Info from Castrol re oil!!

[NorthernBoy]

I don't understand why riders want to save on oil, having bought an expensive bike.

That doesn't really make any sense. It's like asking why someone would be looking for a god value plumber for their expensive house. Pretty much no-one wants to throw away money unnecessarily, no matter how much they have already spent.

If the cheaper oil is every bit as good as the more expensive one, then why should people not use it?

You seem to be suggesting that more expensive means better, but it is not necessarily so.

 

[GSband]

I agree : if two oils (or plumbers) do the same job, take the cheaper one.

I know that more expensive does not necessarily mean better. I bought a GS.

But in all probability, cheap is worse.

I prefer full synth over mineral. Have done so for over 20 years. Have had engines run for more than 200.000km without a minor glitsch.
Of course, that is no proof that mineral oil would have had any other result. But the case in favour of full synth is clear (do a search on the web). So, in this case, cheap is definitely worse.

I have an expensive machine, so I want to keep it in pristine shape.
I don't understand buying a splendid machine, and then not taking appropriate care of it by buying cheap oil.

As far as oils go, everyone has an opinion.
This is just mine.

 

[Gecko]

20w / 50 seems to be the preferred choice during the summer months in the UK, and needed overseas where it tends to be a bit warmer

BTW the Hein Gericke oil is SG and mineral.

hich is why I use the full synth 10w50
http://www.hein-gericke.co.uk/shop/product_info.php/cPath/23_250/products_id/6452

Been using it for years

 

[NorthernBoy]

But in all probability, cheap is worse.

Sometimes, but there are times, and examples, when the opposite is true.

For example, when running in the GS, the best oil for the job is not the most expensive, and if you switched to fully synthetic too early, you'd be making a bad mistake.

 

[John Armstrong]

hich is why I use the full synth 10w50
http://www.hein-gericke.co.uk/shop/product_info.php/cPath/23_250/products_id/6452

Been using it for years

Not that much more, about £2 compared to the mineral version. Admitedly the mineral is 4 * 1 litre, but even the 1 litre price is only £1 more.

 

[GSband]

... and if you switched to fully synthetic too early, you'd be making a bad mistake. ...

Agreed

 

[NorthernBoy]

I had to buy some oil in Geneva for the bike last month, and was a bit concerned when they only had the newer stuff, as it did not match the spec that was in the manual, or that the shops here provide.

I do tend to be a bit anal about trying to stick with the right stuff, so was a bit worried (I had 1,500 miles of my trip still to do, so it was not a "get me home" measure, and I was going to fly a fair way past my scheduled service), but the bottle that they gave me had a label on that clearly showed that it was designed for the boxer engine (i.e. it said "for 1200cc boxer engine" and had a picture of one on it).

It makes me wonder why BMW UK were so arsey about telling me what I could get by with from Halfords recently. I found myself in there unable to find the 20W50, so called to ask what else would do, and they flat refused to say that any other spec was alright.