Changing the Oil & Filter

[CycleRob]

This is the 4th one, at 18,000 miles. The 24mm hex drain bolt was really tight!! Apparently the Aluminum/Aluminum thread interface breakaway torque increases after time. There was almost zero "fuzz" on the stock BMW drainplug's magnet. I tipped the bike, off both stands, about 45 degrees to the left and then right, with long pauses in each position to allow the draining oil to drain down lower (going right) or for the stream to stop (going left). Quite a bit more came out. I let it continue draining over night on the sidestand. Next day, same thing . . . . tipping both ways to get a few extra big drops of dirty oil. Filled up the new oil filter with oil and let it set. Put it on the centerstand, tightened the drainplug and added the 3.2 quarts of Castrol-Actevo-X-TRA-Synthetic-Blend-Engine-Oil. Spin on and tool tighten the oil filter, re-attach the wicked powerful metal strip magnet (removed from a dead 3.5" computer hard drive) to the oil filter's underside. I get my wristwatch's stopwatch ready, turn on the key, press the starter and timer start buttons at the same time. The engine starts, camchain clatters loudly, until the oil light goes out at 5 seconds. It then runs quiet and smooth. Job done. Will check the level tomorrow, top it off then safety wire the dipstick - - - until the next oil change.

To save time and answer your questions:

--Yes, tipping & holding it WAY over BOTH ways does get a lot more dirty oil out of it. Pockets of oil in the valve train area, alternator area, clutch area and crankcase internal webs store the stowaways. Hold the front brake when you do so and be aware of the drainpan's new location when doing so. Use an empty drainpan to see just how much YOU can get out of it, then imaging adding that yuck back into the engine with the new oil! This anal extra procedure works on ANY bike. The benefits are real and show on the dipstick as out-of-the-bottle-clean oil.

--Yes, filling the oil filter saves time running the engine on zero oil pressure until the oil pump can fill the filter up . . . . before the oil finally does go to the spinning-without-oil-pressure crank, rods, camshafts & camlobes.

--This is my first use of Synthetic Blend Oil in it. Water cooling means the oil is not stressed like it would be in a literally uncontrolled air cooled Boxer engine. The first 2 oil changes got Castrol 4T conventional MotorCycle oil (for wet clutches and transmissions).
Now 5W-40 Shell Rotella T6 Full Synthetic is the new hero! Even though it is a Diesel oil, which has stress/pressure requirements greatly exceeding gasoline engines, many bikers have changed over to it. Shell website: "Provides excellent low-temperature flow, even at -30 degrees Fahrenheit . . . unsurpassed protection against shear-stability degradation" (gears meshing). If you check, it also passes the specific test requirements for wet clutches. Buy the Gallon jug at WallyMart.

--NO, I will not ever use a cheaper non BMW oil filter. Just not worth it, considering the value of 6,000 miles of premium engine protection. Plus, the BMW F800 engine oil filter, like the Boxer filters, also has the bypass blow-off secondary filter screen to "filter" bypassed oil that conventional car oil filters do not have. Bypass occurs on a cold engine at too high of an RPM generated oil flow rate and pressure for the paper media to filter the oil. That higher pressure activates a blow-off valve, redirecting oil, bypassing the filter media. Regular car filters just bypass it unfiltered. BMW bike filters pass that bypassed oil thru an extremely fine mesh synthetic screen before sending it to the engine.

--No, I do not need to change the oil more frequently than the recommended 6,000 mile interval. I NEVER do short trips -and- the water cooled engine warms up to full operating temp very quickly, within 3 miles, even in winter. Besides, BMW only recommends conventional oil.

--No, the engine does NOT use ANY oil!! That's why the dipstick can be safety wired, providing peace-of-mind tamper proofing.


--Yes, I recycled the old engine oil . . . into a heavy plastic Arizona Ice Tea gallon jug that feeds the chainsaw 1qt bar oil container. The used oil was good enough for the engine crankshaft, so with the addition of a little STP oil treatment it makes an excellent chainsaw chain lube. Then it gets flung everywhere, into the woods, mixed with sawdust.

I even washed the bike afterward. Given the new oil, clean bike psychological change, the ride tomorrow sure is gonna seem extraordinary.

.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Hi, Rob
When you hold it WAY over, do you have an assistant to help? Holding the R1150R WAY over is likely I think to reach a point of no return and continue on a downward path until the planet stops its descent. I know the 800 is what? 100# lighter? That would help, I'm sure.

