire just yet, so i'm jealous!!. But this morning to ease the pain of several more years in the workforce I just went out and bought a HP2 sport to have a change from the R occasionally (no wonder i cant retire!!). Gibbo

[angellr]

At least one person here, sends his oil out to be tested to see if anything unacceptable is going on in the engine or the transmission and the lab he sends his oil to has indicated that he can go beyond the 6,000 mile interval because the oil is still in great shape at the recommended service intervals. As I recall, he's using non-synthetic.

No - I'm using BMW synthetic. And yes - Blackstone has suggested that I could extend my oil change intervals (which are currently 6,000 mile intervals,) which worked out the first 4 years to twice a year. I'm hoping I have to change it more often this year since I'm retiring on Friday..

Don, may you enjoy your retirement years to their fullest!! Certainly jealous knowing I have a few more years before this is going to happen. Best wishes!!