Inferior oil?

walkon40

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• May 11, 2005

• #1

I've "inherited" some Duckhams 20/50 oil, which is obviously the 'cheap and cheerful' variety, compared to the GPS my dealer recommends for the 1150 GS.

Does anyone use this in their GS? Anything that speaks against using it (the bike has done 36k miles).

thanks

Martin

 

littleredrooster

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• May 11, 2005

• #2

What API spec is it? It should say summat like 'API CC/SG' somewhere on the container. BWMs need SG grade or better. If it's not marked or in a sealed container, give it a wide berth.

 

pragmatix

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• May 11, 2005

• #3

Duckhams 20/50 no probs its a good oil and a higher spec than the GS needs. ISTR that Duckhams Q was origanaly developed for motorbike use.

Pete A

 

walkon40

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• May 11, 2005

• #4

What API spec is it?

Click to expand...

It's SF/CC - says it's esp for older engines ...

Martin

 

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• May 11, 2005

• #5

duckhams Q is SF and is what i put in my 1150.

and my airhead.

and my guzzi

 

littleredrooster

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• May 12, 2005

• #6

cookie said:

duckhams Q is SF and is what i put in my 1150.

Click to expand...

....thought the minimum spec for the 1150 was SG??

 

wessie

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• May 12, 2005

• #7

littleredrooster said:

....thought the minimum spec for the 1150 was SG??

Click to expand...

From: BMW Motorrad Service data R 1150 GS


Engine oil grade: brand-name HD oil for four-stroke spark-ignition engines, API classes SE, SF, SG; combination with CC or CD specification

 

Mouse

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• May 12, 2005

• #8

Is it a synthetic oil?

Standard wisdom says you shouldn't switch from synthetic to mineral oil, especially in a high mileage engine. I'm not sure if 36k counts as high mileage.

 

Bill

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• May 13, 2005

• #9

There are a lot of myths perpetuated about oil!
A good quality mineral oil is way over-engineered.

Ordinary 20/50 is not just good enough, it's probably too good for the average biker and synthetic is a waste of money!

As I've said in the past, I work in engine research and we've never had a failure due to lubrication.
Motor manufacturers change oil spec due to many things, notably emissions, power and economy, but never due to a lack of lubricity!!

Up until a couple of years ago we did all our testing on Texaco 10/30. This oil was used in our whole range of engines, gasoline and diesel... and our rally cars!

We only changed spec because of tighter emission law and an added bonus was better economy.

You can talk on this subject forever and we probably will, but the laws of physics are immutable.

The secret is... buy a good quality oil and change it regularly!!

 

Bill

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• May 13, 2005

• #10

I forgot to say that I use Ford 20/50, mostly because it's £ 5 a gallon!

There are even more myths on the subject of running in... but we'll save that for another day!