Stella!, on her most recent ride to Arizona/Utah, 4700 miles iirc, only used the amount of oil from the top of the window to the dot. And it was hard riding on a few of those days, hot and high speed with wind. She has 93k miles and this was BY FAR the least amount ever used. Didn't even have to top up any along the way. Never before has that happened. Maybe she's broken in. But the 800's appetite is obviously better. That sure is an appealing bike.

Question for you though. ON this most recent ride I faced winds of 30-50-55 mph, sometimes face on, but often from the side. I was grateful for the heft of the RR in that circumstance. Have you faced really serious side winds on the 800 and does it feel sure footed, or can you feel it dance a bit?

John

[CycleRob]

John, The F800 is about 65 pounds lighter. Tipping the bike "way over" is about 45 degrees each way . . . easy enough to do solo. The hard part is holding it there for 10--20 seconds for the pocket-puddles of oil to drain away toward the bottom, then eventually out the drainplug. That is really going too far for most people, but any remaining 6,000 mile dirty oil bothers me. It's a shame that about .2 quarts remains in the counterbalancer chamber and cannot be removed without removing the bottom sump AND the counterbalancer sump. That is way too much un-bolting and 2 gaskets to deal with to get all the old oil out.

After tip-overs and overnight draining, the new oil still looks like brand new after the first ride.

Oh yes . . . . . there is only ONE oil supply !! (not 3 like on the Oil/Hex-Heads)

About riding in crosswinds, yes, it does get blown around easier than the R1150R because of its' lighter weight, but it still tracks straight. I just end up leaning into the crosswind without going off the straight line course. It's not tiring and is kinda fun.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Oh yes . . . . . there is only ONE oil supply !! (not 3 like on the Oil/Hex-Heads)

does that mean that one hole fills the engine, tranny and final drive, oh, wait...there is no final drive, huh? But, the same oil for engine and tranny?
How is the rear wheel, hub, lubed if at all?

[sweatmark]

Doc, have you been tallying up the gas receipts from your Southwest trip, considering an F-economical bike? Say it isn't so!

Rob has many more miles' experience with his F than we do, so his opinion trumps. As for me, the R1150R has a strong suit in hauling stuff for a road trip, in addition to the aforementioned stability of bulk. But in terms of elegant simplicity, that F800S/ST drivetrain is hard to beat.

Rob, we'll utilize your tipsy method for next oil change with the F800S. Thanks as always for your insight.

[Dr. Strangelove]

no tally on gas receipts, but I could. Maybe I didn't make myself clear though. I recognize the 800 is far more economical to ride.

[CycleRob]

The "Tipsy Method" works for any bike. Even when I change the oil on my truck or Ann's Civic, I jack the vehicle up with a tilt that puts the oil drain plug at the lowest point. That tilt also partially drains several of the natural oil pockets in the valve train area.

Try it yourself. After your normal hot motor drain method stops dripping, change to an empty pan, then tilt-and-hold both ways to see how much additional dirty oil comes out. Then ask yourself if you would add that dirty oil back into the engine.

[MTBeemer]

Taking so much time and extra effort to change your oil is like polishing the bottom of your shoes. Makes you feel better, but has no effect on performance, longevity or reliability.

[CycleRob]

That's true. I compare it to cleaning away the single yellow drop on the public toilet seat before I sit on it. I could sit on it with no ill affects, but I'd rather take the extra time and effort to clean it away.

Slowly filling up the new oil filter with oil also is time consuming, likely with an insignificant benefit. It also makes me feel better to listen to only 5 seconds of clatter on startup, rather than 10 seconds or more, waiting for the oil pump to fill the dry, empty oil filter.

Some people enjoy meticulously doing routine service chores. Others dread it and either breeze thru it or pay someone else. To each his own.

[captaincable]

If you kept the kickstand down or the kill switch on while you used the starter to pump enough oil to the top end before you actually fired up the bike, do you think that would stop the initial chatter ?

[CycleRob]

The BMS-K computer does not operate the starter if:
1--In gear with sidestand down and clutch pulled in
2--Kill switch is off

Essentially, you cannot use the starter to crank the engine without it immediately starting right up. The clatter comes from the camchain tensioner that requires oil pressure to provide the chain's cyclic dampening and pre tensioning forces. It seems the tensioner's startup helper spring is or gets too weak to provide the required forces during no oil pressure startups.